Chapter 6
Piper
Crossing things off my list has been far too easy.
At least that’s the way it feels. I mean, I expected it to be much harder.
Granted, we haven’t even made it to the place where we’re supposed to see this ocean-like body of water so maybe I’m jumping ahead of myself.
Especially as I tip my head back and see how far we have left to go to the area where Katem pointed out that we’re headed.
Already my breathing is growing heavier and we’re not even a quarter of the way there. I never should have agreed to this.
“Let us take a short break and have some water,” Katem suggests.
I want to protest, but my burning lungs say otherwise. At least the surrounding trees are keeping most of the sun from shining down on us. For the moment anyway.
We stop beside a large stump that’s the perfect height to rest on. I sit and try to measure my breaths so I’m not panting like a dog. I’m not ready to share certain secrets with Katem yet. I don’t want the way he looks at me—or the way he treats me—to change.
He hands me a water skin and our fingers brush, causing a shiver to run across the back of my neck and goosebumps to erupt down my arms. His gaze penetrates right through me like he knows the effect he has on me.
I quickly take a drink to distract myself from doing something totally out of character like press my body against his and beg him to touch me.
A small amount of water misses my mouth and runs down my chin.
Katem tracks its movement and I’m breathless for a whole different reason than hiking up a hill.
“Thank you for stopping and resting.” I guess we both need distraction.
“We are in no hurry. Plus, I worry that when we get there you will be disappointed that we were unable to remove an item from your list.”
Right then and there, I decide that even if this thing he’s taking me to see doesn’t resemble an ocean, I’ll never tell him. The fact he’s worried about my feelings or that this trip won’t meet my expectations fills me with so much…I don’t know, hope, maybe.
“It’s going to be perfect.” I just know it.
Katem laughs. “You are for more confident that me.”
He’s close enough to me that I’m able to reach out and squeeze his fingers. “We can be confident together.”
He brings our clasped hands up to his mouth and kisses my knuckles.
First my forehead and now my hand. Will he kiss my lips next?
Do the Tavikhi know what kissing is? I shouldn’t be thinking about kissing Katem, because that leads me to thinking about other things.
Like how sexy his hands are and how I touched myself last night, imagining all the while it was him.
“Are you ready to continue?” he asks.
I nod since I don’t trust myself to talk yet.
He helps me off the stump, but doesn’t release me.
Together, we walk along the narrow, switchback trail.
Katem may call it a hill, but it resembles a mountain more than anything.
Our pace is slow, and I’m grateful he’s adjusting his stride to mine without making a huge deal about it.
Soon, though, we slow down even more and with each breath I take, the pain in my chest grows until I’m barely able to pull in any air. I hate this. I fucking hate this. My vision blurs and I stumble. Katem sweeps me up into his arms. I’m so weak I don’t even protest.
Instead, I lay my head on his shoulder and try to catch my breath.
I’m thankful the coughing hasn’t started.
Fatigue weighs me down, but slowly I’m able to draw in air.
Even once I’m breathing close to normally again, I don’t ask him to put me down, although I should.
It’s nice having someone take care of me.
Katem is almost to the top of the rise when the land levels out and a small clearing opens up. He comes to a stop and carefully sets me on my feet. He cradles my face and gently brings my head around so he can look at me.
“Are you well, now?”
I nod slowly.
“When you are ready to tell me what happened, I will be ready to listen. There is no rush, though. I am a patient male and will give you all the time and space you need.”
Tears burn my eyes, but I blink them back. “Okay.”
“Okay,” Katem echoes. “We have only a short distance left to go and it is mostly flat. When we get to the best spot to climb, you will need to get on my back and hold tight. Are you able to do that?”
“Yes. I think so.” My voice is hoarse, but audible.
“Good.” He smiles. “Are you ready to see your…what is it called again?”
“An ocean.”
“Ocean.”
“I’m ready.”
Katem threads his fingers through mine and we walk slowly across the clearing and into the grove of trees. He’s gone through all the trouble of planning this day for me, I don’t want to disappoint him or myself. I’ll do whatever I need to and not think about any potential consequences.
The sun has moved directly overhead, but the trees once again block out most of the heat, which I’m grateful for. Plus, there’s a nice breeze that cools my skin.
Katem comes to a stop at the base of a giant tree.
