I waited a breath, two, a long and quiet pause. Khell could be remarkably quiet for being so massive, but then a floorboard creaked. His steps moved to the door, and I cheated for a glance.

He was leaving the room, naked and gloriously tall, his cock still shining with our release. There were scratches on his back, although I knew they wouldn't last long. They were my marks, just as the little bruises from his claws and tusks scattered over my skin were his marks, and they filled me with a sense of pride. He paused at the threshold, and I shut my eyes again before he turned and caught me staring.

There was another long stretch of quiet, a soft shuffle, and then a moment later, I heard the click of a door shutting.

My eyes opened and I held my breath, waiting for another sound within the cottage that never came. Was I imagining the whiff of fresh air floating closer? My stomach turned and I sat up with a groan, my muscles weak and sore, the room spinning briefly and then settling again.

The cottage was quiet, and now that I was sitting up I could see the sun was starting to set, the woods outside taking on an orangey glow.

It was the end of the fifth day. Khell had left.

Without a goodbye? I grit my teeth and bowed my head, swallowing the wounded sound that wanted to rise up from the gentle tearing in my chest.

No, he'd left after spending almost a full twenty-four hours in bed with me. After a glorious kiss. Five days that had changed how I viewed myself, viewed sex.

How else were we meant to say goodbye?

I sucked in a deep breath, but the wound in my chest wouldn't heal so easily. Fair enough. I rose up from the bed on wobbling legs at the same moment that the cuffs around my wrist beeped and then released, falling to the bed.

Time's up.

CHAPTER 17

Khell'ar

Sunny was meant to have two hours in the cottage alone before she left. I only gave her one, unable to tear myself away any sooner. Even then, I remained in the woods, watching.

Sunny left barely twenty minutes after me. Hidden in the trees, I could smell her from yards away. She hadn't bathed, her skin was still coated in our release. Neither had I, too reluctant to lose her scent, but I'd expected her to want to clean up. Her hair was tangled, lips chapped, eyes hollow—

No, you're exaggerating now.

My claws bit into my own palms, my muscles so tense they burned as I planted my heels into the branch of the tree I perched on and resisted the urge to leap down to the ground and chase after my mate, throw her up into my arms and carry her…

Where?

Home.