Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 71832 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71832 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Truly, everyone has something to say and all of it is irritating. But I listen, because rules are important and are the guidelines for how to win my mate over. When my flower is finally done, I get up from my spot near the fire. I have petals on it. I have leaves. I have tiny, pointed carvings that hint at thorns. It is a perfect gift, and I'm rather pleased with myself.
Everyone near the fire is watching me with giddy anticipation, and I know this is entertainment for them. They're loving that April and I haven't fallen into each other's arms and made a child yet. They are giddy that she is making me perform the courting tasks by the rules. Jason smirks at me as I stride past, and Bianca gives me two thumbs up, as if her approval makes all the difference. The only one that doesn't seem particularly invested is Natalie, who watches me with a vaguely furrowed brow, as if she doesn't quite understand what all the fuss is about.
Well, I'm a gladiator. It is my job to be entertaining. Let them be entertained by my efforts.
Confident in my gift, I stride to the hut April shares with her friend. The musk of my marking scent is slightly less strong than yesterday due to the misty weather, and I will need to refresh it soon. The thought fills me with a hungry excitement, and before I even reach the platform to her hut, my khui is humming and vibrating in my chest. The song grows louder when she lifts the door-flap, looking out.
Her gaze seeks mine.
I thrust the flower in her direction. "I have completed my second mission."
April's eyes widen and she takes it from me. Mirth bubbles up in her throat and she laughs with sheer delight. "You made a flower?"
I practically puff my chest out at her delight, because it is clear I have surprised her with my intelligence. She is pleased, and her pleasure fuels mine. "You said it had to be perfect. You didn't say it had to be alive."
She laughs again, the sound cackling and bright. "You are a crafty bastard."
"I know. What's my prize?"
Her eyes narrow and she briefly touches the petals of the leather flower to her chest, twirling it over her heart. "Depends. What do you want?"
"You're the one who knows the rules. You should know the reward."
Her eyes soften. "I guess I should."
My khui thrums hard at her expression, at the way her khui is growing louder by the moment. We stare at each other, panting as if out of breath, even though neither of us has moved a muscle.
"Get a room," someone calls out nearby.
I turn and see we are being watched by several of the tribe who have followed me over to April's hut. Nosy creatures. Jason has his hands cupped to his face, and he is the one calling out.
I should crush him like a sand-scorpion. Insolent fool.
April scowls at the group watching us. "Hey, why don't you take a photo?" she calls out in return. "It'll last longer!"
"No one has a camera," Jason calls back.
She rolls her eyes, as annoyed with him as I am. "Thinks he's a damned comedian."
"Should I go silence him?" I ask and pound a fist into my palm meaningfully. "I would be more than happy to."
"No, leave him alone. Come on in so we can talk privately." She steps aside and gestures that I should enter the hut. April waits for me to join her and then calls out, "Show's over!"
I stand just inside her hut, tense, listening as the others slowly depart. Their sounds and scents grow distant. All of it is muted, of course, compared to the incessant, intoxicating hum of resonance. I can hear April's song as much as my own, I can drink in her scent, tinged with arousal. I can practically feel her pleasure as she twirls the leather rose in her fingers, expression thoughtful.
Get a room, Jason had called out. It reminds me that I am to build a hut for my mate, a home for the two of us. "We cannot get a room yet," I tell her, mindful of the rules Devi had informed me of. "Not until the snail-vasion is over."
"Getting a room is a figure of speech," April says.
"Yes, and right now, it is against the rules."
Her brows go up and she gives me an amused smile, as if I've said something funny. Her head tilts to the side as she considers me. "You're big into rules, aren't you?"
"You aren't?"
April shrugs. She takes a slow step to the side. "I just didn't think a guy like you would be so into boundaries and being told what to do."
My tail flicks, my heart beating faster as she circles around me. "Why not? A good parameter lets me know what's acceptable and what isn't."