Page 15 of Savage Giant

GORRAN

As I remainedhunched over so my head wouldn’t strike the ceiling, my neck began to ache. I glanced at a nearby rug and gestured at the floor. “May I please sit?” I asked, wanting to obtain her permission first. To sit in a female’s domicile without permission or a direct invitation was the height of rudeness, and I had no wish to cause offense.

“Yes,” she said, taking a step back as she removed her hat and gloves, also taking her pack off and setting it aside. “Of course. Sorry the ceiling isn’t a few inches higher. I don’t think my grandfather had Sasquatch visitors in mind when he built this place sixty-some years ago.” She shrugged off her jacket and removed her boots as well.

“Thank you, pretty human, but you don’t need to apologize. I will make do.” I lowered myself to the floor and leaned against one of the couches.

I watched the human female carefully, lest she make a move for the door. But to my relief, she sank into a chair across from me with a contented sigh.

She eyed me with so much interest, a bright intensity in her blue eyes, I didn’t need my emotion-sensing abilities to know she was deeply curious about me. Just as I was curious about her.

“Speaking of my grandfather—he told me about your people,” she said, surprising me. “When I was a child. He used to tell me stories about a tribe of Sasquatches who lived in the forest nearby. He said your tribe was known as the Starblessed, told me an ancestor of his friend taught your tribe English, and that instead of Sasquatches or Bigfoot or Yeti, your people are called…”

“Montikaan,” I supplied when she struggled to recall the word. I scooted forward, wanting to be closer to her. I wished she were seated in my lap. If I pulled her off the chair and cuddled her against me, would she protest?

“Ah, yes. Montikaan. Now I remember.” She smiled. “I’d thought they were just stories. Fiction. That none of it was true. I bet he’s up in heaven having a good laugh right about now. My father, too.”

Heaven. The human equivalent of the Montikaan Afterland. I was suddenly grateful for my cousin Axxon’s expertise in human culture, the knowledge of which he shared readily with our entire tribe, for we believed it was wise to know as much as possible about our human neighbors. Particularly since they kept encroaching upon our lands.

“I am sorry your grandfather and father no longer walk in the land of the living,” I said. “Is your mother still alive? Do you have any siblings?”

Her grief and loneliness hit me like a wave, and I already knew the answer before she opened her mouth to reply. Thoughstrangely, the wave of emotions didn’t cause me physical pain as most negative emotions usually did.

“I don’t have any siblings, and my mother died eight years ago. She was trampled during a riot that broke out in our city.” She swallowed hard. “What-what about you? I know you have two brothers, but do you have any other siblings? What about your parents?”

“Just two brothers. Their names are Brutus and Mastorr. Brutus is the eldest and he’s the chief of our tribe, and Mastorr is just a year older than me.” I paused, considering what to tell her about my late parents. Should I admit what had happened to them? I didn’t want her to think our territory was fraught with danger. I gazed at the floor as sorrowful memories washed over me, and my hands curled into fists.

“I’m sorry about your parents,” she said, as if reading my mind. “What, um, happened to them, if you don’t mind me asking?” Her soft, compassionate voice soothed the edges of my grief and anger, and I exhaled a long breath as I peered into her eyes.

“They were shot by a hunter. Ten years ago.”

“How awful.” She slipped out of her chair and sat on the floor. Directly in front of me. So close our legs were almost touching.

A gust of wind hit the house, causing the walls to creak. We both glanced outside to find it had started snowing—and much earlier than Vasoon had predicted. The flakes were large and fluffy, the sort of snow that would stick on the ground for days to come.

“Wow. It’s coming down hard.” She paled a bit and looked at the boots, jacket, and pack she’d removed not long ago. “Looks like you saved me from a snowstorm.”

“We will remain in the cabin and wait out the storm,” I announced. “Once the temperature rises and the snow meltsenough to make the trek over the mountain safe, we will journey to my people’s settlement.” Affection and longing for the petite female filled me, as well as a deep sense of possessiveness. “I cannot wait to bring you home with me, pretty human, and I promise I will make the alcove in the cavern that serves as my room more habitable for a human. Whatever you need to be comfortable, I will fetch it for you, or I will build it.” I recalled how Brutus had taken items from various abandoned cabins to furnish his rooms for Hailey, his lifemate. I would do the same. I wanted Cari to feel at home in my personal alcove, just as I wanted her to feel as though she belonged among my people.

“Gorran, you can’t force me to go live with you and become your lifemate.”

“I have no plans to force you,” I said. “I intend to keep courting you, and once you are more comfortable with me, I am confident you will offer yourself to me.”

“Offer myself?” Her face turned pink. “Care to explain that in more detail? I know a bit about your people, but I don’t know a thing about your mating customs.”

My gaze roamed over her lovely form as I imagined the moment we would finally join our bodies as one, sealing the bond between us. I prayed the day would come soon.

I reached for her hand and tried to guide her closer. “Come sit on my lap, pretty human, and I will tell you all about Montikaan mating customs.”

“Oh no. I’m not falling for that trick.” She yanked her hand from mine and scooted against the chair she’d previously vacated, drawing her knees upward and wrapping her arms around her legs.

Her rejection stung, but I hoped she would agree to sit on my lap soon. “I wasn’t trying to trick you, Cari. As I’ve already said, I will not force you to mate with me. I simply wish to hold you. I enjoyed our closeness as I carried you through the forest earlier.You are a soft creature, and I like the way you smell. I also like when your breaths tickle my chest. Holding you tight in my arms was a most gratifying experience.”

She stared at me blankly for a long time, though I could easily sense her emotions. Surprise, reluctance, pleasure, and… more longing.

But above all else—temptation.

Chapter 9

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