Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 31025 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 155(@200wpm)___ 124(@250wpm)___ 103(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31025 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 155(@200wpm)___ 124(@250wpm)___ 103(@300wpm)
Calliope was his mate. The elder said so.
This was why he didn’t go to the elder, because he wanted Calliope all to himself.
Chapter Four
Since the waterfall, they hadn’t spoken. They didn’t have sex, but kissed, and it felt so good. Even now, Calliope wanted to put her fingers to her lips and touch them, just to see if she was thinking clearly.
That kiss had been pretty damn magical. She hadn’t wanted it to end.
The hot weather had become bearable, and after a prolonged time beneath the waterfall, getting washed and making out, they had no choice but to move on.
Now, they were building a small fire. There was food that had appeared in their backpacks. Jaxson was the one who built the fire, while she went and gathered more wood and leaves to put on it so they could have a small camp.
She didn’t like the fact they were not talking about it, though it wasn’t like they needed to talk about anything. So, they made out and had some fun. So what? Only, it wasn’t a so-what kind of feeling.
Her lips still tingled and she loved it when he put his hand on her ass, and now all she could think about was making out with him again.
Their silence wasn’t boring. It was companionable. It was peaceful. It was easy. This wasn’t hard for them. They had done a lot of fun things when they were younger, but they never made out. They never crossed that line between friends.
“Are you hungry?” Jaxson asked.
“Starving.”
And they would talk about everything and anything. She couldn’t even remember half their conversations, but she was pretty sure as kids they even talked about farting. That was how they were. That was an embarrassing memory.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Jaxson asked.
“What?” Would it be easier to play dumb?
“The kiss. The mating. The elder. The Hunt?”
She laughed, but it sounded so forced. “We do have a lot to talk about, don’t we?”
“Yeah and no. I mean, I loved that kiss.”
“Me too,” Calliope said.
“This is what this place is supposed to do. It is meant to strip us of what we think is right when it comes to one another, and make us see how we really are.”
“I guess, when it is hot, we know what to do,” she said.
He laughed. “I don’t know if we were manifesting that heat, or if it was part of this whole thing.”
She found some pans that had magically appeared. “I don’t know. I don’t regret it, though.”
“What?” he asked.
“I don’t regret the kiss. I’m happy we kissed.” She felt her cheeks start to heat.
“I am too.”
She looked toward him. “This is good. This is progress.”
“Come on, Calliope. It’s not like it is going to be hard. We got along once, and we were great together.”
“Yeah, when we were kids, but that is not the case anymore. We’re adults.” She shrugged. “And a lot has happened.”
“That’s true.”
They were silent and Jaxson had already started to cook the food.
“Do you want to be mated to me?” Calliope asked.
He looked up.
“I just figure this is something you and I have to come to terms with. We’re not getting out of here until we realize the same thing.” She pressed her hands together.
“Then you’ve got to answer that question. Are you ready to answer it?” he asked.
She pressed her lips together and it was like they still tingled from the kiss.
“Yeah and no,” Calliope said. “When I think of the boy I used to know, I can’t imagine being mated to anyone else. For a long time, I thought he was my soulmate. Then, one day, me and my parents got home from a mini vacation, and it was like you changed. You got mean. You no longer liked me, and you hated that I was a human. I don’t want to be mated to that guy.”
That was as open as she was willing to be at that very moment. It was scary laying her heart out because he could crush it.
“I want to be mated to you,” Jaxson said. “It’s why I didn’t go to the elders. It’s why I knew there was a risk we’d end up in here, and it would be a fight to the death, but I want to be mated to you.”
“What happened?” Calliope asked.
“You ... stopped being my friend.”
This made her frown. “That is not what happened,” Calliope said. “I was right there, the whole time. I left, and we made plans to camp and hang out. When I got back, you went and played with other guys, and you told me I was nothing. That I was useless. You hated me.”
She watched as he ran a hand down his face.
“You came back from your vacation, and you were wearing your hair down. You had on this yellow summer dress, and you wore makeup.”