Page 20 of The Manticore's Fire

“Collect it,” she echoed in a slow drawl. “Collect it from where?”

Securing the last of the jugs into place, he turned toward her with a smile. “To the oasis of course. We will travel there, and you can fill the jugs while I hunt for our meal. Perhaps an extra beast or two that we can smoke before returning to the cavern. It will make for a long night, but I believe it will pass pleasantly enough.”

Her brows rose with unmistakable interest. “I don’t recall seeing an oasis around here.”

Samir shrugged again. “If you came by way of the human city, Veldala, you would not have seen it as it lies further across the Sanna to the south. It would be a long distance for a human to traverse on foot, but with my speed we would arrive at the edge of the oasis within a couple of hours if you are on my back.”

“So said the fox to the gingerbread man,” Abby replied lightly.

He gave her a puzzled look, but she shook her head with a wry smile that made him suspect it was another one of those human things. A suspicion that was quickly confirmed by her giggle.

“It’s just something from within a children’s book I grew up reading. The fox lures the little man made of sweet dough onto his back with a promise of safety, and then higher onto his snout until he snaps his teeth and eats him right up. Who knows what you intend dragging me out in the middle of the desert at night.”

A shiver of arousal raced beneath his pelt, making his fur rise but he ignored it to smile patiently at her. “My dear, if I wished to eat you up—which I admit is wholly tempting—I could have done so at leisure why you were reclining in my bed. And I daresay that you would enjoy it far more than that hapless littleman of your fable,” he added with a wicked chuckle that brought a noticeable hint of pink to her cheeks.

“And what if I refuse to go?” she challenged, her lips smugly with a hint of challenge. “Frankly, I would rather just stay right where I am and go back to sleep. I swear we only went to bed a couple hours ago.”

His brows rose and his smile widened to mask the small measure of concern that resisting the urge to mount her was going to take every ounce of his will. He felt that certainty rising from his gut. As well as the certainty that this conversation could prove to be a battle of will if she was determined to stay within the cavern. With that, however, there was the sense of a looming victory even if it gave him little true satisfaction. “As you like but you will be the one to suffer far sooner than I.”

Abby’s smile slipped and her brows beetled with uncertainty. “Just how long can you go without water?”

Samir made a show of gravely considering her question but answered her truthfully. “I do not know. I honestly have never tested my limits. Without a human to care for I have often forgotten to drink until after many days have passed, but I cannot say that I was suffering even then. Most of my regular consumption is less from need and more because I enjoy my regular cup of tea or coffee.”

He wondered if his meaning was clear enough that she would be able to deduce exactly how her situation lay. He did not have to wonder long, however, because she groaned and flopped on the bed.

“Well, fuck.”

It seemed that his lovely little human came to the correct conclusion.

A purr rumbled through him, and he smiled at her as she reluctantly swung her legs over the side of the bed. “Do take care as you climb up.”

Chapter

Fifteen

The way Samir’s eyes glittered at her sent a quiver through Abby as she approached his side. His threat of eating her had toppled over the line of suggestiveness straight into lurid and it should have worried her. If she was the huntress that she’d been upon entering the cave, she would have found a way to put some distance between them while he was looking at her like that. Instead, it sent a tingle of warmth through her, betraying her interest, and her lips tipped in amusement at how much the dynamic between them had changed. She wanted to challenge and push him until he did what he threatened. Hadn’t she just been dreaming about the warmth of his body curled over her as he mounted her, his cock plunging into her with all the fire of his passion.

It was so tempting, and she shivered a little from her barely suppressed longing. She needed to get herself under control. Trying to push him into a frenzied mating hadn’t worked so well last time. Thank the gods he had believed her sincerity and came back for her. In any case, despite the lurid nature of his words, he obviously intended that they leave immediately and so waited patiently with the jugs harnessed to him. Abby groaned inwardly. This was liable to be torture. As it was, she bitthe inside of her cheek to distract her as she climbed carefully over the jugs and seated herself awkwardly on his back. Her awareness of him was disconcerting.

