Page 82 of The Delver
“It is much strong. And…unique.”
Her brow creased. “Because I’m human?”
“Yes. But also your pussy.”
“My—” Her eyes widened. “Ohhhh.”
Then she glared and jabbed his chest with a finger. “You mean this whole time I’ve been smelling like that, and you didn’t say anything?”
Urkot huffed. “It is the best smell. But if a spiritstrider scents you…”
The first spiritstrider they’d encountered had likely picked up Callie’s scent and come to investigate the source, hungry and curious.
“Okay, we need to cover up my scent somehow,” she whispered, fiddling with the edge of the blanket. “I don’t think just a simple wipe down with water is going to accomplish much.”
Callie withdrew from the blanket and took a step back, her boots crunching softly on the ground. Urkot tugged the blanket off himself.
She winced, looked down, and paused, her head tilting as her face lit up. “Wait. I have an idea.”
Removing the waterskin, Callie dampened a cloth and briskly rubbed her inner thighs and sex. Urkot watched, enrapt, wishing it was his hand cleaning her instead. But he knew he could not trust himself to merely clean her. He knew he would not be able to wipe away her essence and leave it at that.
In a situation like this, mating shouldn’t even have been a fleeting thought, yet it remained a driving urge, clawing at his mind incessantly. His want for her was a hunger that could not be sated. And it didn’t seem to lessen even at times like this, when it clashed directly with his powerful instinct to protect her.
Callie crouched, returned the items to her pack, then swiped her hands over the ground, gathering a pile of fine dust. She scooped it up and ran it over her arms, turning her brown skin to a shade of gray. It reminded Urkot of the permanent stains on his fingers and the tips of his legs from a lifetime of working stone.
Understanding fell into place suddenly, and he felt like a fool for not realizing what she was doing immediately. It was so simple yet so clever. His mandibles rose. “You are making yourself one with the stone.”
As she stood, coating her legs with more dust, she smiled at him. “Hopefully it works.”
After she’d covered her skin and patted her clothing and hair, she gathered more dust and approached him. Her palms brushed over the blue markings on his shoulders, dulling their glow. Even the slight abrasion of the dust being rubbed against his hide couldn’t diminish the thrill her touch brought him.
“My female is smart,” Urkot said, brushing a finger lightly over her arm.
She let out a soft, breathy laugh, and her lips curled up into a smile, making her dimplesstand out.
“And she is pretty,” he added. “Most pretty.”
Callie moved closer and reached up to run her fingers over the markings on his headcrest. “Even covered in dust?”
“No matter your coverings. Always most pretty.”
Her smile widened, and she pressed her lips to his mouth in a gentle kiss. Eyes flicking between his, she said in a quiet voice, “Let’s get out of here so my big softie of a male can show his pretty mate just how much he likes her.”
“I am not soft, female,” he growled, “but I do like you. Much, much like.”
And he intended to show her how much. He’d worship her until she sang in pleasure, would taste her as he so deeply desired, would fill her with his seed, would leave no question that she belonged to him now and forever.
Once she’d covered all his markings, he grabbed her bag, intending to stuff the blanket inside. But something within caught his eye. He withdrew her knife, snug in its little sheath.
Urkot put the blanket away and tugged the blade free. Though the weapon was small, he knew it was exceptionally sharp and durable, surpassing anything the vrix could fashion. Turning the handle toward her, he held the knife up to Callie.
She frowned at it.
“If we are discovered…I would not have you without a weapon,” he said softly.
“Yeah. Just in case.” She accepted the knife, keeping the point angled downward.
Closing her bag, Urkot helped her sling it over her shoulders, then assisted her in climbing onto his hindquarters. She eased into place, wrapping her arms around his chest and her thighs around his middle, with the knife, its blade pointed away from him, tucked in her fist.
