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“No,” I said. I kept my hands on my thighs while she started touching it again. Her knee was still against mine. I could feel her warmth through my trousers, and I wanted to move closer without making her take her hand away.

Teresa’s attention moved from my chest to the scar on my horn. Her fingertip followed it down toward the base, and the muscles along my back tightened. There was hardly any pressure, but I felt the stroke all the way down my neck. My hands closed around her waist.

“How did you get this?” she asked, pausing when I drew her closer.

“The same way I got all the other ones.” The words came out lower than I intended. Her thumb rested against the sensitive skin beneath my horn, and I had to make myself look at her face instead of lowering my head for more.

She stroked it again. Fuck. Her touch lingered after her fingers moved, and the brush of her shirt against my chest made it difficult to sit still. I should have told her how sensitive my horns were, but I wanted her to keep touching me.

“Rauf?” Her hand slid to the back of my neck. She was looking at my lips, close enough that I could feel the warmth of her breath.

A decent male would have told her to leave. She wanted a husband, and I couldn’t be that for her. Instead, my thumb moved over her cheek. Teresa turned into my palm, and I leaned down and kissed her.

The first touch was soft. Then her fingers tightened behind my neck and she pulled me closer, her mouth firm against mine. My hand spread across her back. She fitted against me so easily that I pulled her nearer again, until her arms were around my shoulders and there was no space left between us.

I’d been careful with her all morning. Now she was kissing me hard enough to make my lips ache, and I wanted her to keep doing it. When she pulled back just far enough to look at me, I followed her. She made a small sound against my mouth and caught my face in both hands.

Teresa held on while I stood and lifted her. Her legs wrapped around my waist, and the weight of her in my arms made me forget my shoulder entirely. She kissed me again, her fingers rough in my hair, and I had to pull away long enough to see where I was putting her. Even then, her lips brushed my cheek as I lowered her onto the bed.

She lay back without taking her arms from my neck. I followed, bracing one hand beside her head, and she brought my mouth to hers again. Her hair slid across my wrist. The blankets still smelled of her salve, but all I could think about was the pressure of her hand on my back and how quickly I’d learned to want her closer whenever she eased away.

“Teresa.” Her name came out against her lips. She touched my cheek, and I kissed her again before I could decide what else to say.

Her shirt bunched beneath my hand as I drew it along her side. For a moment she pressed closer. Then her fingers loosened at the back of my neck, and she turned her face away.

“We can’t.”

I stopped with my mouth beside her cheek. She was still breathing hard, and I waited while she took her arms from around me. My hand stayed on the mattress as I pushed myself upright. I didn’t trust it anywhere else yet.

Teresa sat up beside me. My lips still felt tender, and I had to swallow before I could manage anything more than her name. She wouldn’t look at me yet.

“I came here to find a husband,” Teresa said, turning toward me on the bed. “I’m part of the bride program.” She wiped her mouth. “I don’t think you’re going to walk into Nezara’s office and…”

I pulled back before I could stop myself. Nezara’s office. My name beside Teresa’s. I couldn’t even get a word out, and she was looking right at me.

“Yeah, I didn’t think so,” she said. She lowered her gaze and swung her legs off the bed.

I stood when she did, my hand lifting toward her before I let it drop. Teresa straightened her top and moved away from the bed. There was barely a step between us, but I couldn’t seem to take it.

“Keep feeding the goat if it will eat. It sounds like it’s doing well. Keep me posted.” She smoothed her hands down her shirt once more. “Or, maybe have Drev keep me posted.”

I growled, and Teresa stopped smoothing her shirt. She looked up at me. I opened my mouth, then closed it again, and we stood there until she turned toward the door.

“I’m going to walk back to town now,” she said, taking a step toward the hall.

“I can drive you.” I reached for the shirt on the chair.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She stopped in the doorway without coming back.

“We don’t know what’s out there,” I said. My fingers closed around the torn shoulder of the shirt. I’d barely gotten her back here.

“Whatever it was, it’s miles away from the farm in the opposite direction from town,” she said. She rested one hand on the doorframe. “I’ve been walking out here for days. I think I’ll be fine.”

She turned toward the hall. I left the shirt on the chair.

“Let Nakhil take you then, if you won’t let me,” I said before she could go.

“I would feel better if I knew you’re safe,” I said.