CHAPTER 11 #3
I'm left alone with my dopey, smiling, injured cat-alien. My khui purrs at the close proximity to my mate, but I know it'd be totally inappropriate if I crawled into the furs next to him. I hug my chest and give Valmir a bright smile. "How are you feeling, pussycat?"
"I'm in wretched pain," he tells me, and gives me an even bigger smile.
That makes my heart ache. "Maybe next time don't go wandering into pit traps."
"Oh, my sweet human, the pit trap was the least of my worries at that point." He gives a liquid shrug. "All is well that ends well. I'm home and mostly whole. I'm afraid I didn't get your plant, though."
Like I give a crap about a plant? He almost got killed by strangers.
He almost got eaten by metlaks. If Veronica wasn't a healer, his leg might have been messed up for all time...
all because I sent him off on a wild goose chase.
My frustration at him threatens to bubble over, but I swallow it back.
It's not his fault he scared the living heck out of me.
"It's fine, Valmir. Since you got injured, we'll call it a wash. "
This earns me a fierce frown, and his head sways as he tries to sit up. "That...that's not allowed. The rules clearly state—"
"They're my rules," I interrupt gently. "If I say you're good, you're good."
Valmir shakes his head again. "The rules—"
This guy and his damn rules. I want to shake him, but I suspect that if I move close enough, I'm just going to grab him and hold him tight. I clasp my hands in my lap instead. "Since you didn't complete the task, you don't get the prize. That's what the rules state."
"Oh." He blinks, his expression unfocused. "Shame."
"Do you even remember what it was? The prize?"
"Nope. But I bet it was good." The drugged, lazy smile grows wider.
I'm doing my best not to smile back at him. It's hard to stay angry when he's like this. If he was this easygoing all the time, he'd be a lot easier to manage. I could make him become part of the tribe, make him be social. Instead, I just sigh. "What am I going to do with you?"
"Whatever it is, I hope it doesn't involve walking." He wriggles his toes on the propped foot and winces.
Such a typical man. "Well, quit doing that if it hurts."
He goes still, his eyes closing and his head tilting back again. Valmir is silent.
I pause, watching him for movement. There's nothing. "Did...did you just fall asleep again?"
"Huh uh," he mumbles, eyes fluttering in their effort to stay open and focus on me.
I'm torn between amusement and frustration. Either way, this is pointless. I turn to head out. "I'll just go and let you sleep. We'll talk more later when you're yourself again."
"No, wait, April." He struggles to sit up, grimacing with pain as he does.
"I'm awake. I swear. Don't go." Valmir reaches for my hand, grabbing at me before I can leave.
He misses, but I appreciate the effort. When he swipes for my arm again with another weaving grab, I let him latch on. He clings to me, his hand sweaty.
"You need to rest," I tell him, my tone softer. "We can speak when you're not hurting as much. It's nothing important, really."
"Everything you say is important." His thumb strokes my wrist. "Don't leave."
Just that small touch sends prickles of arousal skittering through me.
My khui hums, the sound more insistent than ever.
I appreciate that he wants me to stay, but the act of remaining near him grows more difficult with every passing hour.
Resonance only feels tolerable when we're far, far away from each other. "Like I said, it's not important."
"Lies." He continues to hold onto my wrist, even as his voice grows sleepy.
Being around him is making me soft in the head, because I'm melting at his insistence on holding onto me. It's weakening my resolve. "I wanted to see if you'd be up for your last task when you feel better. But not until you feel better, Valmir. You need to recover first."
He struggles to look at me, his eyelids heavy. "Last one?"
"Last one," I agree, meeting his gaze.
"You're not thinking of ways to stall?"
I shake my head. "I'm tired." I mean it, too. All of this is no longer challenging, no longer fun. There's no longer an exciting edge to it. Now it's just...exhausting. "We'll make sure you're recovered, and then we'll do the last task. And... I guess, whatever else comes after that."
His thumb claw strokes lightly over my skin again. "What's the task?"
The one I've been putting off for weeks now. "You can help me take Makana home."
"You're not going to keep him?"
"Of course not. I'm just his hānai."
"His what?"
Right. It's another one of those strange words that slips out of me and feels so natural. "His guardian. I'll look after him, but if he wants to be free, it would be cruel for me to keep him. I want him to live his best life, even if it's not with me."
"You wouldn't hold him even if you love him?" he muses, and he still doesn't let go of my wrist. "You and I are very different creatures."
Hearing that should not fill me with warmth the way it does.