Raven's Return - Ruby Dixon Page 0,29

to be about the stars." I lightly run a fingertip over his broad chest, wondering if he's going to realize that I'm flirting hardcore with him or if he's clueless. "We can just hang out together and talk. Shoot the shit. Get to know each other…better."

"Mmm."

What kind of answer is “mmm”? It tells me nothing. Here I am, showing all my cards, practically begging this guy to kiss the hell out of me, and he acts like he'd rather get back to star watching. Maybe I misinterpreted last night. I thought he liked the kiss…but then again, he also pushed my hand away. Talk about mixed signals.

I've never really been in this kind of situation before. It usually takes a lot for me to like a guy, because of all the creeps that watch me dance. I've seen the ugly side of humanity far more than the nice one, so when I catch feelings for someone, I let them know right away. I'm usually taken up on it, and while the relationships don't normally last very long, I've never been turned down from the get-go. I can usually read if a guy is into me.

U'dron's sending me all kinds of mixed signals, though. He acts like he cares, but he also makes no move to pick up what I'm laying down. Maybe he's just being tender because that's who he is as a person? And because of who I am as a person, I'm reading it all wrong?

I suddenly feel incredibly uncertain. Not just of whether or not he likes me, but my own desirability. Maybe I am too pale and skinny for someone like him. Maybe he's more into someone like Steph, who's solid and full of curves, and who was working on her degree in psychology. She's smart and cute and has enormous boobs. And she's nice.

And she probably doesn't have a criminal record.

Deflated, I sit up and turn away from him. "Goodnight."

"R'ven?" U'dron's voice is low enough that only I can hear it. "Is something wrong?"

I have the urge to pull the age-old “it's fine” comment out so he can stew on it, but I'm just tired and my pride is a little wounded. He doesn't realize he's done anything wrong, and it doesn't seem fair to lash out at him for that just because it makes me unhappy. "It's all right. I just…read the situation wrong."

His big hand touches my shoulder, ever so lightly. "What do you mean?"

Obviously, I'm going to have to spell it out. Face burning with humiliation, I take a deep breath before speaking, staring at his pack. "I thought you were into me. That you liked me in the way that guys like girls. You know, wanting to share furs. Pleasure mating."

U'dron is utterly silent, and I wince, imagining just how badly that went over.

"Like I said," I begin again. "It was a misunderstanding, and I'm sorry—"

"R'ven." He strokes my shoulder—bared from the wide neckline of his tunic—with his thumb. "I…you are not wrong. I am attracted to you." He huffs a small laugh. "Very much so. Too much so."

I turn, looking over at him with a skeptical glance. "Not sure if there's such a thing as 'attracted to someone too much.'"

U'dron makes an awkward sound in his throat. "It is…difficult."

I sit up, letting the tunic fall down my front and reveal cleavage and just a hint of nipple. I don't fix it. A flare of heat prickles through me when his gaze goes to my breasts. My nipples stiffen, and I reach up to casually thumb one through the tunic. "What's so difficult about it?" I whisper. "Did you like it when I touched you?" I slide my other hand onto his bare chest again, trailing my fingertips over his gloriously soft skin. "Because I really liked touching you."

His gaze flicks over to the pack, where on the other side, Juth and his son are sleeping. "You know I did," he murmurs.

"Then you're not attracted to me too much," I tease, leaning forward. The tunic gapes as I move, revealing all the way down my front, and his gaze goes there, his eyes flaring with heat. "You're attracted just the right amount." I slide my hand down under the blankets, and sure enough, he's hard as a rock, and quite the big boy. Now that's exciting. I've never been with a guy that was super well equipped, and I have to admit, I am more than ready to give him a