“We like to hunt too.”
“You seemed more intent on running when I left.” She purred and her tail flicked.
Just from that movement, he knew she still wasn’t happy. Linc moved forward and greeted her, rubbing his cheek along hers. “Because we thought that’s what you wanted to do. We thought you wanted to run and let your tiron play for a bit. All you had to do was say that you needed more than that.”
“I like to run, but running along a trail gets boring. I wanted to hunt and chase.” She sat down on her haunches and tilted her head at him. “I don’t mind playing, but we weren’t playing.”
“You’ve done both. It’s time to go back. Next time, tell us and we’ll all enjoy it. We might not be expecting danger right now, but you need to take precautions and that means at least one male needs to be with you when you’re outside of the walls.” Colm stared at her and then headed in the direction that would get them to a trail leading back to the fortress.
She rose to her feet and followed Colm, but her tail flicked back and forth in short, agitated strokes.
Chapter Twelve
Cami walked beside Colm as he led her back inside the walls of the fortress. A scowl curved his lips. The expression seemed etched on his face. It was the first thing she’d seen when she’d opened her door this morning and it hadn’t changed the entire time she’d been with him. She didn’t know why he was here if he didn’t want to be near her. Supposedly, he’d wanted to introduce her to a woman named Tori, but Tori hadn’t been home. Colm hadn’t been prepared to look or wait for the woman.
He hadn’t said more than a few words to her the entire morning. It was getting on her nerves. If he really wanted to be doing something else or be with someone else, she wasn’t holding him back. She glared at him as his hand settled on the small of her back and guided her up the stairs to the main doors.
He slanted a look at her, but it was the only sign that he realized she wasn’t happy. His hand firmed and he guided her down the entry hallway and to a part of the Thent that she hadn’t explored yet. He pushed open a door. Ushering her into the room, he followed and shut the door. She continued to walk forward, but he stayed where he was and leaned his shoulder against the frame.
“What’s this place?” She looked around the room.
There was an ornately carved table and behind that two large chairs. A couple of lantern stands had been placed to the side of the table, but this didn’t seem to be the kind of room where someone would stay for a long time, even though it was rather large. An ornate rug ran up the floor straight to the table.
“A private audience chamber. Sometimes we use it if we want to look at documents or maps or talk to someone privately.” Colm’s shoulders lifted in a negligent shrug.
“What are we doing in here?” She looked around as she waited for him to reply. There weren’t any shelves or extra chairs.
“We’re going to talk.” His voice was calm, but the way his feet braced apart said that he wasn’t moving until they had fully discussed whatever was on his mind.
“What do you want to talk about?” She walked over to the edge of the table and leaned a hip against it.
“Why are you so angry?” he asked.
“Why do you think I’m angry?” She tilted her head and simply watched him. It wasn’t precisely true. She’d been a little frustrated and definitely confused, but she wasn’t furious.
“It could be the glares and the simmering looks, but I think it’s the attitude you’re projecting with your body language.” He shook his head. “Remember that I’m not stupid.”
She wasn’t sure exactly what he meant by the attitude she was projecting, since she couldn’t see what he saw. Maybe she had been a little stiff, but he hadn’t been talkative or nice.
“And your distant attitude was so encouraging.” She crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes.
“Distant?” His eyes narrowed.
“Yes, it’s obvious that you’d rather be anywhere but taking me to see Tori. If you didn’t want to do it, you didn’t have to. You could have told me where she lived and I could have asked one