Mated to the Warrior Beast

133 Touch My… Heart

~ JAYAH ~

Skhal shook his head, a low growl puttering in his throat. “Be safe, Jayah. I will do as you instruct. I will walk where you point and wait when you ask. But… promise me that you will have care for yourself. I can protect myself. You aren’t the only one who’s walked in battle. Trust me. Protect your own life. Please.”

“Of course,” she said, smiling. “I’m a healer, not a fighter.”

“That’s exactly what concerns me,” he said dryly.

Jayah gave him a sly grin. “Just because I choose not to fight doesn’t mean I can’t.”

Skhal’s brows popped up and his eyes flashed. “A soldier of stealth… of course my mate is fierce,” he said, smiling, then lifting her hand to his lips and kissing her knuckles.

They began to speak of the plan then—the new plan.

Skhal would travel with her towards the Tree City so she could lead him through the route where his scent was least likely to be crossed. She’d leave him on the outskirts of the city, just minutes walk from the prison. He could communicate with Zev throughout the day.

Then, he would creep into the City itself that night, an hour after the high moon shift change.

.....

Jayah would give the guards a drink to dull their senses, then make them sleep. And when they’re all knocked out, Skhal would lead Zev, Sasha and Zan back to their people.

They were agreed. But Skhal still looked unhappy. “What about you? What do you do when we’re gone?”

“I’ll go to bed and wait to be told what has happened. Healers are everywhere all the time. I have been asked to be a part of this… mission of care. I am highly trusted. They won’t suspect me.”

Skhal frowned, searching her gaze. “And if they do?”

“I will flee to you.” She said the words so simply, without hesitation, because they were only true.

In fact, the struggle for her would be to not flee with them from the moment Zev was free. It was in her heart to do it. She didn’t want to be separated from her mate.

But if her friends didn’t test her scent, didn’t detect her bond, she would be present to learn more and more—and to offer counsel. It was the best for everyone.

She and Skhal stared at each other, both of them scared, their hearts beating a fraction too fast. Both of them desperate—but knowing it had to be this way.

Then Skhal sighed. “Come to me, Jayah. Come back to me if you hear even the hint of war, or the scent of blood. Come to me. I’ll keep you safe in my people.”

“I will,” she said, though inside her heart sank. The truth was, if Elreth reacts explosively, there would be no time. She and the others would be trapped within the confines of the City as Tarkyn and Gar led them to war.

She’d been present for the beginning of two such occasions. She knew how hard it would be to get free.

But she would try.

Skhal sighed again, then leaned in, tracing her nose with his.

Jayah’s heart clenched at the tiny gesture of tenderness. She leaned in to kiss him again. She’d only intended to lay her lips on his, to show him how he touched her heart. But as their mouths met, Skhal sucked in a breath and pulled her close, and Jayah found herself swept into his kiss…

Her mate.

Her mate. Her strong, courageous, thoughtful mate was there. And soon they would be parted.

To hell with getting back to the Prison on a normal schedule.

Jayah wrapped her arms around his neck and rolled back, pulling him with her, until he lay over her. She wallowed in the weight of him, pressed into his touch.

To hell with the time.

To hell with the morning.

To hell with this brewing war.

Her mate was here now. The most precious of gifts.

She would love him as often, and as long as she could.

As Skhal took her mouth, his breath already rising, Jayah drew her hands up his back and tugged the furs higher that had fallen down the great slope of his body when he’d rolled onto her. It was an instinctive gesture, a nurturing one. She didn’t want him to grow cold as he covered her with his warmth.

But he stopped kissing her for a moment, raised his head enough to meet her eyes and stared at her as if he was awed.

“What is it?” she asked, one hand on his neck, the other at his back.

“You,” he whispered, shaking his head in disbelief. “I’ve never had… in my whole life… Jayah, I am an elder among a people whose lives have been cut short, time and again. I have lived through invasion, kidnapping, experimentation, and I have fled certain death. I have walked in a clan and advised and… But no one has ever… cared for me.”

Jayah frowned. “Your people don’t care for you?” She was offended by the idea.

Skhal gave a low chuckle. “That’s not what I meant. I have dear friends and clanmates and… Yes, people care for me, mate. So you can put the fierce frown away. What I meant was… My life is marked by the need to watch for myself. Provide for myself. I have worked with others, and our clan shares responsibility. We serve each other. But I have never had another pair of hands to give thought to what I might need before I express it. You… you care. You truly care. And it stole my breath.”

“Of course I do—as you do for me. We are mates!”

“Yes, I know,” he smiled, his eyes dancing. “But… know that you touched my heart just now, lovely. That thought for my comfort… it touched me.”

Jayah blew out a breath and pulled him down for another kiss, smiling into it as his breath quickened. “I’m glad,” she whispered, against his lips, then let her tongue dart out to flicker against his. “Now… will you touch me?”

Skhal stifled a booming laugh in her shoulder, then growled with delight.

“My mate’s wish is my command,” he said with a sly mischief, then dove under the furs to open his mouth on her breast so that Jayah gasped and forgot all about nurturing, completely.

*****

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