Hannah's Hero - Ruby Dixon Page 0,48
tell her. “Do you know what they are?”
“Well, seeing as the light up there isn’t natural,” H’nah says, gesturing above us. “I’m going to guess that it’s more gear designed to help this stuff grow.” The light above flickers again and she sighs. “That’s going to get annoying fast.”
“Mmm.” I glance up, but I am less interested in the flickering light than in H’nah. I steal another look over at her, and she has her eyes closed, her head tilted as she lifts her mane from her neck and holds it up, cooling her skin. I watch as a bead of sweat traces down the side of her throat and there is nothing more I want than to lick that from her skin.
“You think we’re safe here?”
Such a quick change in conversation. She looks over at me, and I can see the worry on her face. I know she is thinking of the dead sa-kohtsk not far from here. I do not like that she is afraid. It makes me feel as if I am failing her as her mate…not that she will let me be her mate, either.
“The entrance is narrow,” I say to reassure her. “And hidden. There is no way to get in but there, so yes, I think we are safe unless something decides to follow us up. Even then, this place will be easy to defend.”
She studies me. “You’re sure?”
“I would not risk your life here for a few pieces of fruit.” I gesture at the walls. “A taste of home is nice, but if I wanted danger I would have stayed on the island and made friends with the Great Smoking Mountain.”
“Good point,” she says cheerily. She moves toward me, her hips swaying in a fascinating motion. I hold my breath, hoping she will reach out and touch me, but she only moves to my side and pretends to have great interest in the vines, touching them. “So…which of these fruits travel best, do you think?”
I chuckle.
“What’s so funny?”
“You,” I admit. “I know what you are thinking.”
H’nah straightens her shoulders and lifts her chin, defiant. “I bet you don’t.”
I stand up, amused. “You are thinking that you will bring back fruit to the beach. That you will fill baskets to bring back to the others, but you will know how many there are of each one, and you will keep in control of them. You will hand them out, but sparingly. Because you want the others to enjoy such things…but you also want to keep control of how many are eaten and how quickly, so you can make them last.”
She scowls at me.
“Am I wrong?” I taunt, grinning. “You do not say I am wrong.”
“It sounds kind of assholish when you put it that way.” She toys with one of the leaves. “But you’re not entirely wrong, no.”
“If you want to bring back fruit, do so. We will bring back as much as we can carry. But if you hold them away from others, they will not appreciate it. They will resent you. Better to bring back a bounty and let them eat their fill.”
“And if they eat all of it in one day?”
“Then they will have aching stomachs and regrets the next day, but that is on them.” I reach out and touch her arm, and immediately I know it is a mistake. I want to touch her everywhere, and my khui begins to sing loudly. My cock hardens once more, and it takes all of my control not to fling her against the leafy wall and push her thighs apart. I force myself to concentrate, to pay attention to her. “Do you want control over the food because you want to have power over the others, or because you worry you will run out of food for yourself?”
H’nah swallows hard. “I guess it seems like I want to push everyone around, but really, I’m just scared. I’ve never lived anywhere where there wasn’t a grocery store to just go and grab some more food. What if we run out?”
“I will hunt for you. I will not let you starve.” I rub my thumb on her soft, soft arm. “And if you want, I will teach you everything I can so you can hunt your own food.”
She bites her lip. “J’shel…”
Oh, she says my name. I bite back a groan of pleasure.
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” she continues. “But I’m not exactly in the best of shape.”
I study her, taking a half