Page 157 of Blue Arrow Island
I shake my head. “No. I’d need a seed.”
“Jerk me?” Niran offers Amira a piece of beef jerky from his pack, grinning over his quip.
“Pass.”
He turns to me and I shake my head. Marcus just flips him off.
“Damn.” Niran bites a chewy end off the long stick. “You guys are like a commercial for depression medication.”
Marcus catches my attention and angles his head to the side, asking me to follow him. He leads me about fifteen yards away, where we can talk without being overheard.
“You okay?” he asks.
I shrug. “I guess?”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“No. I think I just need time.”
He’s wearing a gray T-shirt and dark-green canvas pants today, my eyes roving over his chest and arms. There’s not a single part of the real me that wants to be in the mood right now, but aromium doesn’t care how I’m feeling. It’s making me want to drop to my knees and unfasten Marcus’s pants.
Use him. Fuck him. Take his power.
I furrow my brow, looking at him and speaking softly. “Does the aromium just make you want sex, or is it ... more? I feel urges to use you and ... I guess, take advantage of your desire.”
“It’s the aromium. It tells me the same things.”
I glance at Niran and Amira. “And you never feel any of that about Amira?”
He shakes his head. “Only you. It amplifies real feelings, and you’re the only woman I want. Why, are you drawn to anyone else?”
“No. Just you.”
He takes my hand, his expression solemn. “I know you’re mad at me, but if you need something, tell me.”
“You mean sex?” I glance at Niran and Amira again.
A smile quirks on his lips. “No, but also ... yes. It’s not what I meant, but if you say the word, we’ll find a place and make it happen.”
“You meant like moral support.” I fight a smile.
“I meant like anything. If you need someone to yell at?—”
I roll my eyes. “If I yell at you, it’s because you deserve it. Not because you’re my benevolent punching bag.”
“That’s fair. What I’m trying to say is I’m here if you need me.”
“Marcus.”
We look over to Niran, who’s giving us a questioning look; he and Amira both packed back up and ready to go.
Marcus exhales through his nostrils. “Why’d we bring them?”
“To keep us on track.”
I bend and fill my canteen from the stream, looking up at Marcus. “So it’s not just me who has a relative who helped make aromium. You, Virginia and Pax do, too.”
He nods. “But that’s a conversation for another time. Niran’s right, we need to get moving.”
