“Food almost ready.” She ignored his offer.
He’d suspected it wouldn’t be so easy. Still, it was nice to hear her voice.
She’d kept her distance, tending the fire, rubbing paste on her ankle—an innocent act he’d devoured like it was porn. Everything she did made him hard as hells.
“I’m not hungry.” His denial was undercut by a low belly growl.
She raised an eyebrow. “No?”
“That was just my stomach saying hello,” he teased. “You eat it.”
Her ears twitched, her lips flattening. “We both eat. Travel hard. We need energy.”
He almost had her. “I want you to have it.”
Her chin jutted out. “You feed me. Now, I feed you.”
“Okay.”
She stilled, no doubt taken aback by his quick reversal.
But not all his traps were of the pit variety, and the monster in him was on the scent once more.
If he was another male, he might have backed off. Or found another way to reach her. But he’d been forged to push and fight and win, and so he would.
Since the moment she looked at him with her big wide eyes and told him she had no name, her fate had been set, and maybe so had his.
“You coming?” He shifted, lengthening his legs so they were straight out in front of him.
She sent him a suspicious glare. “What happened before not happen again.”
“Agreed.” This time, he intended to have her sweet taste in his mouth, his tongue in her hungry pussy, and those purring sounds of hers echoing in his ears. They both needed it bad. Because, sure, chemistry alone might not solve their current problems, but it was going to make them both feel a hells of a lot better.
Before that, though, there was a trap to bait and set—and some penance due.
“I mean it.” Wise female that she was, her expression remained wary despite his assurance.
He sealed her fate. “I’m the one tied up. It will be you who has to resist me. You’re the one in charge, right?”
“Right.” Resolve flared in her gaze. With a sharp jab, she used her rock to drag the roasted bulbs from the fire. A few delicate pulls on the outside blackened skin and the plump red meat inside was revealed. His mouth watered.
Batting the food from finger to finger as it cooled, she came to him, head held high, hips swaying, those gorgeous eyes full of so much she was still afraid to tell him. Fire danced across her skin—making it shimmer and glow—and his fingers twitched with the urge to reach out and touch her.
She’d said she needed change. She said she needed more. He was going to give that to her even if it killed him.
Still, he could tell she was remembering the rotation he’d fed her. Only this time, she was free. Coming over of her own accord. Her choice.
His cock thickened. They would get past her hesitations, just like they had before.
She sank down by his side, folding gracefully. Her knee almost touched his thigh, her face a hand’s distance from his.
“Smells good.” He meant her, but she didn’t have to know that. Yet.
Pride danced in her gaze. “Khashe. Underground plant find in dirt, but very delicious.”
“Amazing.” He opened his mouth.
Her fingers trembled, but she brought her hand toward his mouth and held up the food.
A more recent memory—of the spray and her hand on his cock—crackled between them.
Stare locked with hers, he tore off a bite with his teeth.
A sweet savory burst of flavor hit his tongue. But nothing was quite as satisfying as the way her gaze remained locked on his mouth and the pinkish golden glow that spread across her cheeks and chest while her pupils dilated.
He swallowed. “You take the next bite.” His voice was a low growl. He hadn’t meant to sound as if he was still giving orders, but some things could not be changed. Tied up, free, he was who he was. He’d always be dominant.
So, when she raised the cooked food and took the next bite without hesitation and then passed it back to him, he knew they were a fit. Whether she was ready to admit it yet or not.
The next time he took a bite, his teeth brushed the tips of her fingers and she let out a rush of breath.
His sweet girl. She had no defenses yet. It was all so new to her. He hoped she never grew less vulnerable to the magic of what was between them. He knew he never would.
“It’s getting too small for me to rip off any more pieces.” He gestured with his chin. “You take the rest.”
She shook her head. Her gaze locked on his mouth. Fear and courage stirring in her depths and he understood what she was considering, what she wanted, before she even fully knew herself.
“Or you can feed me for real.”
Her brow wrinkled.
He opened his mouth in invitation.
Pupils flaring, there was only a slight hesitation and then she laid the last bit on his tongue. Swallowing, his mouth closed around her finger.
Her gaze widened and she trembled. Her breath rushed out in a shaky sigh, the carnal heat between them flaring bright once more.
He let her go with a pop. “You said I hadn’t given you a good enough reason to stick around and trust me. I’m trying now. Stuffs not always easy for me to talk about, but I’ll give it a try. For you.”
Her chest rose and fell as if she’d run the length of the planet. He suspected his lungs weren’t too far behind in pace. The crackle of the fire and the stillness of the night only heightened the tension arcing between them.
“Ask me, Nayla.”
“I don’t…” her voice trailed off. Now it was she who looked scared. He felt oddly calm.
“The scar on my chin is from a bottle. My father hit me with it the first time I caught him hurting my sister and tried to take her and run away. I came to with my chin split open and my sister weeping beside me. She was older than me by four planetary rotations, but neither of us were big enough to stop him. He raped her and beat me. For a long time.”
She sucked down a breath.
“I know you know exactly what that’s like, Nayla.” He kept his gaze locked with hers, refusing to let her retreat. “We’re not so different, after all.”
Her ears twitched.
He kept going. “The one on my throat is raised. That’s because it’s a rope burn. The lash was my dad’s favorite tool. It’s why I got so good with it. You’d be surprised all you can learn being on the end of such lessons.”
“Grif.” She shook her head. “I sorry.”
“I’m not telling you to get pity, Nayla. I’m telling you because I’m a ruthless son of a bitch, and I know you need to hear it before you’ll trust me at all.”
She scowled. “Th-that is sneaky.”
“Yes, but it’s also honest. I’ve never been anything but what I really am with you. You can offer up as many excuses as you want about what happened in that cave, but you and I both know it was real and raw. Don’t pretend there’s nothing between us or that it can be easily dismissed. You think I stole your secrets while giving you nothing in return. I’m evening it up.”
Her gaze shifted away.
“I don’t know if we can ever escape our monsters fully,” he told her, “but I do believe you can refuse to let them win.”
He waited. It was the hardest thing he’d ever done. He was used to conquering and mowing down whatever was in his path. But not this time. This time, all he could do was wait on a tiny pixie who had so much more power than she knew.