Stud (30 page)

Tarq frowned at him. “I thought you couldn’t read minds.”

“It’s true, I can’t. But you
do
know the way, don’t you?”

“I believe I do, but—”

Traldeck dropped the wood onto a pile near the cave. “We will follow where you lead, Tarq. I can promise you that.”

Tarq had no idea where all this was coming from. “What did Lucy tell you about me?”

“Nothing,” Traldeck replied. “She didn’t have to. I can feel her faith in you.”

Tarq didn’t give a damn about her faith; he wanted her love. “It was a vision I had. Zetithians have them sometimes. I could see the path through the mountains to Noklar.”

“A safe path?”

“I have no idea, but I had a vision like this once before and arrived safely.”

Traldeck nodded and glanced at the sky. “It will be dark soon. We should get inside. Have you found everything you need?”

“Yes,” Tarq replied. “I should be able to go hunting tomorrow—can’t promise I’ll actually get anything, but I’ll do my best.”

With a deep sigh, Traldeck put a hand on Tarq’s shoulder, ushering him toward the cave entrance. “I can scarcely imagine the possibility of having something besides rock rat for dinner tomorrow. If for no other reason, this gang will be kneeling at your feet.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“You’ve obviously never had to live on rock rats before.” He paused for a moment as they entered the cave. “My brother has kept us well-fed with his ability to lure the rats, and he has worked hard to keep us safe. Your arrival is opportune, but he may be… resentful of you in some ways.” Traldeck nodded toward Lucy, who was gathering wood farther down the slope. “He is already setting his sights on your mate.”

“Lucy is mine.” It felt good to say it aloud again. Tarq thought if he said it enough, he might actually believe it. Eventually. Of course, the trick would be to convince
her.

Traldeck nodded. “Yes, but Mordrial women sometimes take more than one mate. My brother may not see your claim on her as being exclusive. Do not be surprised to find yourself in competition with him. He has shown an interest in Natasha, but fortunately she does not see him as a potential lover.”

Tarq frowned. “I didn’t know that about Mordrials.”
Yet
another
thing
I
don’t know.

“It isn’t a widespread practice, but it does exist. Mordrial males accept the idea, but men of other species may not.”

Tarq shook his head. “I’ve never heard of Zetithian women doing that.”

“It is also rare among humans, but still, it may become an… issue.”

“Thanks for the warning,” Tarq said. He gave Traldeck a brief nod before taking a seat on a slab of rock near where he’d placed Lucy’s belongings and began work on the arrows immediately. The way he saw it, the less time spent preparing for the journey to Noklar, the better. Giving Vertigan the time to persuade Lucy that she needed two husbands wasn’t a risk he was willing to take.

***

Lucy watched Tarq and Traldeck enter the cave together as she trudged back up the mountainside. It wasn’t terribly steep there—Nat had commented that she could’ve planted a garden just below the cave entrance if she’d only had some seeds—but carrying a load of fallen branches made the climb more difficult. She’d had to venture fairly far from the cave to find anything. Having lived there for some time, their little band of refugees had picked the immediate area clean.

She had mixed feelings about joining up with this group. True, she was ecstatic to find Nat and her husband both safe and sound, and being alone with Tarq was, in her opinion, heavenly no matter where they were. Unfortunately, she had misgivings about the sleeping arrangements. The cave was bound to be pretty quiet at night, and the sort of orgasms Tarq gave her tended to be a bit noisy. Everyone would be able to hear him purring too. There might even be an echo.

On the other hand, there
were
two other couples, and if the men were anything like Tarq…

No. They were
nothing
like Tarq. Couldn’t possibly be. No way!

This last thought had Lucy smiling as she ducked under the boughs of shrubbery that obscured the cave entrance. Kotcamp was putting wood on the fire while Walkuta threaded the rock rats onto the spit. The skinned rats did nothing to enhance her appetite and Lucy had a feeling that before long, their new friends would be fighting over the salami she’d brought from the café. She hoped Tarq was as good at hunting with a bow as he was at making one.

Tarq was sitting off to one side of the cave, intent on his task. He had a pad of what she assumed was rock rat hide to protect his palm and was popping off flakes from a small piece of rock with the tip of an antler.

She stood watching him for a few moments before she spoke. “Making an arrowhead?”

Tarq replied with a nod.

“I had no idea antlers were that hard.”

He glanced up briefly but didn’t meet her eyes. “They make very good tools. The trick is finding something to cut them with. You can break them if you apply enough force, but they don’t always break where you want them to.”

Lucy nodded. “That’s true about lots of things.” She continued to stand there, watching him work, but couldn’t think of anything else to say. Nothing at all. This puzzled her somewhat, until she recalled that this was their first private conversation since he’d claimed her as his mate. Being tongue-tied was understandable, but there were certain things that needed to be said.

“Um, Tarq,” she said, lowering her voice. “I know why you told them I was your wife or mate or whatever you want to call it, but since we’re in a group of other people now, you may not have the same problem as you did when it was just the two of us.”

Tarq studied the rock he held in his hand for a moment, and then began chipping at it again. “What makes you think that?”

“Well, today I was out gathering firewood while you were making arrows, and you said you would go hunting tomorrow.” She paused there, shrugging her shoulders. “You won’t be close enough for my scent to bother you.”

The antler made a crunching sound as he popped more flakes from the stone. “So you’re saying you don’t want to sleep with me anymore?”

“No, not that I don’t
want
to… just that you may not
need
to.” Lucy swallowed against the lump in her throat. “We could say you only said what you did to, oh, I don’t know… protect my reputation or something.”

