Hanna and the Hitman - Honey Phillips Page 0,74
silently. She remained alert to her surroundings, but she was familiar now with the quiet rustle of a muri making its way through the undergrowth and the harsh cry of a cravan far overhead, and the night no longer terrified her.
At first she thought he was leading her to the place where Chotgor had been defeated, but he led her past it. Further down the riverbank, a giant twisted tree crouched next to the water, moonlight gilding its branches.
He paused and let her look.
“What do you see?” he asked, and she gave him a puzzled look.
He had taught her this—how to study the subtle clues of the jungle, the change in scent or color or sound that indicated something different. It took a moment, but she finally spotted the curving line of the railing and the platform beneath.
She gasped. “You built me a treehouse?”
She had been telling him some of the stories she remembered from Earth, including The Swiss Family Robinson, and he had been as fascinated with the idea as she had been.
“Do you like it?”
“I love it!”
She threw her arms around him and kissed him. When their lips parted, his eyes burned black and intense. He traced a finger along the upper edge of her sarong, ripples of sensation spreading from that simple touch.
“I thought we could…test it out.”
She smiled up at him, then skipped back out of reach. “First you have to find me.”
“Three seconds,” he growled, and she squeaked and fled into the jungle.
Even after a year, her ability to transform was very limited. She could change the color of her hair—although Aidon always protested and wanted her to change it back—and she could make slight modifications to her skin tone, just enough to help her blend more easily into the jungle. She didn’t think her skills would improve much more, but she didn’t mind.
Aidon liked to challenge her to test those skills in games of hide and seek, but she suspected he had little patience for it tonight. After checking for any signs of danger, she hid between the roots of another tree and used her minimal abilities to camouflage herself. Her heart pounded as she waited, the sensation of being hunted no less thrilling because she wanted to be caught.
A stick snapped to her right, and she pressed closer to the trunk just as a big arm snaked around her waist from the left, lifted her off her feet, and slung her over a broad shoulder. She squealed, then laughed as he carried her back to the treehouse.
“That wasn’t fair.”
“Saachi, would I ever be careless enough to make that much noise?”
“Well, no,” she admitted.
“Exactly. A predator never acts like prey unless it’s a trap.”
“You can put me down now.”
His hand slipped up to caress her bottom. “I think I like you in this position.”
Her breath caught as he kneaded the soft flesh, and she stopped protesting. He carried her up into the treehouse with effortless ease before finally placing her on her feet.
“This is wonderful,” she exclaimed, looking around. A curved vine railing enclosed a big platform resting on one of the giant branches. The front half of the platform extended out over the river, while the rear half was shaded by the rest of the tree. Moonlight filtered through the leaves, creating dappled shadows that flickered across the floor, and the scent of taranna flowers hung heavy in the air.
As she leaned over the front railing to admire the moonlight sparkling on the water, Aidon stepped up behind her, caging her in the warmth of his body.
“You’re mine now, saachi.”
Anticipation skittered up her spine as she turned and gave him a sultry smile. “I have a surprise of my own.”
“What is it?”
She slipped the sarong off her body. Beneath it she wore nothing but a few scraps of blue silk and some delicate gold chains, an outfit she had carefully constructed from the remnants of her slave costume.
His eyes heated, and he stroked a thumb across the thin silk barely covering a nipple. “Why are you wearing this, my mate?”
“I have very few positive memories of Hothrest, but playing your slave is one of them. Even then, I knew you’d never hurt me.” She bowed her head. “Is there something I can do for you, Master?”
“You are sure?”
“Yes, Master.”
She saw his face change, saw the dominance he usually tried to temper around her come to the front.
“Bend over the railing,” he ordered.
Little tremors of excitement skated across her skin as she obeyed. The