Page 278 of Hunters and Prey

I could take one of the isthelay down to the beach, maybe Blue, the one Lily usually rode, with the big circle patterns on its belly and sides, like a bullseye tabby cat back home.

Then I saw him.

He stood on the top of the hill, his arms wrapped around his chest, gazing down the grassy hill to where I walked.

He didn’t move as I approached, but I saw his eyes on my face, flicking down the robe I wore, pausing on the socks and sandals before returning to my face, studying my expression.

Seeing the worried look there, the near-caution, I burst out in a grin.

Without thinking, I ran for him.

I saw his expression change, even as he opened his arms, stepping towards me in time to grab me when I threw myself into his arms.

He squeezed me against him, flooding me with his light.

“Gaos,Miri.”

When I started to pull away from him, really just to look at him, he gripped me tighter, wrapping his arms around my waist and back, gripping my shoulder as he hugged me against him. He held me tighter for a few seconds, then finally drew back slightly himself, looking down at my face.

I felt that caution on him still, mixed with a relief that was borderline physical.

Seeing the look on his face, and the worry I felt on his light, I couldn’t help but smile.

“How was it––” he began, but I shook my head, gripping his arms.

“No,” I said. “Nope. We’re not going to talk about that. Tomorrow maybe. I’ll tell all of you over breakfast.”

Black frowned.

There was a brief silence, then he started to let go of me, but I gripped him tighter, wrapping myself around him, gripping his waist and his arm in my fingers, wrapping my leg around his.

“Let’s go riding,” I said. “To the beach. We’ll go swimming. Naked.”

He blinked, staring at me.

Then I felt his light open more.

“That bastard’ll think we stole his weird cat-things,” Black said.

His voice was deeper already though, a dense rumble in his chest.

“I’ll tell Allie when she wakes up,” I said. “They won’t care.”

“That’s because they actually like you,” Black said, even as he started dragging me with him back towards the house, his light coiling into mine as he half-carried, half led me up the hill. “They aren’t threatening your life on a semi-regular basis––”

I burst out in a laugh, and he gripped me tighter, squeezing me against him.

“Shhh,” he scolded. “You’ll wake them up. Then that fucker really will try to kill me.”

I only laughed again, though, louder.

I felt that flush of relief in his light turn into something warmer, denser, more liquid, tipping into desire and a harder want, even as that tense thing I’d felt in him––on both of us, really, ever since Nick went missing from Koh Mangaan––slowly began to relax.

He kissed my neck, then my face.

Then he was kissing my mouth, coaxing it open with his lips and tongue, and I fell into it in a way I don’t think I had since our bonding.

Maybe not even then.

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