Page 14 of Dark & Dreadful Brutes

“Being trapped in a cellar does not prepare you for days of riding an idorr.”

He made a noise of agreement, and started to ease away from me.

I dug my fingers into his arms. “You have to sleep too, so you’re not grumpy tomorrow.”

He grunted. “Ow.”

I dug my nails in tighter. “No leaving.”

“Fine.” He grumbled, but maneuvered himself beneath me.

His body was way more comfortable to lay on than the ice. I relaxed against him, my body warming when I felt his erection against my lower belly.

He was attracted to me.

Bet he didn’t expect that—a gorgeous fae man, being attracted to a human.

Maybe it was because of our mate bond. He still hadn’t told me why he’d created it, but I assumed there was a reasonable answer. Eventually, I’d get it out of him or Gleam.

“Damn, you want me,” I whispered.

“Go to sleep,” he growled at me.

My lips curved upward, but I went to sleep. We’d probably wake up in a bathtub together, but I didn’t mind. His body felt good against mine, and as stupid as it probably was, I trusted him not to do anything I didn’t want him to.

The next two days went the same way, and on the fourth night, we camped by a river on the border between the Broken Woods, Timeless Sands, Aching Chasm, and Human Lands. The place we stayed was slanted down toward the Sands and the Woods, making it easier to see the land around us.

When I peered into the Broken Woods, I got to see the massive, dead-looking trees and reddish-brown dirt I’d been curious about since I was a kid.

The Timeless Sands stretching in front of us were made up of massive dunes in every shade of yellow, white, and orange.

The Aching Chasm was only identifiable by the way the ground had slowly started to morph from green to crimson. Eventually, the land would give way to a monstrous drop-off that went further than any being’s eyes could see.

Honestly, I was grateful we were headed to the Endless Wilds rather than the Chasm. I shuddered to think about what it’d be like to go inside that.

“Eat before you fall asleep,” Ravv said, handing me more food than I’d be able to eat in one sitting. Though he was clearly attracted to me, he hadn’t done anything that made me think he was interested in pursuing that attraction, so I hadn’t brought it up again. “All of that.”

“I’m not that hungry,” I protested, stunning myself with the admission.

How had I gone from starving to not that hungry so fast?

Then again, we’d eaten seven or eight times throughout the day. I was fairly certain Ravv was lying about being hungry during most of those meals, but I wasn’t going to complain about him feeding me.

“I didn’t ask if you were hungry. Eat it.”

His eyes narrowed at me.

Mine narrowed back.

But after a long moment, I finally gave up and dropped my gaze.

He could win that one.

I ate while he used his magic to build the shelter.

“You’ll sleep alone tonight,” Ravv told me.

“No. I’m not sleeping in the watery coffin alone,” I said bluntly. “If one of us wakes up in a hot bathtub, we both do.”

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