Page 32 of Red Fire
It’s driving me insane. I stop, looking around us. The shadows are growing longer. It is time to find a place to spend the night. This is as good a place as any.
I put her down.
“We’ll hole up here for the night.”
She nods once, not even meeting my eyes. She’s angry with me, and I can’t say I blame her. We should never have had sex. I should have told her sooner about what I am. I think she hates her attraction to me. I can understand it…I guess.
I might have been too rough, but it doesn’t take away from how good the sex was. She came hard on my dick. There is no faking it. I might not have come inside the tight confines of her body, but I still went off like a rocket. My balls might never be the same.
“That should provide some shelter.” I point to a rocky outcrop and several large boulders creating a sort of makeshift shelter. Then look up. The sky is darkening with what will more than likely end up in a storm. It will have to do.
“Smells like rain,” she whispers, still not making any kind of eye contact with me.
“It can come down out here.” I hope it rains; it’ll help mask our scent and will wash away our tracks. We could use a break.
“I know. I was on Draig for a couple of days,” she mutters. “The storms can be brutal.”
“I suppose you would know after being there.” I whisper, more to fill the silence than anything else.
Shit! It feels stilted…awkward, even. I don’t know why we’re even bothering trying to make small talk. We’re long past that.
Octavia starts toward the outcrop; she stumbles on the uneven ground. I reach out and grab her before she can fall. As if burned, she pulls away as soon as she is stable on her feet, practically yanking her arm away from me and giving me a dirty look.
“Sorry,” I mutter, even though I have nothing to feel bad about. I’m not even sure what I’m sorry about. Her falling? Helping her? Fucking her? Or…all of the above?
“I need to be more careful,” she says, on a sigh. Careful about what? Falling? Me? Other? All of the above?
I sigh quietly to myself. I’m overthinking this. I need to back off.
As we reach the outcrop, I check out our surroundings for any signs of danger. My dragon is still being an asshole. He’s still pushing me to claim her and to mark her. Same old shit.
Protect!I tell him.
Keep her safe!I add, trying to keep him on track. It works. I survey the area around us. All of my senses are on high alert. All is quiet, except for the regular jungle noises. There are no scents, sounds, or smells out of place. Above us, through the canopy, clouds gather, and darkness is falling earlier than normal as a result.
Octavia hunkers down, crawling into the small space, putting her back against the rock. I crawl in, too, sitting next to her. My scent is all over her. It should help mask her…for now.
We sit in awkward silence for a few long minutes.
“Are you tired? If you are, I could take the first shift. You can get some sleep,” she says, keeping her eyes pinned on the bushes and boulders in front of us.
“I’m fine.”
“You can’t be fine.” She unzips her pack, handing me a protein bar. “You didn’t sleep much last night, and you just hiked miles through the jungle carrying me. You must be exhausted.”
“You’re thinking in human terms.” I look down at the bar, noting that it is double fudge. “We can share this,” I tell her when I see that she doesn’t take one out for herself. She only has a few of the acai berries in her hand. I found them earlier, and we stopped to pick some.
“You need it more than I do,” she says.
“Nope…I don’t.” I shake my head.
“Am I thinking in human terms again?” She sounds a touch angry, although I don’t know why. I forgot how hard females are to understand. I guess that the species is irrelevant.
“Yes, you are. I’m not human.”
“Surely shifters need food and water and sleep, just like the rest of us? You can’t be that different.”
“We need all of those things, but we can also go without for long periods and still maintain. We’re stronger, faster, and have better stamina, even when we are lacking in basic needs.”