“We’re walking in circles,” I complain with a huff. That tree on the right with two long scratches on the bark. Yeah, we already walked past it four times now. “You sure you know where you are going?” Seriously, how hard is it to keep walking straight? I mean, this forest shouldn’t loop, right? There should be a way in and a way out.

Roharu stops and glances at the tree. He scratches one long, fluffy ear and presses his lips together. Irritation rolls off him in waves. It’s so palatable, I feel sick to my stomach. I blow out a breath to regulate myself, but the sickness remains, and my skin is itchy. His feelings shouldn’t be having such a dramatic effect on me.

“A reality-warping forest then,” he says cheekily, though anger mixes with irritation. It’s creepy how he has a serene smile on his face and yet the vibes he keeps sending my way are nothing but fury. He looks up at the darkening sky. “We’ll make camp.”

“Make camp? You just said this forest is warping reality and you want to make camp?”

Roharu pinches the bridge of his nose. His shoulders are taunt. “Female—”

“Megan.”

“Megan, we are losing light. You keep stumbling around and while I could carry you, it would do more harm than good if we run into more enemies.”

I suck my teeth. “Does this mean sleeping in yet another tree?”

“You are free to lie on the grass. The forest may mistake you for a meal.” He shrugs. “Perhaps it would allow me to leave then.”

“Ha. Ha. You are soooo funny.” I roll my eyes. “There’s still a bit of light. Can’t we press on and maybe something will give?”

“My sanity,” he mutters. Roharu stretches his hand out and motions for me to walk in front. “Lead the way then, since you know where we need to go.”

Smart ass.

“I didn’t say I know the way, but maybe we could make a right turn instead of keeping straight? Can’t go wrong with going right.” I look around and instead of taking a step forward, I veer off to the right. Maybe we’ll end up back where we started or maybe not. “We haven’t run into any more beasts, though. What are we gonna do for food?”

“Starve.”

One of these days, I am going to kick his ass. At this rate, it’ll be after we are out of this so-called reality-warping, but somehow alive, forest. “I bet I could hunt something with my dagger. It can’t be that hard to find, like a rabbit or something.” Not that I have seen a rabbit since I’ve been in this world, but there has to be something small that I could hunt.

“You? Hunt?” He barks out a laugh. “You wield the dagger as though you are afraid of stabbing yourself.”

I do not. Roharu is exaggerating because he’s still pissy for whatever reason. Okay. Fine. Walking around in circles all day is annoying, but he’s been grumpy all day. Besides, if it had not been for me and this dagger, then his ass would have been toast. That spider monster was going to devour him and then it was going to eat me!

“I saved your life with this dagger.” I pull it out and waggle it in the air. “It’s not difficult to use. I mean, you stab using the pointy end. Easy peasy.” If Roharu can do it, I can do it. Granted, the only thing I’ve killed in my life is insects, but still. I got this. This is about survival and I’m not dying here.

His eyes narrow on the dagger. “Careful.”

He is such a pain. I’m always careful—OW! The dagger slips out of my hand. There’s a cut on my palm. I hiss. It freaking stings. Roharu snatches my hand and brings it closer to his face. I wince. He’s breathing on the cut, and it makes it sting more. “That was just a freak accident.”

Roharu flicks his eyes at me and then back to the cut on my palm. Yeah, that’s pretty deep. I need to bind it with something, but all I have is my shirt. Maybe Roharu can just rip it a tad? He presses his lips to my palm and his tongue scrapes against the cut. I wince again.

“That’s not... sanitary.” Heat spears my body like a bolt of lightning. This shouldn’t feel nearly as good as it does. His tongue is rough and yet the sting lessens, and the blistering pain turns into blistering desire. I bite down on my tongue and swallow back the moan. “Roharu, I think that’s enough.” My body is feverish despite the chill of the night air fast approaching. I squeeze my thighs together to alleviate the ache, but I just ache more.

There is no way I’m turned on by him licking my palm.

He hums. When did he close his eyes? My breath hitches. Okay, this has gone on for long enough. His eyes flutter open and his dark lashes are so long they kiss his cheeks. There’s something otherworldly about him. I snort mentally at that. Of course, there’s something otherworldly about him. He’s a fox demon, and this isn’t my world.

“Be more careful,” he says, giving my palm one more swipe of his tongue. He pulls his lips away, but he doesn’t let my hand go. There’s a bit of red around his purple eyes. Should I be concerned? He doesn’t seem like he’s out of his mind, but his eyes weren’t red before. Roharu sniffs the air. No, he’s sniffing me, and the tightly wound pool of desire is bursting at the seams.

Can he smell how turned on I am? Shit, I hope not. That would be embarrassing. The red spreads until I can no longer see purple. That can’t be good.

“Your eyes are slightly red,” I point out. Roharu blinks until the red recedes, and he drops my hand as though I’ve burned him. “Just checking, you are a fox demon, right? You aren’t a vampire or something? You know, bloodsuckers.” Please don’t let him be a vampire. I’m not cut out for being someone’s personal blood bank.

He bends down and picks up the dagger. Roharu looks at the blade and licks the residue blood off the blade. “I’m not a vamp-ire,” he says, testing the word out. “But your blood is sweet.”

