Page 86 of Carnal: The Beast Who Loved Me

She thought about it. “No. I think I like being closer to the ground.”

“Okay,” he said. “Get two firm handfuls of wool like this.” He grabbed onto the wool just above the animal’s shoulders. “The first one to get to that tree,” he pointed to a large oak about fifty yards up a small rise, “wins.”

“How do I make this thing move?” she asked.

“Oh, now that’s the tricky part. Just experiment until you find something that works.”

“What!?!”

While Rosie was questioning whether or not the entire thing was a prank, she saw that he was coaxing his sheep verbally while also kicking it gently in the sides. So she did the same. After getting no response, she finally decided to send a thought directly into the sheep’s brain.

Though it might have been cheating, it worked. Her sheep took off toward the tree at a fast trot that almost unseated her and then almost jarred her teeth out of her skull. She looked over her shoulder, thinking she would tell Carnal a thing or two about persuasion, but the sight of his sheep following her sheep at a fast clip clop, him bouncing like a ragdoll, was so funny she started laughing. Plus there was also the thrill of possible bragging rights.

She was already anticipating the pleasure of gloating when Carnal’s sheep drew up alongside her. Rosie nudged ‘Sheep’ to go faster, but they were falling behind, which meant ‘Sheep’ had reached maximum performance. She did the only thing she could do under the circumstances. She reached over and shoved Carnal off his sheep, then enjoyed her victory lap around the tree while he turned the air blue with the colorful language he’d learned in the Farsuitwailian marketplace.

Rosie slid down off her sheep and walked away, effectively turning it loose to return to pasturing with its buddies. “Oh, don’t be a bad sport. You lost fair and square.”

Carnal gaped. “I didnotlose fair and square. You’re a cheater!”

“Sore loser.”

“Admit it. You cheated.” When he started toward her, she laughed and backed away.

“Don’t run from me, Rosie. I’m warning you.”

“Oh.” She laughed. “You’re warning me?”

“I mean it. Don’t run.” As she continued backing away, his expression changed. He lowered his chin and was doing a good job of looking mock serious, even intense.

“Why not?” she taunted, feinting right like she was going to run.

“There’s something inside me that will want to chase you down. It’s a powerful instinct that’s hard to control. Don’t tempt me unless you want the consequence.”

“Ooh,” she teased. “Theconsequence.” She took off running downhill back to their starting point, where the sheep were grazing.

She heard Carnal say, “Fuck!”, and growl behind her, which made her laugh. When she turned around he was unbelievably close. His speed was jaw-dropping, and she didn’t miss the look of focus on his face.

Of course she could have vanished into the fog of the passes, but then what he’d said about cheating would be true. So she settled for giving herself a leap ten yards ahead. Unbelievably, Carnal matched that leap, caught her from behind and pulled her down, twisting his body at the last second so that she would land on top of him instead of the ground.

After hitting the grass, he rolled over so that he was on top. Rosie thought about protesting that he was touching without permission, but the glorious feel of his body pressing hers into the soft grass rendered her mute. He covered her mouth with his and treated her to one of his signature heavenly kisses laced with a passion and intensity that hadn’t been there before. Her body responded by arching into him and demanding more.

Carnal tore his mouth away with a soft growl as he looked up. “Someone’s coming.” He rolled away and came to his feet in a move so quick and graceful she was reminded all over again that he wasn’t human and wasn’t something to trifle with.

“Hey! Get out of here. You’re scaring my sheep!” A man was walking toward them, sounding and looking angry.

Rosie looked at the sheep standing calmly. Chewing. Looking anything but scared.

“Okay. We’re going,” said Carnal.

The man shook his head. “Animals.”

Since Rosie heard it, she knew Carnal did, too. She saw him stiffen and clench his jaw. It made her so mad she was ready to show the idiot what animal really meant. She started toward the farmer, arms swinging, at a brisk pace.

“Hey, yourself! Did you call us animals?”

He took a good look at her, then looked over her head at Carnal. “Not you,” he said.

“You want to see your sheep really scared? Picture this pretty little pasture being overrun by Rautt on the hunt for lamb chops.” The man drew back. “That man you just insulted, and his friends and family, have been the only thing standing between you and thatconsequencefor a generation. Is that the thanks you have to offer him?”

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