Page 6 of A is for Ahool
She had looked up at me, her large, dark eyes searching my face. Her expression was one I recognized from her explorations of the jungle. Curiosity. I smiled to myself. My Kekasih, my Annisa, was as brave as she was lovely.
I turned back to her to hand her the cup of water. I carefully kept our fingers from touching, as she took the cup with two hands. I wanted to stare, to drink her in, so I had something to hold close when she left. Her eyes met mine over the rim of the cup and I tore my gaze away.
“Thank you, Muram,” she murmured when she set the cup aside.
My gaze darted over to her and then quickly away. “You’re welcome. Can I get you anything else?”
I could feel her watching me. My instincts told me to preen. To display for my desired mate. I pulled my wings in tighter to resist the urge. She was calm now, and I wanted to keep it that way.
“What happened to me?” she asked quietly. I saw her touch the bandage on her forehead from the corner of my eye.
I hoped she would keep the cloth in place. It was the last of the fabric I had from the village. My last trade was for rice and vegetables, food I had acquired a taste for over the years. The herbs under the bandage, though. That was a family recipe for quick healing.
“You tripped,” I answered, finally turning to face her fully. “Your head struck a large rock.”
Her fingers wandered over the bandage lightly. “Did you do this?”
“Yes. Please do not remove it,” I said quickly when her fingertips touched the edge of the strip of cloth.
She dropped her hands into her lap. “Of course. My apologies.” Her cheeks flushed and she looked around my nest.
“I would have taken you to the village, but I can not visit until nightfall.”
“I understand,” she murmured. “Thank you for helping me.”
I nodded. I started to say something, anything when she suddenly reached out to touch the wall of my nest. The primal urge to display slammed into me and my wings twitched against my back.
“Did you make this?” she asked, completely unaware of her effect on me.
I cleared my throat, but when I spoke it was still deeper than usual. “I did. Do you like it?”
“Like it?” she asked, running her dainty fingertips over my work. “It’s amazing. Beautiful.”
Yes, she certainly was.
“Thank you,” I said. “Are you hungry?”
I needed to do something with my hands before the traitorous things tried to reach for her. I glanced toward the back of my nest where I kept the food stores from the village. Between the rice, vegetables, and fruit I had picked the day before, there should be plenty to offer her. Unless she wanted something else.
My stomach churned at the thought. What if she wanted something I could not provide? I took a deep breath to calm myself. I was treating this like a courtship, but it was simply caregiving. She was not, and never would be, my mate.
As hard as it was to accept, this was the closest I would ever be to my Kekasih. She was my beloved, but I was not hers. I stood from the floor and began to turn when I caught her scent.
A jolt went through me and I looked back over my shoulder. She was frozen with her hand still on the wall, but her eyes were moving over me slowly. As I watched her, her pupils expanded and her top teeth dragged over her bottom lip. I was unsure what to make of the expression on her face, but her scent was…
I hurriedly moved away, kneeling at the back of the nest. I inhaled through my mouth, careful to take deep, measured breaths. Calm, I willed myself. I glanced down to see the front of my loincloth slowly return to normal. I would have to be careful.
Anissa brought out instincts I had never felt before.
“I-is there something wrong?” she asked softly, her voice barely above a whisper.
I swallowed hard and shook my head, not trusting my voice to answer her.
“I could make you something to eat,” she continued. I heard her shift on the pallet. “I’m a decent cook.”
“You should rest,” I said roughly. “Would you like some Nasi Goreng?”
“Yes, please, but I should really be helping.” I heard her starting to move and whipped around.