Chapter 21 #4
“Are you going to tell Sophia that? Because she’s going too. What about the winddancers? Are you going to tell them they can’t go because it’s too dangerous for them? How about Cole?”
He snapped his mandible fangs together. “I do not care about them like I care about you!”
“And I care about you! But I’m not telling you to stop hunting, am I? Even though I know every time you go out there you could get hurt or killed.” With a growl, she took a step back, closed her eyes, and pinched the bridge of her nose. “God, I feel like a broken rehkord.”
She dropped her arm and glared at him. “I am part of this world now, Telok, and I am not going to hide from it. I don’t want to hide. Facing the dangers out there will only make me stronger.”
The Tangle devours all.
No amount of strength was great enough to stop it, no skill could ever be honed enough to defend from it. Death was inescapable in the jungle. Heat danced beneath his hide, clashing with the cold at his center to create a churning, ominous storm.
Telok exhaled heavily and shook his head. “I cannot let you come.”
“I didn’t ask for your permission.” Stepping away from him, she snatched up the cushion she’d thrown before walking to the far end of the bedding.
There, she tossed the cushion down, bent over to grasp the edge of the furs, and pulled, splitting the pallet in two.
She dragged the furs until the two beds were a couple segments apart.
She dropped onto her pallet and rearranged the cushions.
He narrowed his eyes. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to bed.” Lacey lay down on her side with her back to him and drew the blanket tight over her.
Telok stared at the gaping space between the pallets, barely keeping his legs from scraping the floor in agitation.
Infuriating, stubborn female.
My damned little thorn.
Biting back a growl, he sat on his pallet, legs at his sides, and lowered himself onto his belly, folding his arms under his head. He stared at Lacey as he lay there. Her body was a vague form beneath the blanket, with only her hair uncovered, its strands the deepest red in the dull light.
Sounds drifted in from outside—drums and voices, rustling leaves, animal calls, and insect songs, all from far off. They served only to amplify the silence in the room.
Lacey remained still but for the barely perceptible movement of her breathing, seemingly content with this distance between them.
But Telok despised it. Despised not feeling her body against his, not feeling her warmth, not feeling her soft breath caress his hide as she slumbered. Only moments ago, she’d been in his arms, relaxed and safe. Only moments ago, she’d kissed him.
Now she had closed herself to him completely.
He had slept with her in his arms every night of this journey. Tonight would not be different.
Pushing his torso up, he braced his hands on the floor and crawled toward Lacey on his leg joints until he was able to grasp the edge of her pallet. He dragged it back toward him.
Lacey gasped with the jolting movement, sitting up to look at him. “Telok, what are—”
He slipped his arms beneath her and plucked her up, drawing her atop him as he rolled onto his back.
She wriggled, trying to push away. “Damn it, Telok, I’m still mad!”
He easily overcame Lacey’s struggles and maneuvered her so she was straddling him, wrapping his forelegs and lower arms around her lower body to cage her in. Banding his upper arms around her back, he cupped the back of her head with one hand, drawing her cheek against his chest. “Be mad here.”
She growled before giving up her fight. “You’re such an overbearing jerk.”
“Yes.” Telok combed his fingers through her hair, lightly grazing her scalp with his claws. It didn’t matter if she was angry. Just having her in his arms was enough to calm him.
“I’m telling everyone you agreed with that.”
“Fine.” His every breath was filled with her scent, which settled like a sweet mist over his mind. She could say whatever she wanted about him to anyone as long as she let him hold her like this every night.
Lacey sighed, the tension leaving her limbs as she rubbed her cheek against his chest. “Just…don’t stop doing that.”
Telok’s mandibles ticked upward. He didn’t stop his ministrations, relishing the feel of her body settled snugly atop his. His hearts warmed when she began brushing his hide with her fingers just like she had each night they’d lain together to sleep.
Soon, Lacey grew languid, and her breathing deepened.
He let his eyes fall shut as his own body eased. Weariness teased at the edges of his thoughts, but he resisted, not yet willing to submit. He was determined to cherish this feeling a little longer.
Lacey did what no one else had ever done for him—she chased away the ghosts of his past and soothed those old, heavy pains. She granted him a peace he’d never known. Tomorrow would soon come, with new struggles and dangers, but he was in no hurry for today to end.
He never wanted this to end.
Turning his face, he brushed his mouth against her hair and rasped, “I want you safe, Lacey. Need you safe.”
“Let me keep you safe too,” she murmured sleepily.