Chapter 9 #2
Lacey turned her attention to her surroundings. The rocky terrain was at an incline, with huge, gnarled tree roots sprouting from it. Dense vegetation grew everywhere—around the bases of trees, dangling from high branches, in patches of shade and sunlight, even in crevices in the stone.
She stared at one particular plant ahead of her. Its long stems and large leaves reminded her of a giant philodendron.
She grinned as an idea came to mind.
Stepping off the path Ayali was forging, Lacey approached the plant.
Using her spear, she stabbed at the ground around it, because no way in hell was she going to make the mistake of thinking anything in the jungle was safe.
When no thorny vines shot up from the ground to grab her, she pushed aside the giant leaves, broke off one of the smaller ones, and used it to fan herself.
Closing her eyes, she groaned as the airflow cooled her face and chest.
What I wouldn’t give for a plunge in a river right now.
“Drink.”
Lacey started at the deep, gravelly sound of Telok’s voice. Her eyes flew open to find him standing close beside her, holding out his waterskin.
Heat that had nothing to do with the climate washed through her, flooding her already flushed face.
He. Wants. To. Fuck you.
Lacey looked away from him, fanning herself faster at the memory of Cole’s words. She was still reeling from that revelation.
Telok wants me.
She’d had it wrong all this time, and everyone—everyone—but her had known it.
“I’m okay,” she said hurriedly.
“Lacey,” he growled. Snatching her spear from her grasp, he pressed the waterskin onto her palm. “Drink.”
Lacey’s fanning stopped as she looked down at the waterskin. Past Lacey would’ve been annoyed by his bossiness, but present Lacey knew why he was doing this.
Because he cared about her. Because he was concerned.
And that was…sweet.
She didn’t know how to handle sweet Telok in the slightest.
“Um, thanks.” Raising the waterskin to her lips, she took a sip. And oh God, it was delicious. The water was so cool and refreshing going down her parched throat that she couldn’t stop herself from drinking more. Her gaze flicked up to meet Telok’s.
Mistake.
His eyes were focused upon her mouth, and once more, that desirous green fire gleamed in them.
Lacey’s breath hitched, making the water go down the wrong way. She sputtered and coughed, ripping the waterskin away from her mouth as she tried to clear her airway.
Telok patted her back, his hand thumping her pack with just enough force to make her rock on her heels.
“I’m fine,” she rasped, clearing her throat. That tickling irritation lingered.
With an unconvinced grunt, Telok grasped her backpack and steadied her. “Drink more. You leaked all day.”
“Yeah, well, that’s what humans do. We leak all over.” She cleared her throat again before raising the waterskin to take another careful drink.
And Telok hovered there, watching closely.
She held the waterskin back out to him after swallowing a mouthful. “Thanks.”
“Drink.”
“I had plenty.”
Releasing her pack, he brushed his palm over the back of her neck. The rasp of his callused fingers over her damp skin sent a thrill along her spine.
He moved that hand in front of her, displaying the sweat clinging to it before flicking the droplets away. “Drink more, vi’jatai.”
There it was again.
Little thorn, huh? Maybe I should start calling him big prick.
Lacey wrinkled her nose at him. “Jeez, you’re freaking bossy.”
And yet there was something about the way he’d said it this time that felt…different. There’d been more than just command in his tone.
Tipping her head back, she guzzled the water, feeling droplets run down the corners of her mouth. When she finished, she pulled the waterskin away with a gasp and held it back out to him again, wiping her chin with the back of her hand. “Happy?”
Telok accepted the waterskin and returned her spear. He lifted his chin in the direction the others had gone. “Walk.”
“Valai’zirkita,” she muttered.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing! There’s just a lot of dirt here!” Lacey hurriedly returned to the path made by the thornskulls, using her spear as a walking stick while fanning herself with the leaf. Their companions had gained distance, but she knew they wouldn’t go too far without her or Telok.
Lacey heard Telok following close behind her, and she felt his eyes upon her. She glanced back at him.
He wasn’t just watching her…he was avidly staring her ass.
Her core clenched at the open yearning in his eyes.
Yep. He definitely wants to fuck me.
Lacey faced forward and let out a long, slow breath. She wasn’t sure how to act around him now that she knew the truth. And she…
God, I want him to fuck me too.
That was another big part of why his behavior toward her lately had hurt so much. She’d had a huge crush on the grouchy vrix, and she’d thought that he liked her back…at least until he’d started acting like he very much did not.
