Page 83 of Theirs to Crave

One of the Svestrix came forward at our approach, the deep green markings on her white scaled body shifting with each sinuous motion. She moved through a shaft of sunlight, and everywhere it touched shimmered with a pale-yellow iridescence.

“Gorgeous,” Ria breathed.

I agreed completely.

Litha met the Svestrix woman, and they gripped each other’s shoulders, tipping their heads in an embrace that held formality and genuine warmth. After a second, the Svestrix woman moved her left hand, cupping the stump of Litha’s missing arm with meaningful solemnity.

They exchanged a few words I couldn’t hear, then the other woman laughed, pulling Litha close for a real hug.

That answered one question. They definitely had fangs. But now I had more questions. What exactly was their relationship? Was this woman involved in Litha losing her arm? If so, how? They were awfully friendly for her to be responsible in any way.

Zafett nudged me forward, and Litha turned, making room for me at her side. She introduced me to the Svestrix woman using my full Teterayuh name—Estrayuh Hyunanata.

“Kezhai, Estrayuh. I am Kashka.Sy h’elith ivresk.” Kashka coiled her tail, lowering herself until I could meet her eyes without craning my neck. They were mesmerizing. Like the Teterayuh, she had vertical slit pupils, but the large round eyes they sat in were a pale metallic green that seemed to swirl, catching and reflecting light in dizzying fractals.

I stared, entranced.

Her pupils expanded, and she moved closer, filling my vision with the otherworldly shimmer.

A hand covered my face, killing the connection abruptly. Revik’s low voice rumbled against my back and I sagged, breathing through my instinctive flight response.

The Svestrix woman replied, sounding amused.

Revik turned my head, putting us face to face. “With Svestrix,” he said, staring fixedly in my eyes and shaking his head, “no look and look.” He lowered his gaze to my cheek. “Yes, look,” he continued, meeting my eyes briefly before focusing more generally on my face.

“To Svestrix, look and look means...” One of Revik’s hands slipped into my hair, while the other curved down to cup my butt, pulling me close. He purred, lowering his face to my neck. “Want.”

Yes. Want. I wanted more of that. I arched my back, reveling in the squeeze of his fingers and the solid breadth of his chest. Then I was wobbling, bereft, as he set me back on my feet.

“Understand?” he asked, his tail flicking wildly behind him.

I did. I even appreciated the warning—although I could think of about fifty less awkward ways we could have had this conversation—but that didn’t keep me from recognizing the smugness that radiated from him. Revik knew exactly how he affected me, and the cabrónlikedit.

I swayed into him, pressing my boobs against his chest as I wrapped my arms around his neck. He tensed. I pretended I didn’t notice as I rubbed my jaw across his, whispering, “Het. Relyat, Revik.”

He was frozen, his purr rolling like thunder, when I turned back to Kashka.

Two can play that game, my man.

I glanced only briefly at her dancing eyes—this alien flirting habit was really getting out of control—and got the impression she was trying not to laugh.

She rolled out a stream of Teterayuh, most of which I didn’t understand. Her voice was lovely, warm and raspy like an old-school blues singer, tinged with a sibilant accent. The few words I understood were “sorry”, “help”, and “welcome”. Since my three stood easy beside me, I followed suit, nodding when it felt appropriate and smiling when she did.

“Sit,” she said, waving towards my family, who’d been watching our exchange with avid eyes. “We trade.”

Mariano, Ria, and I joined the others while Revik unstrapped the basket of goods we’d brought, adding it to a pile of things that must have come from the village. I hugged Yin and Cass, noting with relief that they’d both healed considerably since I saw them last. The few spots of infection on Cass’s burns were gone, and Yin’s fine scales were no longer dull and splitting.

“Feeling better?” I asked, holding my Abuele’s hand.

Xe squeezed my fingers. “Yes, thank you. Zafett is kind. You chose well.”

“I haven’t—I mean—” I peeked at Zafett, who must have heard his name, because he was looking our way. My cheeks heated. “He is kind,” I mumbled.

“When he’s not snarling at anyone who looks at you.” Ria chuckled.

“That was a misunderstanding.”

Shane leaned in, propping himself up on one arm so his muscles flexed. A lock of dark hair fell over his forehead as he spoke in an intimate whisper, so close I felt the warmth of his breath on my shoulder. “Care to test that theory?”

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