His whole body fuzzed and melted on the thermal blanket. Maybe this had been her strategy all along, to exhaust him and addle his wits, so he would have no chance against her in the fight that was to come. His stomach clenched at the thought. Could he really fight her, after what they had just shared? Could he kill her? It would be obscene to end beauty like hers, and all because she had no choice in what she had to do. It came to him again: there had to be another way. But he didn’t want to think about it yet. He just wanted to lie here, with her resting on his bicep, nestled in against his body, and run his hand down the silky length of her back, stroking and patting and imagining a life where she was his, and not promised to some Temerite warlord. Most of all, he wanted to know more about her. ‘Who taught you English? She tensed against him. ‘Is this the custom?’ He frowned. ‘Is what the custom?’ ‘Is it the custom to share information after mating?’ He laughed, and couldn’t resist squeezing her against him a little.
