Page 26 of Fall

Rone made a low growling sound as they spoke in a language he couldn’tunderstand, and he only fell silent when Desh was out of sight.

Then he took her by both of the shoulders, not gently. “LennaRonemate.”

She pulled out of his grip and opened her mouth to argue, but there wasno argument she could make. She was his mate, and Desh was right. Rone wasnever going to understand that Desh wasn’t a threat to that.

A caveman was going to act like a caveman, and she was stupid to hope hemight ever act differently.

So she didn’t say anything at all. She just turned away from him andstarted to walk back toward the cave.

Rone fell in step with her, and he kept peering at her face, like he wastrying to figure out what she was thinking.

It wasn’t just a language barrier that was standing between them. Theywere from two completely different worlds.

Even if she had the words to explain her point of view to him, he wasnever going to understand.

***

She was stillsimmering with resentment and annoyance that evening. She was tired and upsetand not hungry at all, so she didn’t eat much dinner.

This clearly confused Rone, who kept trying to offer her more food—roastedmeat, stew, bread, roots—but she just shook her head.

After her emotional upheaval the night before with the stillborn baby andher fight with Rone, she simply had no appetite at all.

She didn’t stay up to listen to the storytelling or music that evening.She was exhausted so she went to bed early. She was still awake, however, whenRone came to bed an hour or so later.

When he got under the covers, he turned her over and started to rub hisface against hers, the way he always did. It was his version of foreplay.

Under normal circumstances, she enjoyed it. Sometimes, he went slowenough to turn her on, and she appreciated that he was never rough or mean.

But there was absolutely no way she could have sex with him tonight. Itwasn’t that she was holding a grudge. It was that she was too upset to open upher body to him.

She gently pushed him away.

He gave an indignant huff and tried to move over her again.

“No,” she said, keeping her voice soft so no one else in the cave couldhear. She might be rejecting him, but she wasn’t going to do it in front of theentire tribe. “No.”

Frowning, he reached out to curve his big hand around the side of herribs. “Lenna Rone mate.”

“Yes, Lenna Rone mate. No fuck Rone.” Their word for sex was harsh andcrude sounding, so she always interpreted it as fuck rather than sex. Shepaused, searching her mind for one of the words Desh had taught her thatafternoon. “No fuck Ronenow.”

She met his eyes, praying he’d understand. She knew she was walking a tightropewire here. If Rone decided she wasn’t a mate to him, he could very likely moveon to someone else.

But she couldn’t—she just couldn’t—have sex with him right now.

He kept his hand on her ribs, but he didn’t try to move over her again.“Lenna Rone mate,” he said, very softly, his eyes searching her face.

“Yes,” she murmured. “Lenna Rone mate.”

He let out a breath and relaxed back onto the bed, his expression soberand confused.

She lay beside him, staring up at the ceiling of the cave, wondering howshe had even gotten here.

A few months ago, she’d been on her own ship, doing a normal job, mindingher own business—surrounded by a civilized world. Yes, the world was dominatedby an oppressive regime, but at least she knew what to expect from people andshe’d been dependent on no one.

She was dependent now. She was dependent on this man beside her.

And in the deepest, most important ways, she couldn’t understand him atall.

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