Page 27 of Consumed By Fire
She looks at me like she doesn’t quite believe me, which is fine. Once again, I don’t blame her.
“We should get some sleep,” I tell her.
Trinity nods once and lies down on the dirt, using her arm as a pillow.
“It’ll be more comfortable over here,” I say, looking down. “There is a nice patch of moss growing under this tree. It’s almost as comfy as a mattress.”
She snort-laughs. “I highly doubt it. I’m good, thanks.”
“I’m afraid that I’m going to have to insist. We’ll use each other to keep warm.”
“What are you talking about? It’s plenty warm enough. Thank you for the kind offer, but I don’t want or need your body to keep me warm or for anything else.”
“I don’t want you running off during the night, little Red.” Why do I keep calling her that? I need to stop. It sounds too much like an endearment for my liking.
She narrows her eyes. “You said you wanted me to trust you. Well, trust is a two-way street. I’m fine over here.”
“Get your ass over here, Red.”
Trinity rolls her eyes and sighs. “Fine. This is completely unnecessary. I don’t plan on running again.”
“Humor me.”
“It’s not like I have a choice.” She lies down stiffly in front of me, facing away.
I put my arm around her, feeling her stiffen even more.
“Relax, I won’t try anything. I need to be sure that you stay right here all night long.”
“I will.” Her voice is barely loud enough to pick up.
“I know.” I wrap my arm around her, gripping her shoulder. My forearm is lying across her breasts. I’m trying hard not to notice how soft they are against my arm.
My body is flush against hers. My cock is resting against her ass. It doesn’t help that she smells so damned good. We’ve spent hours sweating our asses off, and yet she smells fucking amazing. Wild and untamed. Of smokey honey, the scent growing ever sweeter.
Her nipples harden against me.
Fuck!
I inhale and catch the scent of— Holy fucking shit! She’s aroused. I have to breathe through my mouth. I have to work hard to stop it from happening to me, too. I pull back just a little, keeping my hand right where it is. I know she’ll run if she gets a chance. I know that I would do the same. I can’t take that chance. I won’t!
“You’re not like any mated female I’ve ever met,” I growl; my voice is deep.
“I would prefer it if you didn’t talk to me right now,” she says through clenched teeth, sounding pissed off.
“Why are you aroused? You shouldn’t be.” She should want her mate and no one else. These Reds are a strange breed. They’re not like us. Sharing! It’s unheard of.
I hear her swallow thickly. “I’m not! It’s hormones, nothing more and nothing less. Don’t flatter yourself. I don’t want to talk anymore; I want to sleep.”
“Fine, then do it,” I rasp.
“I’m trying,” she whisper-shouts, still sounding pissed off. “I hate you. You are the biggest asshole I have ever met. You should let me go already. We can stop making each other miserable.”
“You can hate me all you want. Now, get some rest. Tomorrow is a big day.” I say it as gently as I can.
My cock is thick and hard against my belly. I will the bastard to go down. Thing is, I know if I touched her, she would let me. If I wanted to sink into her warm heat, she would welcome me. She’d probably hate me so much more afterward, but she’d let me do it. All of it.
It makes no sense to me.