Free Hunted Warrior by Lindsey Piper Page A

didn’t know if he should be thankful for her assistance, or resentful that he’d needed it at all.
    Both.
    He remembered all of that like he remembered the rebellious tumble of her hair and her challenging defiance and the kiss that had changed the entire timbre of their time together. She spoke to him without words on such a deep, primal level.
    â€œNot yet,” she said. The pressure of her hand against his, where he held the belt buckle, brooked no argument. He frowned. She needed to use more force this time. The long, slender muscles of her forearms strained to keep him from his task. “I’ll check, but we’ll need to replace the same bandage and find new ones if the bleeding starts again.”
    â€œOut of bandages?” He eyed her with a mix of surprise and amusement. “I already sacrificed my shirt. Turnabout’s fair play.”
    â€œI’m not stripping,” she said bluntly.
    â€œYou had no problem stripping me.”
    â€œNext time, if you’d rather bleed like a butchered animal, I’ll refrain from touching your precious clothing.”
    â€œSo you foresee a next time?” Mal tried, but he couldn’t help but smile. She was probably going to hit him—and part of him relished the chance to tussle with this frustrating woman. That didn’t matter. He simply could not believe her talk about futures and prophecies.
    â€œIf you mock me again, I’ll inflict the wound myself.”
    â€œI have a Dragon-forged sword.”
    She shook her head. “Don’t make empty threats, Giva. It’s unbefitting. You can’t kill me and you know it. In fact, you’re so curious, against your will, even, that you didn’t bring reinforcements. You probably don’t have any in waiting. Are you so arrogant, or are you so determined to find me compelling?”
    â€œI only want what you know, including what you knew about those Pendray assassins.”
    â€œWhich could be discussed right here, right now.” She crossed her arms over breasts outlined by her thin, dusty purple shirt. One sleeve was torn off. One forefinger with a ragged nail tapped her annoyance. She was beginning to lose some of her icy, unreadable quality. “There’s no need to take me back to some Tigony prison.”
    â€œIt wasn’t a prison.”
    â€œSo I was free to go whenever I wanted?”
    Mal grimaced in silent reply.
    She leaned near, almost nose to nose, which meant she was once again closer to him than people ever dared. The title he wore was as much armor and barbed defenses as it was an honor.
    He looked right down that filmy purple top and raised an eyebrow. “The last time you wanted to argue, you were straddling me. Let’s pick up from there.”
    â€œDo you hear me, Giva? I need you because time is weaving us together. I won’t bother telling you any more than that, because you won’t listen. You know I’ve suffered worse than you could ever inflict. You won’t get answers that way. As for your stronghold, I was free to go whenever I wanted. I proved that. The same held true with Aster. I am no one’s prisoner and no one’s pet.”
    Slowly, drawn to her softness, drawn to her , he lifted his good arm and brushed his thumb across a streak of chalky mica on her cheek. “That’s right,” he whispered. “You’re Avyi.”
    She pulled back as if his touch were a brand rather than skin on skin. Within seconds, she had pushed away from him, shouldered the quiver and her pack of supplies, and stood facing the east. “It’s a long walk to the village. We’re vulnerable out in the open.”
    â€œThat’s the plan, foreseer of great and terrible things?”
    She scowled. “You tell me, Giva. Do you remember the choices?”
    â€œFlorence . . . or dragging your skinny ass back to Greece.”
    For a moment, she appeared genuinely confused.