Thankfully she had another distraction readily available as it seemed that there was nothing arousing or even moderately comfortable being seated on him and she grimaced at her unusual perch. Her legs dangled over his shoulders due to the way that she was forced to sit, which she couldn’t imagine was terribly comfortable for him. Not only was it not the image of high eroticism but it didn’t escape her notice that seated that way put her calves and feet in convenient biting reach. She might have been worried about having them in such a vulnerable position if she wasn’t confident that Samir wasn’t going to harm her. On the other hand, it also put her feet in a convenient striking place, which he had to be aware of as her feet slid into position. A sharp blow to the back of his jaw, if delivered with enough force, could potentially do enough damage to give her the upper hand if she was of mind to. Sitting that way demanded a lot of trust from both of them.

Gods, it was a good thing they hadn’t run out of water earlier.

Still, she couldn’t help but be a little annoyed that he didn’t give her legs more than the briefest of passing glances when they were right there in optimal viewing level. She had great legs, too, so it stung that he barely seemed to notice them. The way he looked at them didn’t hold even a hint of desire. They might as well have been two sticks attached to her with how little interest he gave them. There was nothing in his expression except mild curiosity and assurance that she was properly seated on his back as he requested before he started off at a startlingly brisk pace that had her tightly gripping his mane to maintain her balance.

Samir had an easy, springy lope as he left his den and wound his way quickly through the cavernous chambers of the cave system. Very quickly. Her lips twisted in a faint grimace,recollecting how quickly she’d been caught when she had tried to escape, but she bit back a small giggle of amusement in spite of herself. She didn’t know what the king was thinking by sending hunters after him. Anyone who had truly seen him in motion had to have reported back the superior speed of the manticore. Decort was just throwing hunters after him, wasting lives needlessly. Abby certainly couldn’t blame Samir for lethally defending himself. There was rarely any other recourse to stop a hunter, as much as it pained her to admit it. What would she do if her own family was sent after him? Could she watch them be slaughtered? And if by some miracle they got the upper hand, could she sit by while they killed him? She knew that they wouldn’t stop, not even for her. Duty came before blood, and even before love. That was what she was bred and raised to believe, too, but it was impossible to go back to that now. If she’d ever truly believed that in the first place.

Looking back, it was hard to make a judgement on it, except she recalled all too vividly the look of worry on her mother’s face and the insistence of finding her a partner to anchor her. Perhaps her mother had seen it and had known the truth even back then regarding Abby’s heart.

She wanted to vent her frustration and pour out her words, but Samir wouldn’t understand. Even if he could comprehend the strange position she was in having been raised as a huntress, he had already ascended from the cave and struck out across the desert at a speed that had the air whipping into her face and past her ears. It was impossible to speak much less hear, so Abby leaned forward, despite the uncomfortable angle, and buried her face in Samir’s mane. His scent filled her nose, and she breathed in the spicy warmth, allowing it to settle deep within her, warming from the inside out as the desert air began to rapidly cool.

With her face concealed, she didn’t know how much distance he covered, or really for how long he had run. She felt the slowing of his gate as his shoulders began to roll more pronouncedly, losing their fluid stretch as his pace slowed. Abby lifted her head from his mane and blinked the sand from her eyes as a green frond tickled her nose the moment the sand yielded to the green growth of the oasis. And it was… glorious.

The heat of the sun was cut by the palm trees stretching out their massive fronds overhead and everywhere she looked. Among the trees she saw those heavily laden with dates and fig bushes were visible within the near distance, their branches nearly bowing the weight of the fruit. There was so much potential there alone that she licked her dry lips and glanced down at the top of Samir’s head.

“If we stay for a few days, we can dry those dates and figs to bring back with us,” she suggested.

Samir’s mane swayed as he shook his head. “We did not bring any sacks to transport them back and they will mold if we try to fill one of the water jugs with them. Eat your fill while we are here, kitten. We can return another time, properly equipped, to do as you suggest.”

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