Amatista

s.”

She held her breath as she did. Kavi looked as though he had the weight of a thousand tents like this one on his shoulders. His jaw was clenched and he looked troubled. Confusion danced in the back of his eyes.

“I’ve paid you in kind,” he said, but there was no triumph in his voice. Only regret.

He swiftly unbound her legs and wrists, then slowly raised her to a sitting position and removed the gag.

“Miserable pig!” she spat, slapping his chest several times until he caught both her wrists with his hands.

Liana didn’t know why she’d slapped him, whether it was for touching her or for stopping. She was panting with rage when he placed her hands by her sides and lifted a pitcher.

“Drink.”

Why would she drink when she could sit there and glower at him?

“Drink now,” he commanded in a tone that said the guy was used to being obeyed. “There won’t be a chance for some time. The camp is moving.”

She spared the wooden pitcher an untrustworthy look. Kavi growled in frustration and gently pressed her face to it.

After being gagged, her mouth felt as dry as desert sand and it was painful to swallow. Cold water slithered down her chin and neck as she tried. His eyes followed the path of the water and a restless muscle started to tic at the back of his jaw.

“What’s mipe?” she asked hoarsely. For the life of her, she couldn’t understand why she had to ask this now.

He ignored her, tilting the pitcher and giving her more water. He looked entranced by watching her throat move, her lips moisten.

She swallowed more water, noting there was a shrine of weapons stacked together in a corner of the tent, and faintly wondered if she had the courage to dash for one of them and make a run for it. She didn’t. Instead she meekly drank her water then asked, “What’s simu?”

He ignored her a second time. He was getting quite good at that. In fact she was fascinated by his pretending he hadn’t just touched her there. Liana would’ve loved to participate in this little theatric if she weren’t busy still trying to figure it all out.

“What are you going to do with me?” she asked thickly, her throat closed.

Something along the lines of tying her up and making her feel like a woman didn’t seem all that bad now. In fact it might even be a godsend. Her cousin had stripped her half naked for years now, the means to fulfill his wretched plans. She’d been paraded around before one too many Fohers, and stared at for hours at a time. But no one had looked at her the way he did. It felt…well, quite frankly, it felt awesome!

For a long moment all he did was stare before slowly setting the pitcher down. “I will keep you for a time.”

“For how long?”

He stared thoughtfully, and she curled her fingers against the urge to smooth them along the crease on his forehead. “Forgive me.” He lifted the pelt beneath her and gently draped it around her shoulders. “You won’t be touched again.”

Thinking he was referring to Ugly, she found herself reassuring him. “Oh, he hardly touched me.” Thank God.

“I didn’t mean him.” His gaze was direct. Lord, what beautiful eyes he had. She’d never seen that particular color, not in silver, not in iron, not in steel. “I meant me.”

If this was good news, Liana wasn’t too thrilled.

But he didn’t seem to realize the expression on her face meant disappointment, because he added, “You will not bear the brunt of my anger again.”

So he’d been angry. At her. For touching his cock. For sucking it into her mouth. And they said women were complicated.

He was making her furious, and she was shocked that she could actually feel the rage inside her. She hadn’t felt anything for so long it was difficult to contain inside her.

“Then you will let me go now,” she said quickly, expecting no less. She was of little use to him now.

He straightened, clasping his hands behind his back. “I will fetch clothes for you. The camp is leaving soon—the humans are approaching.” He paused, eyeing her in uncertainty. “What is the value of you to them?”

“Nothing. I am worth nothing to them.” And it was true. Nobody cared about Liana, whether she was sick, had a nightmare or even whether she ate or not.

“If you are worth nothing, why are they coming after you? I know that they have sent their Earth dogs to track us.”