Hannah's Hero - Ruby Dixon Page 0,86

it out, all brutal season if we have to, but I don’t know if we have enough fruit for that. We need protein, not just empty carbs.” She gives me a rueful look. “Plus, I gorged on melon on the first day and I think I might barf if I have to eat another.”

“So what do we do?”

She shrugs. “I guess we wait and see what that bird does.”

I think of the rest of the tribe. We’re safe in here—for now—but they’re all on the exposed beach. I think of the hunters that go out on a regular basis, checking traps and looking for meat. It all suddenly seems so dangerous. “Do you think the tribe is safe?”

“Taushen thinks so as long as they avoid this area, but I don’t know. I can’t worry about them right now. All I can worry about is us. One thing at a time, you know?” She gives me a crooked smile. “My brain can’t hold more than one worry at a time or I’ll self-destruct.”

“Fair enough.” I know the rest of the world seems very far away right now, especially since we’re in a little slice of paradise.

“For now, let’s just relax, all right? I’ve been telling Taushen that for hours. We’re warm, we’ve got food, and we’ve got a pool to swim in. This is about as close to paradise as you can get on this planet.”

I smile at her words, but it just reminds me of how J’shel lived in paradise…and it blew up. It almost seems like the more miserable a place is, the safer it is, and isn’t that a real kicker? “I’m all for relaxing, but how do we convince those two?” I thumb a gesture over at the men, who are fingering the point of Taushen’s spear as if figuring out how to make it sharper, stronger, whatever.

Brooke’s expression gets downright mischievous again. “That? That part’s easy.” She puts a finger to her lips, then quietly swims closer. As I watch, treading water from the far side of the pool, she moves right up to the edge and the men don’t seem to notice her. A split-second later, she splashes her mate, soaking his chest.

Taushen looks up with a shocked expression, and then his eyes narrow on his female. He bares his teeth—fangs, I realize, that J’shel doesn’t have—and scrambles to the edge of the water, then flings himself in, tackling a squealing Brooke.

J’shel glances up at me, and his expression doesn’t look as amused. If anything, he looks irked that Brooke’s interrupting weapon talk. But as they resurface and I see Brooke’s arms around her mate as she laughs, I want J’shel to relax, too. So I wave him over and when he hesitates, I trace a wet finger between my breasts and give him a very obvious look.

That decides him. J’shel jumps into the water and swims over to my side. His wet hair spills back from his horns and into the water like the world’s most masculine mermaid, and he puts his hands on my body, holding me close. “Do you want to mate right here?” he murmurs, leaning in to give me a kiss. “Because I am not nearly as shy as you are, my mate—”

I put my fingers to his lips, silencing him. “Let’s just swim for now, all right?”

He grins. “For now.” And then he deliberately rubs me against his rock-hard erection.

Swimming is no longer quite so innocent…but a lot more fun.

19

HANNAH

We swim and hang out with Taushen and Brooke for hours. It’s a nice, relaxing way to pass the afternoon.

Well, mostly relaxing. Every time we touch each other, it’s instantly that much harder to fight attraction. J’shel is hard when I brush up against him, and because I’m a horny tease, I brush up against him a lot. Thank goodness the water hides a lot, and Brooke and Taushen are in their own little world, because a lot of our touches are not chaste. Every time I rub up against J’shel, it feels like foreplay. I can’t wait to get back up to “our” spot and have privacy again. At the same time, I like being here with the others. It’s nice to just swim and hang out. J’shel is a good swimmer, and while I’m not terrible, I end up holding onto him and floating a lot, just because it’s nice.

After a while, we all eventually emerge from the water and while J’shel puts on his loincloth, Brooke comes