Tara's Big O by Stephanie West

Author:Stephanie West [West, Stephanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-03-23T16:00:00+00:00

Ophidian

O pushed the skimmer to its limits, hoping speed and the winding route made it harder to be tracked as they left the city. And the farther they got from Isolon, the better he felt. But now he was faced with a different problem. What the Mantid said in the Sty was proving true. The city was surrounded by a barren wasteland. He’d hoped that the mountains would be different, but as they got closer, the peaks looked just as ravaged as the scorched earth all around them. If it was just him, he’d be fine. Except it wasn’t just him.

But we’re free, and I’ll make sure we stay that way.

He smiled down at the tiny sleeping female, her soft rosy cheek and delicate hands pressed against his chest. The hormones that screamed she was a compatible female still riled him, but at least her adrenalin and fear had abated, making it more bearable.

He pulled the shawl up to keep the sun off her face.

“O,” she groaned and stretched.

A part of him was thrilled hearing her say his name, then he realized it was just an exclamation. She was undoubtedly sore after sleeping curled up in a ball for so long. Rather than disappointment, relief filled him that the effects from his bite had worn off. He’d started to worry he’d done her lasting harm. As it was the marks on her neck might scar. A twisted part of him took pride in looking at the mark. O shook his head to dispel the thought.

“Sorry I woke you,” he said as she peeked out from beneath the shawl.

“How long was I out? Ooh, I can move. You bit me.” She frowned and her nose scrunched up.

He winced at the accusation. “I’m sorry. We needed to go and I didn’t know what else to do.”

“Well, don’t do it again,” she huffed, glaring up at him.

O swallowed hard and nodded. “Sorry.” He was saying that a lot. “We made it out of the city and are almost to the mountains.”

“We did?!” She perked up and looked around eagerly. “This is a desert.” Her excited expression fell, a crease forming between her brows.

“It’s not ideal, but I think we’ll be all right.”

“You’re burning up. Are you all right? And where are we going to find food and water? Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful to be out of Isolon. I just don’t know how we’re going to survive out here.” Her big dark eyes were filled with worry.

Her concern for him made his hearts clench.

“No, I’m not hot. Thank you. There should be at least one stream in those mountains, and I’m pretty sure I can hunt. I think my home is a lot like this.” He gestured to the sandy earth all around them.

“I guess that makes sense.” She patted his bicep, her finger rubbing his skin ever so slightly.

Her touch distracted him.

“How so?” he asked when he found his voice.

“Well, you’ve got this serpent thing going on. There’s this faint diamond-shaped pattern on your skin and the texture is smooth, though not quite scaly.

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