I glance up. The tightly packed branches and leaves block out any fleck of light that tries to make its way through.
He glances at me and gives me his back without breaking eye contact.
I swallow down the fear—be brave, remember?
—and approach him. With as deep a breath as I can take, I wrap my arms around his neck and jump.
Katem’s hands go under my ass to boost me up and my legs go around his waist, locking at the ankles.
He turns his head to look back at me and our faces are so close together I can feel his breath against my skin.
My gaze drops to his lips and I unconsciously wet my own.
His pupils blow wide and that familiar throbbing starts up in my center.
Katem’s nostrils flare next and I’m mortified with the thought that he might be able to smell my arousal.
“I’m not sure how long I can hold on.”
He blinks out of whatever spell he’s under and secures me more fully against him with his tail. “I will not let you fall. Hold tight.”
I swallow and do as he says. When his claws extrude and he digs them into the bark of the tree to climb, my heart leaps into my throat and my eyes close.
I can’t watch or I’m going to lose my nerve.
We go higher and higher and with every bit of distance we climb the panic grows.
Right when I reach the point where I can’t deal any longer, Katem shifts and stops moving.
“We are here, Piper. There is a wide perch that is big enough for both of us to stand on. I promise I will keep you safe. You will not fall.”
Since I either trust him or I don’t, I unhook my ankles and lower myself until my feet touch a solid surface. It still takes me a couple minutes before I can open my eyes and loosen my complete hold on him. The second I see how high up we are, vertigo hits.
“Oh, god.” I slam my eyes shut and bury my face in Katem’s chest.
He wraps his arms around me and whispers what sounds like gibberish in my ear.
Finally, his words make sense and they make me want to hug him tighter, because they’re nothing but encouraging.
He keeps saying how brave I am and how proud he is of me.
I think I fall a little in love with him right then. Or at least a strong like.
Hearing all these things from Katem bolsters my courage. Hesitantly, I draw back from him, increasing the distance little by little. I keep my arm wrapped around his waist though and he does the same with me.
“Let us sit. This is the best place to see.” He lowers himself into the saddle formed by the branches and gestures for me to join him.
I move to sit at his side, but he guides me between the vee of his thighs so my back presses against his chest. The warmth of him soaks all the way into my veins. A persistent hardness presses against my tail bone, but I ignore it.
Katem whispers in my ear, making me shiver. “Look out beyond the trees, Piper.”
I do what he says and gasp at the sight.
In the distance, is the largest body of water I could have ever imagined.
If I squint really hard, I might be able to see across the length of it.
What has me mesmerized, though, is the way the sun shines on it.
The beams reflect off it so brightly it’s as if diamonds float along the surface.
It’s blinding, but the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
Tears spill down my cheeks, because I did it.
I fulfilled one of my wishes. What lies before me may not be an ocean to other people’s standards, but it more than qualifies by mine.
I lean more fully back into Katem, almost melting into him and rest my head next to his.
“Thank you.” My voice is barely above a whisper, but that’s because emotion has me caught up in a stranglehold.
“Is this one of your oceans?”
“It is.”
“Deeka has blessed us both this turn.”
Yeah, maybe she has.
We sit there longer—even after the sun has shifted and the diamonds that appeared to once sparkle across water’s surface are gone—doing nothing more than breathing in the air and enjoying the stillness.
Being this high up, it’s much easier to watch the mellenje fly through the lavender sky, their yellow wings a bright splash of color against all the purple.
“I wonder what else is out there?” Not wanting to disturb the quiet too much, my voice is hushed.
“What do you mean?” Katem is as equally reverent of the moment.
“Like, beyond the—whatever you call that thing again.” I jerk my chin forward. “Do you ever imagine what you might find if you started walking and didn’t stop?”
Behind me, he’s silent, until he’s not.
“At times. But what if what I find changes me? What if it is something so terrible that I become someone different?”
What an interesting way to look at it. “Except, what if it’s amazing and because you didn’t go for it, you missed out on something incredible? Life changing, but for the better?”
Katem wraps his arms around me. Not tightly like I’m trapped, but in a way that comforts me like I didn’t know I needed.
“I have a village full of brothers and sisters and now, a beautiful mate. My life has already changed for the better, and I did not have to travel anywhere for it to happen.”