Hannah's Hero - Ruby Dixon Page 0,49

step back. “What is wrong with your shape?” She has gloriously large teats that push against the leather band, ample hips, and soft, soft curves all over.

“I’m fat,” she says bluntly. “I don’t go hunting because people will laugh at me for trying to hunt when I’m obviously out of shape. I can’t keep up. You saw how hard it was for me to stay up with Brooke and Taushen, and I know they were walking slow. Heck, you had to practically crawl to stay in place at my side.” She shakes her head. “I feel uncomfortable enough around the tribe that I don’t want to give them more fodder to hate me, so I don’t try things where I will fail. I know I’ll fail at hunting.”

“Everyone fails at hunting when they first begin,” I tell her. “My aim with a spear was terrible for a long, long time because I was easily distracted and grew too excited when I saw the creature I was hunting. I had no patience and so I threw the moment I saw. It took a long time for me to learn to wait and only throw when I knew the time was right. Everyone learns. There is no shame in that.” When she shakes her head again, I tap her arm with my finger. “There are ways to get food without hunting, too. There are plants to eat and things that wash up on shore.”

“I’m not sure I want to eat anything on the shore after being around Devi,” she mutters.

“What?”

“Nothing.” She sighs heavily and turns to look at me. “I appreciate you trying, okay? It’s hard being a fat girl on this planet. I keep thinking everyone’s judging me by how capable I am and since I’m not capable at all…” She shrugs.

“You keep saying you are ‘fat.’” I shake my head. “I see nothing wrong with your body.”

“I’m twice the size of Brooke—”

“Then it is good I have twice the hands T’shen does.”

Her face turns bright red. “Um.”

I spread my hands in front of her face, all four of them, so she will see exactly what I mean. “I have big hands, H’nah. Do you think they want to clutch at something small and bony, or do you think they want something juicy to hold onto? I like your ample hips. It gives me more to grip.”

“You sure did get bold with your words,” she mutters under her breath again, toying with her mane.

“Because you do not believe me unless I am bold.” I reach out and take one of the tails of her mane, tugging it slightly to get her attention. “I am tired of waiting for you to notice me, so I will make you notice me. I like your big hips, H’nah. I like your big teats. I want to lick the sweat off of all of them. I want to bury my mouth against your pink skin and taste all of you. And I want you to realize that.”

Her breathing quickens, and she looks up at me, her lips parted. There’s a soft look in her eyes. “Well…that is definitely hard to ignore.”

Good. “I would like to taste you now,” I tell her, pressing ahead boldly. “Like I did on the beach that night.”

Her breath catches, and she leans in closer to me, and I think she will let me. I reach out to brush her mane back from her face, but she pulls away. “I…I don’t know if I’m ready yet, J’shel. I’m sorry.”

“It is all right. But I want you to know how I feel.”

She nods, cheeks pink. “You have made that abundantly clear.”

I like that she sounds amused. She is not running away from me, either. That is good. I ignore the throbbing need of my khui and watch my H’nah as she carefully steps away, studying the plants on the ledge. She glances over the side, down below, and then backs up. “Brooke and Taushen are having some private time.”

“They are mating?” I guess.

H’nah moves back toward where I stand, as if that will give the others privacy. “She did warn me that this would be a honeymoon for them.”

“Honeymoon?”

“Humans celebrate a marriage—or a mating—with a getaway trip for just the two of you.”

I grin at her. “So it is like we are on a honeymoon, too.”

Her eyes widen. “What? No!”

“Is it not?”

“I liked you better when you were silent.”

I laugh, delighted. “I have never been silent, my H’nah. You have just ignored