Page 27 of Between Two Barbarians

“I’m sorry, tavi. The change from night travel to regular waking is always difficult. Are you hungry? The midday meal is soon. We can go to the village center and–”

“No,” Jamal pouted, turning fully so he could throw his arms around my neck and bury his face against me. “I’m not done bathing. You skipped my back.”

I didn’t fight the smile pulling at my lips. In other words, he wasn’t ready to give up my attention just yet. I felt a little smug about that and returned to running my hands over his skin. The oil was gone now, but who was I to complain when the beautiful male in my lap wanted me to touch him?

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

JAMAL

I was still pouting as I wandered around the barbarian clan alone. Since I’d first shown up at the Velgraz Clan, I had either one or the other of my barbarians by my side. Usually both, since they both got a little jealous if the other got more time with me. But I’d never been alone before. Even before we’d started fucking, they weren’t far. Now, they were somewhere doing training, and I was left to fend for myself.

I thought about going to watch, I did enjoy watching them spar and roll around together, but I had no idea how long the training would last, and I knew I’d get bored if it took too long. It didn’t seem worth it. Besides, I kind of wanted them to suffer too, not knowing where I was or what I was doing, in recompense for leaving me all alone.

Torgrind had tried to get me to rest, and while he wasn’t wrong that I’d been exhausted when I woke up after a very long night of sex, the idea of lying down without them pressed against me bugged me. I didn't want to sleep without my big barbarians touching me.

My scowl deepened as I thought about them together without me. It didn’t matter that when I wasn’t around, they didn't get along. I wanted their attention on me!

Kicking at sand did absolutely nothing to make me feel better, and I couldn’t even go look for Yngvar for some alcohol to ease the boredom since he was at the training thing as well. Most of the barbarians were, which was just annoying. The clan was boring without them!

“You look like a pocket of sunshine this morning,” Abigail’s familiar voice said from somewhere nearby.

I hadn’t been paying attention to where I was wandering and somehow my feet led me to the paddock where they kept the horses. Unlike the tents, which were kept a little separate between clans, the horses were all together in one huge area mostly under the shade of the trees, with access to a small creek that flowed from the main river and plenty of bushes and smaller trees to nibble on. I had only caught glimpses of it since we arrived because my attention had been diverted by Prince Zakai and Simon, and then the demanding attention of my barbarians. Abigail was astride a mount, looking at me with amusement in her eyes.

“What reason do I have to be in a good mood?” I challenged. “Both my barbarians are off playing with each other while I’m here all alone.”

She rolled her eyes, tossing one leg over so she could slide off her mount’s back. The mount didn't go far, sniffing at her pockets for treats, and she handed him one from one of the pouches tied to her belt.

“First of all, I’ve met your barbarians. They’d take exception to anyone making any noise that they ‘played’ with each other. Second, you need to find a way to entertain yourself without them. Otherwise you’ll end up relying on them for entertainment all the time and whining and pouting when they can’t give it to you.”

I scowled at her annoyingly accurate description of what I was currently doing. I refused to admit for even a second she might be right.

“What else is there to do around here?” I asked accusingly. “The clans are a lot more boring and sedate than I expected. It’s like all you ever do is sit around.”

She gave me a droll expression, leaning her forearms against the wooden fence around the paddock. “Sitting around isn’t something I do often. Nor do many of the clan. They all find something to do. You should do the same.”

It sounded like she wanted me to work, and I was absolutely not going to do that. I already had to work for the rest of my life in the castle. I was as young as four when I started doing chores in the castle kitchens. If my father got his way, I’d be working his job once he was too old to do it. As long as I was out here and out of the range of my father’s wrath, I wasn’t going to do anything I didn’t have to.

“Like what? If you say work, I’m going to hurt you.”

She didn't take offense to my snark, grinning at me. “I’d like to see you try, shortie. But no, I wasn’t saying that you needed to work every time you were bored. That’d get exhausting. I said find something to do.”

I threw my hands up, exasperated. “Like what?”

“Whoo, you need to cool off first before I even think to help you,” she replied, patting the wood of the fence and tipping her head toward the paddock. “Come on. Maybe some time around the horses will make you better company.”

Because I had nothing better to do, I clambered over the fence to join her, heading for the shade where most of the herd was resting or snacking. She wasn’t the only horsemaster out here. There were a few others brushing manes or checking hooves in different areas of the paddock, doing all the boring chores that came with caring for horses. I wasn’t interested in doing any of that, since it looked a lot like work to me, and crossed my arms petulantly when we were finally under the shade and surrounded by the herd.

“How is this any more entertaining than–”

A large head nudged me before I could finish the question, knocking me off balance. I stumbled, and Abigail caught me with a laugh, pushing me back to my feet and jerking her chin at the stallion that had pushed me.

“Look. You’re not the only one demanding attention. He wants treats. Here.” She handed me a pouch with treats in it and pushed me toward the stallion again. I recognized him as the bitey one I’d been introduced to when Brenek took me riding.

He gave an impatient nudge of my arm when I didn’t pull a treat out fast enough, but he was delicate in taking it from me, using lips and the barest hint of teeth to take the fruit from my flat palm. Then when he finished his treat, he nudged my chin with his big face. I hummed and smiled, petting his nose.

“Well, at least someone is nice to me,” I murmured. I shot Abigail an accusing look, and she just grinned at me from where she was leaning back against one of the largest stallions I’d ever seen, using him like a wall instead of a horse.

“I figured you’d find kinship in the herd. A great deal of them are demanding for attention, just like you. You could make some friends, at the very least.”