“Oh. Ok. Where should I sleep?”
“Your hut,” he said, tossing his head toward the jungle where it waited for her.
She bit her lip and glanced up at him. She could have no idea how ungodly alluring that particular look was on her. “But it was just finished this evening.”
“Yeah. I know. I was the one who finished it.” He knew he was being an asshole. He hated himself for it.
She bit her lip even harder. “I just mean that I haven’t had time to bring my cot or blankets or any of my things out there. I was hoping I’d get to do all that in the morning and then move out there tomorrow night.”
Shit. She was right. He couldn’t make her sleep on a wood floor. He brushed a hand over the top of his head.
“Fine. You’ll sleep in my hut, then.”
Panic flitted across her face and he felt a stab of remorse that the idea would cause her such distress.
“Alone,” he finished. “You’ll sleep in my hut alone.”
“But where will you sleep?” she asked, tilting her head to one side.
“Not your concern,” he snapped and had her eyes dropping to the ground again. Fuck. Yelling at her was like trampling on a flower. But there was nothing to be done about it now. The petals were already smashed to oblivion. They were both just going to have to learn to live with it.
CHAPTER FOUR
“Well, he’s definitely kind of an ass. But he’s not completely wrong,” said Keiko, one of the other Surgere nurses and easily Zara’s closest friend in the camp. The two women stood hip to hip in a stream, checking nets they’d put out to catch fish. Zara had just gotten done explaining some of the finer points of her talk with Solar the other night.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, it sounds like he was just as bossy and rude to you as he always is. But he was kind of right about your desires changing.”
“You mean after I hit fertility and become mateable?”
Keiko nodded her beautiful head of long black hair. “Yeah. It’s not crazy or uncontrollable or anything. You don’t go around howling at the moon. But when you reach fertility, you… want.”
“Want what?”
“The company of a man,” Keiko said discreetly. “Some women feel it both emotionally and physically, and some women feel it just one way or the other. But you never quite know how you’re going to feel.”
“I don’t want to feel any differently,” Zara confessed.
“I didn’t either. Before I hit my season.”
“What happened when you did?”
“Well,” Keiko stood up and stretched her back for a second. “I hit my season a week after I turned 21. I know. A little late. But most women don’t hit exactly on their birthday.” She bent back to her work. “But it hit and I was very… aware of my body. Not to mention curious. I mean, you gain access to a body part you’ve never really seen before.”
Keiko was referring to the fact that, until they hit their fertility season, female dragon shifters have their dragon scales between their legs to keep them from breeding too young. When their fertility season hits, their scales shift away for the first time, leaving them bare.
Zara nodded. She guessed she was pretty curious about that. “Did you mate with David right away?” Zara asked, referring to Keiko’s mate.
Keiko let out a bright laugh. “No way! I sowed my royal oats for a few years, if you know what I mean. The first year or so after you become mateable is so energetic. You have a lot of mating energy, you know?”
Zara completely blushed. She didn’t know. She actually had no idea what that felt like. “So you’ve been with other shifters besides David?” She felt dumb for even having to ask.
“We both have. When you first shift, men are very attracted to you. They say you smell differently. And they come after you until you’re mated with somebody. Some are more determined than others. If, after a few years you still haven’t mated with someone, they’ll still find you attractive, but the fever goes down a little bit.”
Zara bit her lip against the question she desperately wanted to ask. It finally bubbled out. “How do you know if you’re mated with someone?”
To her credit, Keiko didn’t balk at the question, although it was a question that even very young dragons knew the answer to. Keiko knew that Zara had been raised very sheltered. “Well, the fastest way to get mated with someone is if they get you pregnant. But the other way is if you’re claimed.”
“How do you know if you’re claimed?” Zara asked.
“Trust me. You know.”