I swallow, entranced by his silvery gaze.
29
My stomach chooses that moment to growl, and Kassam chuckles. He winks at me. "Wait here, and I will get your food." He bounds out of the water quickly, his bare ass dripping and tan as he strides over to the tall stalks of whatever and carefully digs them up. He heads to the tree and plucks a piece of fruit the size of a basketball while I stand in the water, fascinated at the sight of him. The animals seem as entranced with his gloriousness as I am.
When he turns back toward me, his cock is half-stiff and growing by the moment, and it suddenly seems like too much to look at. Gazing at him is like staring into the sun, and I dunk my shirt again, dragging it through the water just to give my hands something to do. I'm painfully aware of my wet bra and my nipples pressing against the soft fabric, of the fact that I'm practically topless as I gaze out at his nude body. I'm tempted to just start playing with my nipples to see how he reacts, but then Kassam moves to one of the rocks at the edge of the pool and smacks the fruit against the surface. It cracks open, revealing wet, orange-pink flesh, and the scent drifts toward me, setting my mouth to watering again.
"Come," he says, holding a chunk out to me. "Eat."
I don't have to be told twice. My hunger overrides my arousal, and I pull myself onto one of the nearby rocks, taking the half of fruit he offers to me. It reminds me a bit of melon, but the first bite tastes more like a deep, ripe peach, and I make a sinful sound of pleasure at the taste. "Oh god, that's good."
"I'm glad. Eat as much as you like." He leans over the water, washing the vegetables, and once they're clean, he offers one to me. It's a bulb of some kind and looks a bit like an onion. I'm not entirely sure I want that after fruit, but since he made my nose bleed for it, it seems rude to refuse. I finish my piece of melon, then take the bulb and bite into it like an apple. It has a strange, earthy taste, but reminds me a spicy bean more than an onion, and I decide I like it. I eat everything, and then when I've licked my fingers clean, I head over to the waterfall and drink my fill.
Once I'm sated, I move back to where my pack is and flop down on the ground, running my fingers over my fruit-distended belly. I ate all of that and it was delicious, but something tells me I'm going to be hungry again quickly. Heck, I could already eat another snack. "I must have slept for a long time to be so hungry."
Kassam drops onto the grass next to me, propping up on his elbows. He regards me with amusement and what looks like…affection. "Remember, since you are my mortal, you will be hungry and thirsty because you are fueling me."
My mortal. I hate how much that word choice makes me quiver with pleasure. "Where are Seth and Margo?"
"Uncertain." He shrugs, and gazes at his surroundings with shining eyes. "I have been trying to decide why Lachesis sent me here. When I left, it was at the Blood Glacier, when Rhagos and his anchor found me. This is near, but to the south. Perhaps Lachesis simply looked for a convenient spot to place me…but then it does not answer where Seth and his anchor would be." He shrugs. "I thought we would end up together, but it does not matter. We will find them soon enough."
I lick my lips, and they taste like fruit. "I kinda hope Margo's giving him a piece of her mind. That man needs to be yelled at."
Kassam chuckles. "He is not a man, little light. You must remember that, first and foremost. He has seen ten thousand generations. What is one human to him?"
I prop up on my elbows, looking over at Kassam. "Okay, well, the same could be said for you."
"It could, yes."
I study him. Funny how he defends Seth for his shitty actions because he understands him…and yet when given the same choice, Kassam has chosen again and again to have my back and defend me. He stood up to Lachesis and Seth on Margo's behalf, not because he cared about Margo, but because it mattered to me. "Thank you," I say softly. "You said a lot of nice things back there when Lachesis and Seth were trying to rush us."
"I made a promise to you, Carly. I intend to keep it." He watches me carefully. "You are my wife. I have never had a bond like that before and I am curious to explore it."