“Not helping your case.” I clutch my hand to my chest. Wait. There’s no blood. Not even a scar. I didn’t think much about the cut he made on my cheek the other day since it was shallow, but there should be something left on my palm. “Your tongue heals?”

He nods. “There are limits, but a cut is easy enough.” Roharu puts the dagger away and motions for me to follow. “I’ll hold on to it, since you seem to have slippery hands.”

“A freak accident. That’s all.” I walk faster. This place is giving me the creeps. Not sure how long we walk, but the path is endless. Roharu stops and I walk into his back. Ouch! I rub my nose and glare at him, but he’s too busy looking at something. “What is it?”

“A cave. That’s new.” He heads towards the cave without bothering to see if I’m following him. In my mind, I’ve kicked his ass to Mars and back. Roharu switches from indifferent to sweet faster than I click my ballpoint pens. Maybe it’s a cultural thing. Maybe it’s a species thing.

Or maybe Roharu is just a dick... with two cocks.

“But what about food?” I grumble.

“I will hunt,” he sighs. “And you will eat what I bring you.” Roharu holds out a hand, indicating for me to wait while he disappears into the cave. I cross my arms and rub my hands up and down my arms. I talk a big game, but without him next to me, it is as though the forest is honing in on me.

Which is stupid.

But Roharu doesn’t want me hurt, that much is clear. And he doesn’t seem all that put out by my complaints. I blow out a breath. Great. He’s gone for a couple of minutes and I’m dissolving into a pile of regret. Something snaps. A branch? My shoulders stiffen. If I look back, then whatever is behind me will become reality.

Roharu, get back out here! I try to send for him mentally as though I have telepathic powers, but sadly, this isn’t some movie, and I’m not some all-powerful main character.

Snap.

I’m not a chicken shit. I can look back and... What the fuck is that! It stands on four legs like a horse with a snout similar to a cat. Its body is brown. Slick. The muscles ripple and its feet are like talons. I inch back toward the cave. What is taking Roharu so long? And why does everything come after me when he isn’t around?

It kicks its hind legs back, talons digging into the soil, and launches itself at me.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

“Get down!” Roharu yells, and my body drops into a squat as if his words have some kind of command over me. Maybe they do because I don’t question him. I don’t second guess. My body moves on its own. The monster falls face forward with a thud.

Oh? Is it dead? That quickly?

Roharu strolls forward and places his foot on the monster’s neck. He pulls out a dagger and slits the monster’s throat. I wince. That’s a lot of blood. My head is woozy. Well, one thing is for certain, hunting is not for me if it’s this bloody. Guess I am a city girl at heart.

“It is dead, right?”

“Now it is,” Roharu quips. “Told you I would hunt for us.”

“You didn’t go hunting though,” I point out, wiping my sweating palms on my pants. “It tried to hunt me.”

He stares at me blankly before lifting the beast with one hand. “Come on, it’s going to rain soon.” He walks past with the monster over his shoulder.

Did he?

I suck my teeth. “Did you use me as bait?”

“Do you want to be used as bait?” he throws back at me. The cave gets darker the further we go, and I have to book it to Roharu’s side before I get lost. “Stay here.” He sets the beasts down and he can’t seriously expect me to stay here in the dark with only the barest hint of light coming through from the entrance. “Relax. There are no beasts in here. I checked. I’m going out to get supplies to make a fire.”

Oh. I visibly relax and plop down a ways away from the dead beast. “Okay, I’ll be here. I guess.” Twiddling my thumbs while I wait for him to come back. Man, I hate this. Hate not being able to do much. Roharu hands me the dagger he took back and then he’s gone before I can muster a thanks. Either he’s tired or.... he’s probably over it.

I’m over it.

Thought this was going to be a simple slay a beast and move on kind of mission. My body shivers. There’s no warmth in here. It’s dark. And the only thing keeping me company is a dead beast. I chance a glance at it. Yep, it’s still dead. Roharu returns with his arms full of sticks, blocks of wood, and leaves. He works diligently to get the fire going and I blow out a breath of relief.

Finally, some warmth. I scoot closer to the flames, but not too close.

“Here,” he says, holding out a slab of meat on a stick. “You need it cooked, right?”

“Oh, thanks.” I hold it over the flame like I’m roasting marshmallows. “If we had some veggies, this could have been like a kabob,” I ramble. Roharu probably doesn’t know what that is. “Are you going to eat all of that?”

“Tonight?” he scoffs. “No. I’ll make jerky out of it.” He takes a bite out of the raw meat and some of the juice trickles out of his mouth. “You’re staring.”

“I’m not....” I pat my cheek. My face is warm. It’s because of the fire, not because of him. “I’m not staring. I was just thinking.”

Roharu takes another bite and rests his arm across his bent knee. “Thinking of my cocks or the way my tongue would feel between your thighs?”

I choke. He did not say that. His eyes lighten in the fire’s glow. My tongue is as dry as sand. “I was just thinking about....” There’s a small smirk on his face as he awaits my answer.

Crap. What was I thinking about?

 

Have a great week and thanks for reading!