My Fated Mate Can Have Her-Chapter 51: Stuck In A Cave

Violet

What was wrong with him?

I watched him finish setting up the tent and went inside. When he came out, it was obvious this time that he clearly did not want to look at me. He held a bundle of clothing.

"Change." There was a strange tightness in his voice as he walked past me. "Your clothes are soaked."

It was only then that I looked down at myself and felt the heat flood my face.

My clothes were wet and clung to my body like a second skin, leaving nothing to the imagination. It was even worse that I had worn something pale, and the water made light coloured clothes nearly transparent.

I might as well have been wearing nothing.

No...

Oh no.

I slapped my arms to my chest and practically dove into the tent, yanking the flap closed behind me as shame and embarrassment consumed me.

My hands shook as I stripped off the wet clothes, aware that only fabric of the tent separated us.

He would have surely seen my breasts... and...

’Stop it. Stop it.’

I found a dry pair of clothes and I made sure to wear something dark this time, even layering it with another shirt. Once I was done, I sat on the bedroll, hugging my body tight. My heart thundered in my chest.

Should I go out?

Why would I?

I think I should just sleep... It might already be evening and...

The mop of my wet clothes on the floor caught my eye and I looked at the tent flap. I couldn’t leave it here in the tent like that.

Wet clothes in hand, I made my way to the entrance.

"I’m coming out," I murmured, just in case he was changing his clothes.

I emerged from the tent.

He was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall. A wide fabric was spread on the floor not too far away from him, his wet clothes spread on it. I slowly made my way to it and spread mine too in the space available.

I flinched when he moved, and found him extending a small silver object to me.

I quickly realized what it was. I grabbed the morsel, a portion of the leftover roasted meat he had prepared earlier. I sat a small distance away from him and ate it in silence. I wasn’t sure if it was the steady drum of the rain outside, or the drifting cold air into the cave, or even the mate bond, that made the space around us intimate somehow.

The shadows seemed to press in around us as the sky grew darker outside by the minute. I stole a few glances in his direction. His hair was still damp, pushed back from his face, and he was looking out towards the cave entrance. The flashes of lightning and thunder showered the inside of the spacious cave with brief moments of light.

"There is a water skin in the big sack." Him speaking out of nowhere made me flinch and jerk my gaze away from him. "You can have some when you’re done eating."

I ate the last bite and crumpled the foil, sparing another glance at him. The rain continued outside, a steady drumming that echoed through the cave. It should have been peaceful. Should have been comfortable. We were dry, shielded from the ongoing storm, and relaxed.

Instead, the air felt charged and heavy.

"Are you still going to examine my syzygy tonight?" I asked suddenly, and my back straightened.

The question had escaped my lips before I could stop it.

His jaw visibly tightened. "No."

Just like that?

Without any explanation?

Why?

’Don’t press it. Don’t push him. He is clearly unsettled.’

’Why is he not looking at me? And this was something he had already said he would help me with!’

My thoughts clamoured in my head, and I had a strange stubbornness rise within me, along with a wave of panic.

What if my senses overloaded again.

I glanced out at the cave opening. The downpour was thunderous and the occasional lightning and thunder did not help things. Or maybe he just needed a bit of rest and later...

I looked at him again.

"But you said you would—"

"Enough," he grumbled, closing his eyes briefly, as if he was gathering himself. "I know what I said."

He turned his head to finally look at me, and the intensity in his eyes stole my breath.

Another roll of thunder struck the skies, flashing the cave with another harsh dose of silver light that caught in his eyes, making them almost glow. His expression was distant, closed off in a way I was starting to recognize it as him fighting something internal.

"No," he said, his voice in that same rough tone. "Not tonight. It would be a very terrible decision."

He held my gaze for a long moment.

My mouth went dry and my throat tightened.

The raw desire in his eyes was overwhelming, and barely controlled.

The realization sent a shiver through me. He looked like he wanted to devour me. Like he was using every ounce of his considerable control to stop himself from crossing the space between us.

"Oh," I whispered, my voice strained and weak.

"Get some rest," he said, finally breaking eye contact and staring out into the rain again. "We’ll continue tomorrow."

I took it all in, why he had been so tense. The rigid set of his shoulders, the way he kept his face turned away, and the tension that radiated from him in waves.

I stood on shaky legs, and slowly retreated back into the tent, my heart hammering against my ribs.

I laid down on the bedroll, the sound of the pounding rain muffled and overpowered by the blood rushing to my ears. I pressed my thighs together, the warmth growing at the base of my stomach making it difficult for me to fall asleep.

My whole body trembled for reasons that had nothing to do with exhaustion or cold.