The Savage

And he’s not of your species, no matter how much he resembles it.

“My kind heals faster than yours.”

She looked into his face. “You let me clean and dress it even though you knew it would be healed so quickly?”

The corner of his mouth tilted. “I liked having my female tend to me.”

Her heart started pounding a little harder at his words and the possessiveness that filled his voice.

He lifted the plate of meat to her again. “Eat,” he said a little gentler than normal, and she felt herself relaxing, not because she was nervous around him, but because she was perpetually on edge with desire.

Taking a deep breath, she grabbed one of the cooked pieces of meat, the strip warm and smelling surprisingly good.

“You need to gain more weight,” Styx said, but he didn’t make it seem like it was an accusation, or even disgust, but more filled with worry and genuine sincerity.

She started eating the meat, and for a few seconds Styx just watched her, as if he wanted to make sure she was actually eating. He did this a lot, making sure she was fed before him. Only when he was obviously content with how much she’d consumed did he start eating. They sat in silence as they finished off the strips of meat. He got them something to drink, and the liquid was warm and tasted familiar, like cinnamon and honey.

When she was finished with her drink and eating, she leaned back against the wall and watched as Styx devoured the rest of the meat. He was a huge man, and the amount of food he consumed on a daily basis was as impressive as it was shocking.

“Will you ever let me leave this cave?” The truth was she had no desire to leave the cave, not now that she knew the kind of insane creatures lurking out there. But realistically she couldn’t stay in this mountain forever.

Styx looked at her, and for long seconds he didn’t speak. Finally he moved over to the wall a few feet from her and leaned against it. The longer he stayed silent, the more the air seemed to thicken. “Is leaving something you’d truly want to do?”

She looked at the ground and thought about what he said. “There’s danger no matter where you are, but keeping me ‘locked’ in here isn’t right.” She glanced at him again. “Even if I agreed to stay and not fight you, that I’ll stay here and be with you in the way you want…” She stopped speaking and thought about that. Instantly her body heated. She saw the way Styx flared his nostrils, and she knew he smelled her lust. Clearing her throat, she steeled herself and spoke again. “Even if I agreed to all that, you can’t expect me to stay here. I need to be able to fight, to live. I need to be a partner, like you claim I am, and not a prisoner.”

He didn’t speak for long seconds again, but then she heard him exhale. “You’re right.”

To be honest, she was surprised he’d agreed with her. Audrey could see him fighting her on this, on demanding she was his, and he’d do with her as he pleased, even keeping her in this cave.

“If you want to explore, you do so with me. You wouldn’t last out there alone.”

She took no offense to that, because after seeing that one creature coming at her she knew she wouldn’t last out there by herself. Audrey wasn’t a fighter, and never had been. She’d lived a peaceful, farming life, had never wanted anything more than to be comfortable and keep her family fed. But they were gone now, and as much grief as she felt for that, as much sorrow that filled her, Audrey had stayed strong and didn’t let it consume her. Her mother and brother wouldn’t have wanted that.

Besides, she’d done so much crying during her trip to the auctions that she didn’t know if she had more tears to shed.

“Okay,” she finally said, feeling trepidation, but also excitement filling her that they’d at least come to this compromise. The thing was, Audrey didn’t think about herself as a captive, not really, and not since Styx had saved her from that creature. But she also knew she couldn’t just be here and waste away.

“You will stay here with me without any fighting?” he asked, leaning in an inch closer. “You want to be my mate?”

She swallowed, not denying the fact she did find Styx arousing, if also brutal and savage. But the latter showed her that this male was serious about life, about protecting what he actually thought was his.

And that’s me.

“Where else would I go?” she said honestly.

He leaned in an inch closer. “I want you here because you want to be here, wife.”