“Does that mean you’re going to send me away? I told you before, and I meant it: I’m not leaving unless you tell me it’s over. That you don’t want me. When you look me in the eye and say you don’t feel for me what I feel for you. That’s what it’s going to take, Lucien. And I’m not stepping aside for anything less.”
I should. I should send her away, where she’d be safe.
“I can’t do that. I’m not strong enough. I am going straight to the nine hells, but I’m too selfish to send you away, even if I can’t have a bond with you.”
One look, one hungry, desperate look, and then our lips crashed together, a wave of longing washing the pain away, just for a moment. I tangled my fingers in her silky hair and lost myself in the taste of her lips.
She was my angel, and I was her devil.
Maybe that was how it was always meant to be.
I backed her up to the nearest tree, cushioning the back of her head with a hand as I pressed in closer, lining us up perfectly as she ground her hips against mine. I was dying for another taste of her, and I didn’t give a fuck if we were in the middle of the woods in broad daylight, I had to have her. Right here, right now. One last time.
But Olivia froze beneath me, frantic grasping turning to shoving, making me stagger back a step.
Good. She was coming to her senses.
Fresh pain lanced through my chest, but I welcomed it. I deserved it.
“Do you hear that?” she asked, fingers still twisted in the front of my T-shirt.
“Hear what?”
“Shh, listen.” She pointed to her ear, then away into the forest.
Crunching underbrush.
We aren’t alone.
I quickly pulled Olivia behind me, calling on my wolf for sharpened vision and hearing. He obliged begrudgingly to protect her. Within seconds, I’d pinpointed where the sounds were coming from. But when the two culprits walked into sight, my breath caught in my chest.
“Goblins,” I whispered, low enough I knew the noisy pair wouldn’t have heard me over the sound of their own crunching footsteps.
Olivia gripped the back of my shirt, her excitement palpable even as she remained still and silent.
They were short, probably around two and a half to three feet tall, with pale green skin and bright purple eyes. Darker green shocks of hair stuck out in many directions from their heads, and they conversed freely in Goble, their native language. Their clothes were ragged, seemingly handmade from scraps. The one on the left had a big red heart from an “I heart New York” T-shirt patched onto the seat of his-her?-pants.
Before I could decide what to do next, Olivia was past my shoulder, walking as noisily as she could in their general direction.
“Hellcat! What are you doing?” I hissed, forced to jump into motion to keep up with her.
“I’m alerting them to our presence in a nonthreatening way,” she paused just long enough to whisper, then began to talk loudly as she walked again.
“This is such a beautiful area! I can’t believe nobody lives here. Do you think we could settle near here, babe?”
Ahh. Casual approach. She elbowed me in the ribs when I didn’t answer fast enough to suit her.
“I- Uh, sure. If that’s what you want, babe.”
An alarmed squeak came from the smaller goblin as it tugged on its friend’s sleeve and wildly gestured in our direction as they exchanged rapid-fire Goble. I knew only a few pleasantries, and that was when it was spoken at a stately, dignified pace. This exchange was nothing one would call dignified.
Olivia giggled, and the sound lifted my spirits. “Excellent. I can definitely see us raising a whole litter of pups out here! So much green space for them to explore.” She threw her arms wide and spun, the very picture of a carefree woman, and my heart ached at the fact that it was fake.
Fuck, I wanted the joy to be real. Just once in my life, I wanted the joy to be real.
We continued chatting about our fake moving plans as we slowly worked our way toward the pair, until finally, they had a decision to make.
The taller of the two stepped out from behind a bush, stopping us in our tracks. He-I could see now the small patches of facial hair that hadn’t been visible at a distance-puffed out his chest, lifting his chin as he stared up at us.
“You cannot move here and raise your pups. This land is formally claimed by our goblin clan. Please leave.”
Olivia wore a wide smile as she crouched down to be closer to his eye level. “Oh, my! Well, I am so sorry to intrude. My name is Olivia, and this is my mate, Lucien.” She extended a hand, which the young-he was an adolescent, if I had to guess-goblin shook seriously. “Goblin clan, you say? Why, that sounds exciting! A few of our pack mates are also visiting the area, and since the land is already claimed, we will respect that and not encroach. But it is customary that the leaders meet if they’re in the same area. Perhaps we could set something up between our pack alpha and your leader?”
“I am Tork, a scavenger for the clan. This is Wheelie, my girlfriend.” He cast an appreciative glance over at the smaller female, who met it with a glare that clearly contradicted his assertion.
She cut in front of him, extending her own hand for Olivia to shake, which she did. “I am Wheelie, scavenger for my clan and a free woman.” I nearly passed out when she turned her attention on me and winked, throwing in a salacious hip wiggle, even though I was three times her size.
“Well, it’s been lovely to meet you both. If we wanted to bring our Alpha and pack mates back to meet you, where should we go? Oh, and when would your clan be open to receiving visitors?”
Tork and Wheelie broke into a verbal tussle in Goble, which Wheelie clearly won.
“You can return this evening. Seven o’human clock, two miles east of the visitor center. There’s a footpath, but we will come and meet you,” she said brightly, giving a little bow to each of us. “For now, we must go tell our clan to prepare a feast, for there are visitors!”
At that, they bolted, still arguing loudly as they zipped through the underbrush with speed, if not stealth.
“That just happened, right? We found them, and I’m not imagining it?” Olivia asked as she straightened, beaming up at me.
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