Page 34 of Theirs to Crave

Zaf waited for us at the den, along with Svixa and the strangers. Amused anticipation warmed my chest. Knowing Zaf, they were all half in love with him already.

???

Something was wrong.

I set my basket down, turning to help Litha with hers even as my gaze swept theerr’laytuh. Zaf sat alone, his discomfort obvious as he hid his gaze from mine.

I watched him with narrowed eyes as Svixa called out an excited greeting, echoed by a ragged chorus from the strangers. Whatever else had happened, they’d been learning our language. Good.

I listened to Litha’s reply as I slicked my hands down my body, shedding water into the moss. Not as effective as our drying cloths, but they brought comfort to the Hyunans, who seemed embarrassed by their lack of body fur.

It was strange, their fur pattern. But there was something appealing in the way their bare flesh shone in the light. How would it look painted, in the Svestrix way? My eyelids drooped as I envisioned sweeping strokes of red, gold, and blue following the curves of warm brown skin.

Zaf continued to ignore me.

Out of patience, I stalked over. Crouching beside him, I rubbed my cheek against his shoulder and purred.

He turned his face away.

“Zaf. . .” I growled.

At my warning he tensed, but stubbornly kept silent.

I pounced, caging him in as he fell back with a grunt. His wide, startled eyes finally met mine. I held them, leaning in close, and lowered my voice to a purr.

“Talk to me,sh’irra. What happened?”

His eyes slid to the side, and I nuzzled his cheek. Finally, he sighed.

“I lost control.”

Disbelief made my purr still in my chest. I twisted to look at him.

“I did,” Zaf insisted. Shame twisted his features. “I frightened them. Frightened...her.” He breathed the last, and Litha’s ears tipped our way, listening from her place near the fire.

Now that he was talking, I slipped to the side, running my fingers through his fur as I waited for the rest. There must be some misunderstanding. I knew my love, and he would never act in a shameful way.

“I desire Estrayuh,” Zaf admitted in a rush. “She is so kind, and her body is so...She came in from the stream, she was wet, her cloths were—she was—” He shook his head violently and started again. “It doesn’t matter. I should never have—”

I reared back, staring at him in disbelief.

“I didn’t touch her!” my love cried. Then his face fell. “But I frightened her. The Hyunan men had to defend her. From me!” He wailed the last word, his head grinding against the floor.

My ears twitched in amusement as I relaxed. I flicked a glance at Litha, who huffed and nodded before turning her attention back to the strangers.

“You did not touch her?” I confirmed, proud of the evenness of my tone. Not a hint of a chuckle.

Zaf shook his head miserably.

“You did not chase her?”

He slitted his eyes open to glare at me as he shook his head.

I kept my face and voice solemn, although if he could have seen my tail, he would have known my lie. He was so cute when he pouted. “You did not expose your sex to her?”

“Revik!”

I caught the hand that tried to push me away, pressing against Zaf as my voice dropped to an intimate rumble. “I’m only trying to understand,sha’vail.” I nipped his ear, licking away the sting. “What did you do that was so terrible?”

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