He felt warmth creep up into his cheeks. It was a juvenile impulse to want to establish that closeness by name—a closeness that he strangely craved but knew he should not, especially not with Deroxas’s mistress—but he refused to acknowledge the fact as he gave her a haughty look.
“It is the name of a certain type of pine nut that grew near the caverns where I was raised. They have a natural sweetness that comes out when they are preserved. I was fond of it.”
A tiny smile crept at the corners of her mouth intriguingly. “You named the bone creature after nuts?”
He suddenly felt very foolish and scowled, but the ridiculous female did not look the least intimidated as her smile grew.
“You really do like him, don’t you?” she asked, standing and walking over to him, sending him a curious look his way as she crouched by his shoulder to be eye-level with Deroxas.
“As I said, he has value,” he muttered defensively, and her smile widened further.
With a finger, she traced the edge of one of the creature’s ears, and Ashul felt his own ear twitch in response, wishing that he could feel that caress on the sensitive slope of his own ear. His skin prickled with a tightening sensation as she leaned closer, causing his blood to heat.
“You do realize that it’s okay to enjoy something, right?” she whispered.
He felt a fresh rush of heat straight up to the tips of his ears and cleared his throat. “And should I pursue all things that I enjoy?” He gave her a heated look, his hunger for once not restrained.
Her cheeks pinkened further than the damage that the sun had wrought, captivating him. For an instant, he imagined her reclining on a beautiful carved bed in a subterranean home where she would never be pained by the sun again and the only pink that would come to her face would be the one that he would put there. It was more foolishness, and yet he found he had an unexpected yearning for that vision.
Her small pink tongue slipped over her lips as she licked them nervously, and she leaned in closer, though he doubted she was aware of it.
“There’s nothing wrong with chasing after and embracing what brings you true joy and pleasure rather than living in moments of misery and death at all times,” she whispered, and he wondered if she spoke of him or herself.
Or perhaps both of them knew that darkness. The difference was that he embraced it and understood it—he even enjoyed it even while acknowledging that something was missing. She was like the cool river through the deepest caves, eroding the sharpness and bringing sweet relief even as she nurtured so easily without thought. And he wanted that part of her too.
He would taste that sweetness.
Leaning forward, he did the unthinkable. A male drow was to not be the sexual aggressor, nor was laying with another species appropriate for a noble male. Still, he kissed his songbird and enjoyed the burst of sweetness on his tongue as it slipped between her soft, giving lips. His cock thickened, and just below its swelling base his furled hetier stirred. He groaned against her lips, his tongue sliding against hers, enjoying her unique, sweet flavor that washed over him with pleasure. He could never get enough. Never wanted it to end.
In fact, he wanted more. He wanted to drown in her taste and smell, wanted his cock and hetier to be choked by the hot channel hidden between her legs.
He reached for her, his hand fisting in her cloak, dragging her toward him until her belly was pressed against his erection. He purred, the sound rumbling through him as her scent thickened and deepened with her own arousal.
Yes, that is it. Give all of yourself over to me.
With a gasp, Robyn pulled free and stumbled back, her cheeks darkening further. She pressed a hand to her blazing face and laughed softly. “Okay, wow, that was a bit intense, but I think it might be best if we stop there for now.”
He gave her a dark look filled with frustration, his jaw clenching. “Did you not say that we should chase our pleasure and joy, or were those only pretty words to be easily ignored if your own desires make you uncomfortable?” he challenged as he now leaned forward until his nose nearly brushed hers. “You desire me.”
She swallowed and stood, brushing her hands off on her shapely thighs. “I do,” she admitted, “but I’m not sure if that desire—or you—is good for me.”
With one last uncomfortable look in his direction, she dropped down on the mossy spot she had claimed and wrapped her cloak snugly around her. His eyes narrowed at the fabric, resenting the distance it made possible between them. He never should have gotten it for her. Though he acknowledged that it would not have stopped her from acquiring one for herself, he hated that he had participated in setting this unwanted barrier between them that they no longer were forced into proximity when he would have wanted it most.
Ashul’s jaw tightened as he settled back into his own spot, his mind obsessively focused on his frustration until at last he sighed wearily.
He could not force the issue or he would be no better than Hagnala had been, taking all that she wanted from him for herself and leaving nothing for him. Despite the instinctual part of him that raged, and the warrior within him that snarled at being denied, he suppressed it all and settled in deeper to find his rest.
Somehow, he would show her that he was exactly what she needed.
ChapterEleven
Old forests were full of magic and kept their own secrets. Robyn’s mother used to tell her that when she was young, but that forest near their home had been a young one and nothing like the one that she and Ashul currently passed through. With the forest cover, they were also able to enjoy more of the day hours comfortably so they felt less urgency to make the most of their traveling hours. Which meant that as the evening began to fall, they were able to enjoy the dancing lights of the pixie swarms as they left the various blooming bushes and plants to return to the trees.
The forest certainly seemed to be weaving a spell over them. Ashul seemed more relaxed and quieter than he had in the time she’d known him, a hint of a smile on his lips more often than not as he gazed around them. His mood had lightened considerably, so much so that lately he had shouldered their bag of provisions before she had the opportunity to pick it up.
It was beautiful and utterly peaceful, especially since the predators seemed to give the drow a wide berth. Sometimes she caught a glimpse of glowing eyes peering at them from between the bushes, but it was almost always followed by rustling as they fled. Ashul seemed to have an impact just by being present. He may have caused a bit of a headache in town, but it was possible that she might just miss this—and not just his ability to frighten off the creatures that might have otherwise been tempted to hunt her. She was actually starting to enjoy his company, especially whenever he forgot himself long enough to begin singing under his breath. She didn’t understand the words, but the melodic language had been beautiful and the content expression on his face making her feel things that were best left alone.
Sooner or later, he would be leaving her and finding a peaceful place assigned to him by the monastery master to spend the rest of his days. Granted, it was for a much longer span than humans whom they usually brought faced, but that just meant that their days together were just a brief spark within his long life and quickly forgotten by him.