Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75388 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75388 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
So, okay, maybe I wouldn’t have found someone else to play with. I just wouldn’t have played at all. I haven’t been attracted to anyone else like I am to Hassen. “You’re ruining what could be a good thing,” I tell him, since he’s sticking to his guns. “We could have fun together.”
“Yes, we could.” He caresses my cheek, and his thumb skates over my lower lip.
I have a feeling we’re not talking about the same thing. Damn it. And I wish that his touch didn’t feel so incredible or make my nipples as hard as diamonds. “I’m not changing my mind. I’m not mating. Not you, not anyone.”
Hassen’s hand drops.
6
HASSEN
Are all human females this stubborn?
I gaze down at my mate—because I do not accept otherwise—and she looks up at me with determination in her eyes, a defiant tilt to her small chin. It would be adorable if she were not so frustrating.
As it is, I am tempted to grab her and drag her into the snow and show her how good I can make her feel. Our mating yesterday is branded into my mind. I cannot forget it and relive each moment. Last night at my lonely fire, I took myself in hand and stroked off to the thought of her. Over and over again.
Two days ago, I would have questioned what was motivating me to continue. I was defeated. Alone.
Now, I have purpose, and my purpose is Mah-dee.
She speaks of independence, of not wanting a mate, but when I touch her, she leans in to my caress. She gazes up at me with hunger, and I know she thinks of what we did in the storage room. It is all I can think of.
So…I must convince her that I am the right mate for her. That a pleasure-mating with me will be just as satisfying as resonance. That I want nothing but her for the rest of my days. That I would wake up every morning with Mah-dee’s yellow head resting on my chest and cherish her because she is mine.
She has crept into my heart like a bolt of lightning and left scorch marks wherever she has touched down.
I curse the day that I saw Li-lah, because she was tiny and frail and scared, and I thought she was what I wanted. I thought that she needed someone to take care of her and that I could be that male. I thought when I saw her this morning that she was coming to me. To tell me she’d changed her mind.
Seeing her here, her expression stubborn? It has just convinced me that she is the mate for me. I do not need a mate that wilts and cries. I need a strong, capable female who will challenge me and push me to be better.
Mah-dee needs to let me love her.
But if she must be convinced, then I must convince her. I must coax her into realizing that I am the male she wants. If another so much as looks at her, I will tear his throat out like a crazed metlak. But I cannot think like that. I must find a way to return to the tribe, if only so I can provide a proper cave for Mah-dee. I must make it difficult for her to turn me down…starting now.
I look at the spear in her hands. “You wish to learn how to hunt, still?”
The look she gives me is wary. “Yes? You’re not going to go all cray-cray on me, though, are you?”
“Cray…cray?”
She waves a hand in the air. “Nuts. Crazy. Whatever. I need to know if we’re good.”
“Are we?” I want to touch her soft cheek again, feel her skin against mine.
Mah-dee puts a hand to her chest. “I want to be friends. I really, really need friends here.” Her voice catches in a way that makes my heart hurt. “And I was hoping we could be friends that also had sex. But if we can’t, then I really just need a regular friend, okay? A hunting partner and a friend that will talk to me.”
“I can be those things to you.” I can be so much more, but I will settle for that for now. And I can convince her, with time, that I can be the best mate possible.
She is mine.
Her smile returns, and her features grow soft with relief. “All right, then. Let’s just forget all about the sex and scratching itches and go back to being buds, all right?”
“Buhds,” I agree, though I am not entirely certain what I am agreeing to. I think she means friends, and I will be hers.
“Then can you teach me to hunt?” She bounces a little, hugging her spear close in a way no hunter would. “I’m so damn bored. Please, Hassen. Help me get a useful skill so I’m not a big fat leech.”