“Are we safe?” she whispered in his ear. “We’ll know in a few minutes.” His breath tickled the skin of her cheek and his warmth went a long way in soothing her ragged nerves.
They stood right beside each other, waiting. And she didn’t miss the fact that he was protecting her with his body. Though whether he did it out of habit or on purpose, she couldn’t tell. Yes, she could take care of herself, but she found his actions sweet and unexpected.
Most of all, she found them strangely endearing.
Caillen glanced down at Desideria to make sure she wasn’t panicking.
She definitely wasn’t. Her lips were parted while she stared past him, toward the entrance. But that wasn’t what held his interest. It was the deep cleft between her breasts. Her top was so tight, it pushed them up to the point it appeared that even the slightest breath would spill them out.
Sneeze, baby, sneeze.
Unfortunately, she didn’t. Damn. He’d like to have some good come to him after the freight load of crap that’d assaulted him today. Even if it did mean the Andarions would find them and he’d have to battle his way out.
Some things were just worth it.
And he had a gut feeling seeing her naked was definitely one of those things.
Just a tiny taste…
Desideria went rigid as she realized Caillen had his head practically buried in her hair. “Are you sniffing me?”
His warm, low laugh sent chills over her. “I prefer to say I’m admiring your scent, but yeah, I guess you could say I’m sniffing you and you smell really good.”
Normally that would creep her out. Instead, she was actually aroused by the gesture. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say she was aroused by his presence. Even dressed like some phantom creature, he was sexy. Only Caillen could pull off that look. And she had a strange curiosity about what his fangs would feel like grazing her skin.
As if he could hear her thoughts, he dipped his head closer to hers. But before he could make contact with her lips, a loud voice sounded outside.
Desideria listened intently. Nothing was remotely familiar to her. Not a single syllable. “What are they saying?” she whispered in Caillen’s ear.
He placed a gentle finger against her lips as he listened. That sensation sent a chill over her and made her wonder what it would have been like to kiss him. I shouldn’t be attracted to him.
Yet she was…
He didn’t move until the voice had drifted out of her hearing range. When he spoke, he whispered low in her ear, raising even more chills along her body. “They’re calling in search animals that will be able to sense p the mirrors. We’ll have to get out of here.”
“And go where?”
“Wherever there’s something that can mask our scent.” He moved away from her to retrieve his backpack. “We’ll need a cover story should we cross paths with the natives. I’ll be using the alias Dancer Hauk. Call me Hauk around other people.”
She curled her lip at his choice of alias. What a stupid name. Surely that would get them caught faster than her appearance. “Dancer Hauk?”
He held his hands up in surrender. “Believe me, I know the name’s a freakfest. But he’s actually a real person and he’s Andarion. With any luck, they’ll know his name and not his face. If we’re really lucky, they’ll have heard about his fearsome reputation—which will definitely buy us some prestige.” He slung the pack over his shoulder. “If they know his face, well… we’ll deal with it. Let’s just hope we catch a break at some point today.”
Her jaw went slack at the way he moved through the darkness. Light of foot, with the fluid moves of a trained dancer, he picked the light stick up and extinguished it before sliding it into his pocket. It was obvious this was his natural habitat—hiding from enemies… not cruising on board a ship full of aristocrats.
In a few heartbeats, he eliminated all traces of their presence, then sprayed something she assumed would mask their scent from the animals. He crooked his finger for her to follow him. At the opening, he removed his mirrors, returned them to the pack and led her back into the woods. He sprayed more of his bottle’s contents, but she couldn’t detect anything at all coming out of it.
“What is that?” she asked.
“Aquibrade.”
He said that like she should know what he was talking about. It was gibberish to her. “And it does…?”
“It’s erackle pheromones.”
Her head was starting to ache from his unfamiliar vocabulary. “What’s an erackle?”
“One of the ugliest-looking animals you’ll ever meet. But they secrete a scent that if inhaled by another animal screws up their olfactory glands for days. One whiff and they won’t be able to find us.”
“Should we bathe in it?”
He gave her a charming grin. “We could, but if we happen upon an erackle, it would try to mate with us. Trust me, that would get ugly fast.”
Yeah, but that might not be a concern for them. “Do they have those here?”
“No idea.” He handed her the bottle. “If you’re willing to risk it, I’m willing to film it and make a lot of money from it online.”