Barbarian Mine (Ice Planet Barbarians #4)(35)

I nod. He’s right. As much as I want to leave right now, it is smarter to wait until the morning. Har-loh can rest tonight.

Eventually Leezh and Raahosh leave, Leezh looking hesitant as if she wants to fuss over my mate. I won’t let her stay, though. That is my job. Her mate eventually herds her away and then Har-loh and I are alone again. Some of the tension in my body eases and it feels as if a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

“So we’re really leaving?” Har-loh’s voice breaks through the silence of the cave. It feels unnaturally quiet now.

I move to my beloved mate and kneel next to her. I study her face, now so dear to me that I cannot imagine being without her, even for a moment. “Leezh is right. You are not well. I want healer to help you. If it means we travel with the bad ones, then we will.”

“You don’t want to go.”

I am silent. It’s not a matter of wanting to go or not. I will not allow anything to risk her.

Her eyes fill with tears. “I don’t want to go. I like our life here.”

I cannot stand the sight of her crying. It makes me feel almost as helpless and frightened as when she was unconscious earlier. I move closer, pulling her into my arms to comfort her.

“I’m scared,” she admits, wrapping her arms around me. “I feel like everything’s changing and I like it the way it is.”

I stroke her soft, orange-red hair. “I know.” But I won’t change my mind. I’m too aware of her faint earlier, her clammy skin and pale face. Leezh’s radiant health only makes it worse. I see how my Har-loh should feel and does not. I want to fix that for her.

“Promise me we won’t change?” She burrows her face against my neck. “No matter what?”

“I will tear khui from my chest before I leave you,” I tell her. “We are together. Always.”

She lifts her head and parts her lips in the way that tells me she wants to kiss. I hold her gently against me and brush my mouth over hers. Tonight is our last night alone. I want to claim her as my mate, but not if she’s feeling unwell. I pull back, uncertain.

Har-loh grabs me by a handful of my hair. “I’m not broken, Rukh. At least, no more than last night. I want to make love to you. Here, in our cave.” Her voice catches. “In our home.”

I will be careful with her. I nod and ease her gently back into the nest of furs. We will have to leave some of these behind, and this might be the last night with a comfortable bed like Har-loh likes it. I resolve to add a few of the leather puffs to my shoulder bag for her comfort—

She taps my cheek. “You’re thinking about tomorrow.”

“I am,” I admit, and nuzzle her neck.

“Are you worried about the others?”

I’m not. I worry about Har-loh. The others don’t matter. So I shake my head and lick the base of her throat, in the sensitive spot that always makes her shiver. She moans and presses against me, and we both work on pulling the laces of her tunic free for the next moment. She undresses and then I do, and then we are naked together. I pull a fur over us so Har-loh doesn’t get cold. I want to cover her body with mine, but her big belly prevents that. I lie beside her instead, caressing her. My mate loves for her soft skin to be petted, and I stroke my knuckles in the valley of her teats and down an arm.

She shivers and puts her hand on my cock, her thumb stroking along the underside of my spur. The breath hisses out of my throat at the small touch, and I grip her hand in mine, roughly stroking into the tight grip. It feels achingly good, but I don’t want to spend there. After a few more tugs, I take her hand in mine and link our fingers together. I push her arm back into the blankets, pinning her there, and claim her mouth. Her tongue strokes against mine, greedy for more.

My Har-loh. My mate. I never get tired of touching her.

We kiss, tongues playing, and my hand caresses her sensitive breast. Har-loh sighs and arches up on the furs, pressing her nipple against me. I break the kiss and move down, trailing the tip of my tongue across her chest and then down to one teat. They’re bigger now that the kit is swelling inside her, and I love how full her body is getting. I carefully lick one tip, then nuzzle it. The mewing sound she makes in reaction makes my cock jerk, and I tongue her breasts over and over, my hands roaming her soft skin.

“I love you, Rukh,” she breathes. “So much.”

“My mate,” I say softly. “My woman.” I kiss the rounded mound of her belly, and the little bump of her navel that now protrudes outward. Then I move further down, to her thighs and her cunt. Her legs spread open eagerly, and I can see she’s wet with anticipation for my mouth. She moans when I lick her folds, her body shifting on the blankets. She is mine. The thought is fierce in my head as I lick her clit the way she likes, and her hands go to my horns, holding me there.

I attack her with my mouth, using everything I have to bring her pleasure. My tongue flicks her clit, my fingers go deep in her cunt, and I stroke her as I work her with my mouth. She moans and wriggles on the furs, but I won’t stop until she comes.

Her moans turn into soft, keening little cries, and her hips push against my face. I move my fingers faster, determined. A moment later, she chokes out my name and her fluids drench my tongue. Her body shudders with pleasure and my cock aches and aches.

But I lick her until she pushes my face away. Instead of asking her to get on her hands and knees, I lie next to my panting, sated mate and hold her against me. I wrap my arms around her, mindful of her fragility.