But if he wanted Lacey, why was he so standoffish with her? Why did he treat her with such cold detachment? Why did he often avoid her? None of it made sense.
They hiked until a branch snapped and the undergrowth rustled violently up ahead. Telok was instantly in front of Lacey, spear at the ready. Around his large frame, she saw a beast leap from the vegetation, only for it to be impaled by two spears thrown by nearby thornskulls.
The creature fell with a pained cry, and with stunning speed, Ayali was atop it. She finished the beast with a thrust of her knife to the back of its head, likely severing its spinal cord.
Telok relaxed with a heavy exhalation that bore just a hint of a growl.
Lacey stared at him as something warm and giddy spread through her chest. He’d placed himself between her and the threat. His first thought had been for her safety. No, not even his first thought, his first instinct, his first reflex.
Garahk approached the beast, retrieved his spear from it, and lifted his gaze to look around. The shadows were already deepening, signaling the approaching sunset. Soon, the bioluminescent plants would begin to glow, and the nighttime sounds of the jungle would settle into place.
“We will make our wild den here,” Garahk declared.
Lacey could’ve collapsed with relief. Her legs felt heavy and numb, threatening to give out where she stood. She hadn’t been this exhausted since their initial trek to Kaldarak all those months ago. Still, she forced her legs into motion as everyone busied themselves.
Ayali and Garahk lifted the beast and carried it away to prepare for the evening meal.
It looked like an alien hybrid of a goat and a deer, with forest green fur, impressive antlers, and thick, claw-tipped toes that seemed unnatural to her on such a creature.
The thornskulls called it a zex. Herds of the animals were common around Kaldarak, and the thornskulls often hunted them.
After propping her spear against a nearby tree, Lacey removed her backpack, set it on the ground beside the weapon, and joined Cole to gather kindling for a fire. Telok stood watch, presumably for the whole camp, but it seemed like every time Lacey glanced at him, he’d moved a little closer to her.
While she and Cole cleared a spot on the ground and built a fire, the remaining thornskulls hauled their supplies up into the trees, where everyone would rest for the night.
She wasn’t particularly thrilled about sleeping in the trees without four walls enclosing her, especially since she’d always been a restless sleeper.
Back on Earth, she’d woken herself up more than a few times by hitting the floor after rolling right out of bed.
She really didn’t want to think about what would happen if her tossing and turning took her right off the edge of one of these branches.
Kneeling, Cole dipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a fire starter. It was one of the few they had left from the Somnium’s emergency supplies. When he pulled the trigger, there was a tiny, electric buzz, and the kindling ignited almost immediately.
Lacey crossed her arms over her chest and smirked. “What are we gonna do when those things eventually stop working?”
“Build up a lot of forearm and hand strength doing it the old-fashioned way.”
“Ugh.” Lacey shuddered at the memory of the basic survival classes all the colonists had gone through in preparation for the journey to Xolea. She’d had blisters on her hands for days after they’d learned how to use a hand drill to light a fire.
Cole chuckled and picked up a stick to shift some of the kindling, spreading the flames. “It’s really not that hard.”
“Says the guy who’s been doing this for years.”
“Practice makes perfect.”
Once the fire was crackling, she returned to her bag and pulled out her waterskin. She took a quick drink before pouring some of it into her palm to splash on her face, neck, and chest, giving her skin a quick scrub. It was refreshing after feeling sticky and gross all day.
But there was another pressing matter she needed to take care of.
“I’m going pee,” Lacey announced as she grabbed her spear.
“Need me to come keep watch?” Cole asked.
“No,” Telok said, approaching her. “I will watch.”
Lacey’s cheeks flushed. “Um, I’ll be fine. I’ll make it quick.”
Telok jerked his chin for her to precede him. “You go. I watch.”
“All right, all right.”
She stepped away from the campsite, picking her way around thick brush and large rocks. As she walked, she gathered chunks of damp moss, highly aware of Telok’s presence behind her. “I thought you preferred to avoid me.”
Telok huffed. “You come to make pee or make words?”
“I can do both.”
When he didn’t answer, she looked at him over her shoulder. His eyes were upon her, intense and unwavering, and a different wave of heat coursed over Lacey’s skin. She felt it more clearly than ever in that moment—Telok’s stare could devour her, and she longed to lose herself in it.
She faced forward. “You know, Cole could’ve come if it’s such a bother for you to be around me.”
“No.”