And better that I stay away from her as well.
CHAPTER 19
DAISY
I’m so relieved to see the Icehome Beach encampment again. The fruit caves were nice and warm, but after my fall, I just want to go home. We make the several-day trek, O’jek carrying a bag of fruit to bring back for the kits. I suggested I could carry some but he refused, stating that I needed to rest my arm.
Actually, the return to camp has been a little odd. He’d pushed me so hard on the way to the fruit cave, and yet upon our return, he doesn’t push me at all. If I want to stop, we stop. O’jek makes the fires before I have a chance. He doesn’t point out tracks or insist that I notice our locations. At night, he wraps himself around me and holds me tight.
There’s no sex going on. I tell myself it’s because I got hurt, and he wants the healer to check me out before he touches me again. He’s just being extra careful with me. It’s sweet…I suppose? But now that the worst of my aches are gone, I’m a little frustrated at how he’s treating me. I’m not the greatest survivalist, sure, but I’m not that fragile, am I?
It’s all forgotten when we get back to the beach, though. We’re pulled in to sit by the main fire and food is pushed into our hands, along with hot tea. Veronica hands her boys off to her mate and sits next to me, clucking over my arm and the stitches on my forehead. Everyone wants to hear the story of what happened in the cave, and O’jek tells it a dozen times while everyone snacks on the treat of the fruit we brought. It’s strangely nice to be fussed over, and I linger by the fire, appreciating the attention and the company.
When I yawn, though, O’jek gets to his feet. “D’see is tired. I will see her settled.”
“Yes, go settle your mate,” Vaza teases. It’s the first time anyone has mentioned anything about us mating this day. Gail smacks him lightly on the arm, which makes their son Z’hren giggle. I smile, winking at Z’hren. It makes me happy that the tribe is acknowledging our decision. Happy because now we’re home, and we’re going to go to our hut and talk privately and maybe even kiss a little (or a lot). It’s nice to be back, but the urge to be alone with O’jek, to touch him and rub up against him, is growing more intense by the moment. Now that the healer has checked me out, I’m ready and eager to make love again.
O’jek puts a cloak around my shoulders and gently steers me away from the group. I fight back another yawn, because I really am tired, but not too tired to spend time with him. “I’m glad to be back.”
“It is safest, yes,” he agrees.
Not what I’d expect O’jek to say, but after my fall, I’m guessing safety is on his mind a lot. “Right.”
The interior of my hut is just as I left it and I groan with happiness at my pile of bed furs. I kick off my boots by the door and then cross over to my bed, burying myself in the deliciousness of my bedding. I don’t even care that the furs are cold and the interior of the hut is chilly. “Come to bed,” I tell O’jek. “I need warming up.”
“I will make a fire.”
Pooh. “I’m sure we can warm each other up.”
“I will still make a fire,” O’jek says stubbornly, and bends down by the fire pit. Frustrated, I watch as he builds the fire in the pit, making sure it’s nice and warm and then settling a large chunk of fuel to slowly burn through the night.
Once he’s done and washes his hands, I smile up at him and pat the furs. “Now will you join me?”
He shakes his head and doesn’t look me in the eye. “I think we must talk, D’see.”
I sit upright, because my stomach is in a funny knot. A memory flashes through my head, of when Johani first purchased me. Of how he’d fussed over how pretty I was, and how he was going to spoil me, and then after a week of him not touching me, the inevitable “we need to talk” conversation arose. I learned he was in love with Vuurash and that I was simply there to distract people from his relationship with his guard captain. I wasn’t to be a real companion.
Why does this feel like the same moment? But I keep smiling at O’jek, because surely I’m just panicking. We’ve decided we’re going to be mates, right? He’s going to teach me to be self-reliant and I’m going to carry his baby and share the furs with him. “Can we talk in bed?”