Page 96 of Riv's Sanctuary

He could still feel her face nestled against his neck, that memory overpowering the one of his past in the mines with such intensity, his cock grew hard immediately.

He was playing a dangerous game with the female.

What had started out as a day to send her away from his Sanctuary had turned into something else completely.

Groaning, he turned on his side to stare at his closed door.

Whatever had happened between them today needed to be ripped out by the root.

He couldn’t get close to her and he couldn’t allow her to get close to him.

She made him feel…and feelings were always what led to hurt and deceit in the past.

All these years living in the plains, he’d locked that part of him away and it had kept life simple and safe.

He couldn’t allow himself to grow weak.

He had to remember.

Never forget.

Nothing had changed.

He hadn’t achieved his goal of sending her away today but she still had to go.

The female had to leave.

22

Working with the animals was good. It always cleared his mind.

Helped him to focus.

It’d been two days since they’d visited the exchange and he’d kept far away from the human, working on the far side of the Sanctuary on purpose so she couldn’t find him if she decided to come look for him.

He told himself he didn't miss her intrusive presence.

He'd always worked alone, even when Sohut was on the Sanctuary grounds.

Rolling his shoulders, he took off his gloves and walked toward the main residence.

It was late.

He’d slip inside, wash himself, and head to his room, hopefully before the human exited hers.

He still hadn’t decided what he was going to do with her.

The fact she wasn’t registered complicated things and he reckoned the first part of getting her off his Sanctuary was going to involve returning to the exchange to get her alien status legalized.

Though he’d made it a point not to see her, he wondered what she'd been up to for the long hours he'd been working outside for the past two days.

Probably sleeping. At least, that's what he'd assumed.

But as he opened the door and stepped into the corridor, something immediately hit him.

The house smelled...different.

Sniffing, his brows creased as he walked slowly toward the main room, eyes narrowed.