His hand is gentle and sizeable, but not grotesque like the palms of the giants. He’s large enough to make me feel small, but not so large as to hurt.
I grin and tell myself to get a grip.
“Melisa,” he grumbles after a moment.
“You left early this morning,” I say.
He frowns. “Help was needed while packing up the camp.”
His hand moves and brushes one strand of my hair off my shoulder. I keep a tight rein on my stuttering breath.
“I was hoping you and I would travel together again today,” I say, eyeing one of the beasts they call crystal wraiths we rode yesterday.
He straightens. “We gave theglacialmaraswe had to the pregnant humans. And one for the king and his queen.”
I lean into him as I speak, so my shoulder brushes the bottom of his arm. “So chivalrous.”
He pauses, then looks down at me. “Are you well? You stumble often.”
Something shrivels inside of me. “I’m fine.”
His hand reaches out and steadies my back once more. “Niht is nearby. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind carrying you.”
“I might just do that,” I say roughly.
But Niht and Glyni are definitely sneaking every chance they get, and hell if I will be the uncomfortable third party with no desire to participate.
There are no other men besides Ra’Sa. Perhaps I’m rushing this, but I won’t settle for an old or weak Enduar.
So, even though my cheeks heat and my heart pounds, I don’t leave Ra’Sa’s side.
We walk an hour, mostly in silence. I only occasionally glance at Ra’Sa. He isn’t unpleasant to look at, for a nonhuman. It’s as if he was hewn out of the raw earth and sculpted by a master craftsman.
When he meets Wren and Thea, will he be a monster or a friend in their eyes?
“You told me you care for your mother. I think that’s lovely. What’s her name?”
“Mer’Leuel.”
“Very pretty.”
No response.
“Are you looking for a wife among us humans?” I ask, trying to get him talking.
He shoots me a seething look and then ignores me.
I take a deep breath. There’s only one thing he seems capable of responding to. So I swallow my pride and trip again.
“Melisa, you are not well. Let me seek out Niht?—”
“But you are right here,” I say coyly.
He lets out a long breath and slips his arms around my waist. Nothing quite compares to the way the softness of my body meets the hard lines of his. A small flame stokes itself at the bottom of my belly, and I press my legs together, uncomfortable.
“Thank you,” I say.
He doesn’t respond.