Page 41 of Aria's Desire

A coupleof hours passed as they walked from stall to stall, stopping to speak with everyone, in particular the ones who looked openly hostile because those were the ones that needed wooing. Aria wasn’t much of a shopper, but they made a point to buy something from almost everyone, though it took some convincing for some to be persuaded to sell to her.

To her secret delight, the first time someone slighted her—refusing to speak to her regardless of the fact she knew they could understand her with the upgraded translator—Sin and Rellik both stiffened, Sin growling low in his throat while Rellik hissed. Without thinking, she’d reached back and stroked her hands over their thighs, soothing them, letting them know without words she was okay.

Thinking back, she was almost startled with how natural it had felt to touch them. She hadn’t hesitated, hadn’t even thought about it before she found herself reaching for them, stroking her hands dangerously close to their groins like they were hers. Sure, she could tell herself she wassupposedto touch them. They were pretending to be her mates, after all. But that would be a lie, and it was beginning to feel less and less like they were pretending and more like… like something dangerous.

Like the lie she’d been telling herself for months was that theyweren’ther mates.

If she was being honest, she didn’t find it surprising how easy it was to forget the wall she’d built between them. From the moment she’d met Rellik, she’d been drawn to touch him, had felt an immediate, intense connection. And Sin. Jesus, even before shemethim, she’d known him, had felt an irresistible pull. And when she’d found him in that cave, she’d known, in her soul, he was hers and she was his.

When had that changed, that knowing she’d felt for both of them?

Their time in the dungeon felt like a lifetime ago, like they’d been different people. And, yet, being in constant contact with them for days now, it felt like it happened yesterday, like what she’d felt for them then hadn’t faded at all. If anything, it felt stronger because she knew them, now.

Peering at them, watching Sin haggle with the merchant with unexpected skill, watching Rellik charm the horns off the elderly female at the next stall, she tried to remember why she’d pushed them away. She knew the reasons. It wasn’t like she’d truly forgotten. They just felt… distant, blurry. Empty.

When had things gotten so tangled and messy and complicated between the three of them? She couldn’t pinpoint it, but she knew damn well it was her fault.

Her reasons had felt valid. She didn’t want to do anything to risk her relationships with Tirox and Kix. She wasn’t experienced with navigating the often treacherous waters of dating and love and feelings. Kix was struggling with his ability.

And, yet, staring at them, feeling her heart beat faster when Sin glanced at her, feeling her stomach go weightless when Rellik smiled at her, she began to think that perhaps her only real reason for pushing them away was fear.

Breaking free of her heavy thoughts when Sin turned to grin down at her triumphantly, she felt her lips curling, feeling almost dazed in the face of his smile.

“Where did you learn to haggle like that?”

His smile became a bit nostalgic. “My sire was a trader on Thrarion.” At her surprised look, he explained, “My people only loosely live in groups. Nothing like the city, or this Queendom. Unmated Thrarians, and elderly past breeding age, live in villages. Mated pairs claim their own territory, remaining apart to breed and raise their young until their nests are empty. We moved between villages and territories, selling our wares, the mated males unthreatened by a widowed sire past his prime and a youth yet to reach his own.”

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, referring to the revelation he’d lost his mother.

He grunted softly. “She became sick and died shortly after birthing me. I never knew her but for the things my sire told me. He never tried to mate again and did his best to… ” He hesitated, waving his clawed fingers in a small circle as though trying to find the words.

“Keep her memory alive,” Aria offered.

His gaze softened. “Mm. Just so.”

Seeing the shadow of old pain in his eyes and wanting to dispel it, she changed the subject. “And the haggling?”

His smile returned as he waved a hand at the stall. “Haggling, as you say, was an honored tradition, could go on for days.” He chuckled lowly. “I always thought it was because, as solitary as Thrarians believe themselves to be, there comes a time when even the most passionate of mates needed fresh company.”

She hadn’t known any of that. Aria found herself imagining a young Thrasin, bright eyed and curious, traveling with his father, learning to barter. As stubborn as she knew he could be, she had to imagine he was a natural at it, if only because he wouldn’t give up until he got what he wanted.

“How were you—” Aria cut herself off, not wanting to ruin the moment just to sate her curiosity.

“How was I taken?” he finished for her, somehow knowing exactly what she’d started to ask. “I’d recently set off for mylaíocht dhaín, the journey a male takes just before he becomes sexually mature. I was… exploring when I was blinded by a bright light and—”

Rellik joined them, having finished charming the old woman apparently, and snorted, clapping Sin on the back. “Be truthful. You were too busy chasing that animal. What did you call it?”

Sin cut him narrowed eyes, but grumbled defensively, “Inach-de.” To her he explained, “They are rare. Would’ve made a good gift for a mate.”

Rellik grinned and leaned toward her, whispering conspiratorially, “It was shiny.”

Sin grumbled again, his expression flustered at either having his apparent penchant for shiny things revealed or that he’d been so distracted by it that he hadn’t been paying attention to his surroundings, though, from what other abductees told her, there was no way to avoid a transport beam.

What struck her was the fact that Sin, who could turn into a beast damned similar to a dragon, liked shiny things, much like the mythical creatures. If she didn’t know he’d been tinkered with in order to shift like he did, she’d wonder if perhaps theGaulik, the fish-like people usually responsible for abductions, had dropped one or more of his people off on Earth for some reason.

“So, what did all that haggling get you?” she asked, starting for the next stall. Was the subject change prompted by an illogical flicker of jealousy that Rellik knew things about Sin she didn’t? Maybe.

At her question, Sin met and held her gaze as he brought his hand around from his other side. Glancing down, Aria jerked to a stop, jaw dropping.

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