Raven's Return - Ruby Dixon Page 0,86

her body in a way that makes me wonder if she's ever relaxed enough to have decent sex. If she confessed to me that she'd grown up with puritanical parents and hadn't touched her own pussy until the age of twenty, I wouldn't bat an eye. "Come on. It's just getting used to moving and feeling yourself. You find one dance move you're really good at and focus on that. You're getting better with the floor work every day, so let's practice some of that."

"Because it doesn't require balance," she grumbles, but she rolls onto her belly obediently and tries a sinuous move, arching her feet into the air.

It's almost good. Almost. "Keep working it," I tell her encouragingly. "Tighten your legs when you roll your hips, and—"

Someone scratches at the hut's entrance flap.

Bridget lets out a horrified yelp and scrambles to her feet. "Who is that?"

"I don't know," I hiss, putting a finger to my lips. Bridget absolutely wants our lessons to be private and secret, and…I don't blame her after seeing her moves. But she's getting better, and once she builds some confidence, she's going to kill it. I get up and hurry over to the doorway, peeking out.

It's O'jek. Ever silent, ever solemn. He gives me a nod.

My heart catches in my throat. I don't need for him to say more than that. I know exactly what that means.

U'dron's home.

I turn to Bridget, wild eyed. "I've got to go."

"Is something wrong?" She grabs one of her boots and puts it on, hopping. "Do you need help with something?"

"No! I'm just…I've got to go." I repeat, throwing on my boots and not bothering to lace them. I fling a fur cloak around my shoulders and dart back out of the hut, looking for O'jek. He didn't wait around to see if I'd follow him. Instead, I see him standing with A'tam and I'rec a short distance away, their gazes locked on something in the distance.

I know who that is.

Excitement bubbling in my chest, I race through the camp, toward the distant hills, where O'jek and the others seem to be focused. Sure enough, there's a figure staggering out of the snow, his footsteps slow but determined. He's covered in shaggy white fur, and for a moment, I think it's one of those awful metlak things that the others have mentioned, the creatures that live in the mountains.

But then he straightens, pausing, and it's my U'dron. I recognize his frame anywhere.

With a squeal, I run toward him, my footsteps spraying sand and pebbles on the beach. He's still a fair distance away, the cliffs that lead to the steep mountains more distant than I thought. I don't care. I keep running, determined to be the first to his side, and when he sees me, his pace picks up a little. He jogs, turning toward me, and it's obvious that every step he takes is utterly weary. "U'dron!" I call out. "U'dron!"

When I get to him, he looks…awful. He's covered head to toe in badly made furs, his skin smothered in mud and grime and god knows what else. His face is a little more hollow and pronounced than I'd like, but he smiles at me and I know it's my guy. He drops the thing he's dragging behind him and puts his hands out for me.

I fling myself into his arms, squealing again, and knock us both to the ground.

U'dron grunts as we land on the sand, and I pepper his mouth with kiss after kiss. His hands roam all over my body, frantic in their need, just as much as I am. "R'ven. My R'ven."

"You…smell…so…bad…"I tell him with delight between each kiss. "God, I'm so glad you're home. You—" When he winces, I sit up, worried. "Are you hurt?"

He grunts again. "Just sore."

I pull at the furs stuck to his body. They're sticky on the underside, and I realize he didn't scrape them to prepare them. I picture him cutting a skin off a creature, shivering, and then just dropping it onto himself for warmth. It's disgusting…but he did what he had to do to survive. My hands skim over his chest, equally sticky. "Please tell me all this blood isn't yours."

"Most is not."

"Most?!" I study him with increasing worry. "I'm taking you to the healer, right now!"

U'dron shakes his head, rubbing my arm. "I am fine. Just tired. I wish to see I'rec and the others first."

He's come this far, and I can tell from the look