“But you
are
pregnant,” Tarq reminded her. “And I
am
the father.”

“Yes, but—”

“And we’ve already told everyone that. What do you suggest we tell them now?”

Lucy grimaced. “The truth?”

“What
is
the truth, Lucy? Tell me. I’m not… clear on it.”

Lucy wasn’t sure either. And she certainly couldn’t tell
him
everything.

“Look, we won’t be here forever,” Tarq said. “Traldeck has already figured out that I know the way to Noklar—although I’m not sure how he knows it. If you didn’t tell him, he must be better at mind reading than he claims. Anyway, I think we’ll be on the move again soon.”

“I didn’t say anything to him at all—at least not about that.” She stared at his hands, still moving constantly as he shaped the stone. “So you’re saying you want to continue this… charade for the time being?”

“Do you have a better idea?” He turned the rock over in his hand. It was already beginning to look like an arrowhead.

“Well, no…”

“Do you want to be free in case Vertigan is interested in you? He is, you know. I could see it in his eyes the first time he looked at you.”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. Like I’m
so
irresistible.”

“You are to me.”

“That’s only because of the way I smell. It’s got nothing to do with who I am or what I look like or anything else. And even if Vertigan
was
interested in me at first—which I seriously doubt—he won’t be now that he knows I’m pregnant. Guys don’t like raising other men’s children.”

“Hey, Lucy,” Nat called out as she entered the cave. “Didn’t you say you had some apples? Not many of the berries were ripe today. I thought maybe we could chop up some apples and make a fruit salad—we haven’t had that kind of variety in ages.”

“I’m sure you haven’t,” Lucy called back. “I’ll get them.” Thankful for the interruption, she slipped past Tarq and went to retrieve the apples.

To her chagrin, her hands were shaking as she reached into her duffel bag. She hadn’t wanted to avoid sharing a bed with Tarq; she’d only intended to give him an out if he wanted one. Odd that he didn’t take it. She was among friends now—not all alone like she’d been while on the road to Yalka—and had less need of his protection. And he certainly didn’t need her anymore. He was as healthy as he’d been before he ever met up with Fred’s gang.

Still, the others seemed to need him. If they were truly searching for a way out of these mountains—and she had no reason to dispute their word—Tarq could lead them to Noklar. They could report to the authorities there and maybe something could be done to protect the nonhumans in Yalka. She’d been a witness and could identify at least three of the culprits. Once they were brought to justice, perhaps she and the rest of the group could go back to Yalka—they to their homes, and she to find one of her own. Vertigan could return to Madric, and Nat and Traldeck could rebuild their house. Everything would be as it was—as it should have been. They could go on with their lives. She would have her babies and all would be well.

Except for one thing: Tarq wouldn’t be there. And that was one part of the happily ever after that Lucy could do without.

Chapter 20

In Tarq’s opinion, roasted rock rat wasn’t bad at all. More seasoning would’ve improved it, but the meat was tender, mildly sweet, and didn’t taste the least bit gamey. He had an idea that the others had simply grown tired of it. Like Traldeck, they were all very excited about the possibility of having dranik for dinner and Tarq hoped they wouldn’t be disappointed.

Despite the difficulties they faced, Tarq found living in a cave and sitting around the fire after dinner to be quite pleasant. Staying here for a few more days while they built up a store of dried meat for the journey to Noklar would be no problem, unless Vertigan used that time to get closer to Lucy. Still, having a good supply of food would be best for keeping on the move. Having to stop and hunt along the way would slow them down considerably.

Water was another factor. Lucy had carried enough for herself, but her meager supply of water bottles wouldn’t be sufficient for all of them. Reaching the river in the valley below would solve that problem, but with the vrelnots hunting them, they might not be able to stay close to the water all the time. If the river current was flowing toward Noklar—which, considering that the water originated high in the mountains, it probably did—they could travel much more quickly if they only had a boat…

But boats were time-consuming to build. A log raft would be best, but cutting the wood, lashing the logs together with only knives? That would take a very long time. Unless…

Tarq tossed the rat bones into the fire and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Leaning back against the rock formation behind him, he stretched his legs toward the fire, dropping a casual arm around Lucy’s shoulders. When he gave her a little squeeze, she scooted closer to rest her head on his chest. Bratol sat on the opposite side of the fire, gazing at them as though their blended auras pleased him. This was the sort of behavior the others would expect from a recently mated couple, and though Lucy might have only been pretending, Tarq was enjoying every minute of it.

But to make it last, they needed to reach Noklar. “So, Traldeck, you say you can control fire. Tell me, how does that work?”

“Oh, you should see him,” said Terufen. “He sets things on fire just by looking at them.” His own bulbous eyes danced with mischief. “Don’t ever turn your back on him.”

Traldeck glanced sideways at the Norludian. “I have
never
set anyone on fire.”

“Well, maybe not,” Terufen said with a sniff. “But you can’t say you’ve never been tempted.”

Traldeck chuckled softly. “So true.”

“Could you cut down a tree?”

“To be perfectly honest, I’ve never tried,” Traldeck replied. “I can warm up objects and start campfires—even ripen some kinds of fruit. But a tree—a really large tree—might be beyond my ability.”

Kotcamp turned to Tarq. “Some of them can shoot fireballs out of their eyes. I’ve seen them do it.”

“If I could do that, taking down vrelnots and draniks would be easy.” Traldeck shook his head. “No. I could start a fire at the base of a tree, but after that…” He shrugged.