We ended up falling on the messy bed, both panting and a joined pile of limbs, still too desperate for that connection to let go of one another. Dahr was still inside me when I tilted back on the pillow to find it soaked. And I turned only slightly to realise that the entire bed was stained with crimson hues. Same as Dahr was.
“I’ll be back in a bit,” I announced as I let him slide from within me and moved over to rearrange my srysha, which had, of course, climbed up to my belly.
“Nora…” Dahr groaned but did not follow me. His hand remained limp on the side of the bed where my body had just fallen into, and I had to wonder exactly how much blood he’d lost. The deep stabs on his shoulder and arm were still dripping while the others had started to close up with a layer of truly disgusting crust-type looking texture.
“I’ll be right back,” I turned to give him a quick kiss. My heart jolted when my lips pressed on his skin to find that he was boiling hot, so I rushed out of the tent while still arranging my clothes.
“Sorry to bother you,” I barged into Karisha’s tent, hoping that she was still awake. Darkness welcomed me when I stepped in and left the flickering lights of the night sky behind. Unlike Dahr, Karisha did not have a source of light, so I had to fumble around and feel my surroundings with my hands and feet, until I reached the area where their bed was supposed to be.
“Karisha,” I tried to whisper and feel around, when my hand landed over a chest. Definitely not Karisha’s.
“What the fuck!” Markos snapped and I moved back lest he feel the need to kick the enemy that woke him up in the middle of the night. Fortunately, he turned on the small lamp by the bed to illuminate his concerned face and my worried one. He needed a second to look at me before alarm shot through him.
“Karisha!” he alerted his mate, who begrudgingly woke up, only to have the same reaction. A minute later, all their lights were turned on and both of them had banished sleep to analyse me with confused and worried looks.
“What did he do?” Karisha asked and started walking to me slowly, as though she was scared to touch me. I didn’t understand why, until I followed her gaze and looked down at myself. At my bloodied chest and legs, at my dishevelled clothes. I didn’t even want to think about what my face and hair looked like.
“Do you still have some of that fire light thing?” I pressed my lips together, worried about how I would justify needing such a thing. I already guessed Markos’ reply because I cut him off and added. “It’s for Dahr.”
The tribe lord’s attention instantly shot through me.
“What happened to him?” Then, as if taking a better look at me, he corrected. “What did you do to him?”
I pursed my lips and took a long breath before I spoke. “I might have… stabbed him.”
The reactions I got were polar opposite. Markos shot up and fought whatever instinct possessed him while Karisha started snickering with delight.
“This is not a laughing matter,” the tribe lord directed his fury at his mate, thank God. But she did not release her amusement and continued to smile.
“Why not? He’s the one who wanted someone who could kick his ass,” the tribe lady shrugged as she moved over to her chest of drawers, where she started looking for something.
“You must have stabbed him deep for all this blood to gush out of him,” Markos shifted his attention back to me and placed the unasked question.
“Uhmm…” How could I explain that I hadn’t stabbed his cousin once, but three times? While also enjoying slicing along his pecs and abs?
“What exactly did you do?” he came at me, but Karisha stopped him in his tracks.
“Markos, that is enough! Clearly there was tension between these two and now it’s resolved. She wouldn’t be here asking for healing potions if she wanted to kill him, would she?” The tribe lady jumped to my defence and stepped closer to me to place the small vial in my hands.
“I’ll come with you,” Markos offered, but once more, his mate intervened. I made a mental note to send her roses if the opportunity ever arose for saving my ass just now.
“You will not!” Karisha retorted. “They are clearly busy,” she widened her eyes at him, pushing her meaning through her sharp gaze.
“So first she stabs him, then she fucks him?” Markos barked with desperation.
“It’s what mates do, isn’t it?” she blinked at him with challenge as I mouthed a thank you and took the opportunity to slip away.
Back into the tent, I gave Dahr the potion and watched him until his injuries stopped bleeding and his breathing became less rugged. Then, I removed some of the bedding that was too dirty to be used and slid back into his arms, desperate for some sleep.
I woke up early in the morning with Dahr’s head in between my legs and the excuse that he had some apologising to do.
I gladly accepted.
“Do I really need that much cream?” I asked Karisha as she moved over to the small wooden shelf to pick up a third cream to lavish my skin with.
“Everything needs to be perfect,” the tribe lady replied, and following her lead, Mira nodded as well while they proceeded to cover me with the cream and make me smell extra nice. Not that the two rounds of soap and shampoo and the two other creams they had used for my body hadn’t already done that, but the women were adamant to make me look perfect for the day.
It hadn’t been my preference to stand naked in the middle of the tent and have them adorn my skin with anything and everything, but one look at Karisha’s worried expression told me that today was not a day to be toyed with.
