Saving Verakko: The Clecanian Series Book 3 Victoria Aveline (best book club books .TXT) 📖

“No, I’ll be fine. Thank you, though.” She turned her back to him and stretched out on her side near the fire. “Get some sleep tonight, okay? Goodnight.”

***

I’m such an idiot. Lily continued to chant this to herself long into the night until she finally drifted off to sleep. As soon as her lids creaked open the following morning, the chant resurged. She’d never been so blatantly rejected by a man before, and it stung. To make the situation a hundred times more uncomfortable, she now had to spend all of her time with Verakko. Unlike on Earth, she didn’t even have the option of retreating to her house to lick her wounds in private.

She lay curled on her side with her back to lukewarm remnants of their fire and listened to the sound of Verakko moving about, cleaning and gathering their supplies. How awkward is this gonna be?

Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply and sat up. The sounds of movement behind her paused, then resumed. Steeling her features, she turned. “Good morning.”

“Good morning.”

Lily chanced the briefest of glances at Verakko and wanted to die of mortification. The look on his face told her he was worried about the mood she’d be in. She mumbled a sorry excuse about using the bathroom and scurried into the forest, face flaming.

While heading away from their camp, her nerves started to sing, and she could feel annoyance at random, innocuous things creeping in. Everything about this morning was beginning to aggravate, from the cheerful chirping of birds to the glistening early morning mist hovering around the forest floor. A rock underfoot made her stumble, and she glared at her own feet. It was the kind of bad mood that would permeate her day and affect those around her, innocent or not. It’d be better if she didn’t hang too close to Verakko during their hike. A gust of wind tousling his hair to perfection might be enough to make her snap at him, and he didn’t deserve her ire.

Lily finished her morning ablutions and headed back to camp, intent on acting like an adult while also allowing herself to be in a sour mood.

When she entered the cleared area, she forced herself to look at Verakko. He was standing, looking as gorgeous as always, and extending a leaf to her. A mound of the charcoal toothpaste she’d been creating every morning sat in a small pile on the leaf. The thoughtfulness of the gesture made her want to petulantly slap the leaf out of his hand, but instead she thanked him as politely as she could and took it, along with the canteen.

Lily washed her hands, then used her finger to mix the powder into a paste and scrubbed it onto her teeth, ignoring the flare of annoyance that surfaced when she recalled why she had to use her finger and not her toothbrush.

Verakko continued to stare at her with curiosity. He didn’t even have the decency to pretend like everything was normal. The air seemed to be too thick, weighed down with awkward unsaid thoughts and embarrassment.

Time to put on your big-girl panties. Lily rinsed out her mouth and forced her gaze to remain on Verakko’s. “Why don’t we say what’s on our minds, okay?”

Verakko lifted a dark brow. “I’m sorry about—”

Lily cut him off with an upheld hand and an awkward smile. “No, don’t apologize. You did nothing wrong. I was comfortable and full for the first time in weeks, and we were having a nice time, and I misread the situation. That’s all.” She crossed her arms around her waist, then uncrossed them. Why was she so embarrassed about this? “I made a move, you weren’t interested. It’s done.” Her face must be turning crimson at this point. “I hope you don’t take offense, but I’m going to want to walk alone today. I need to stew by myself.”

Verakko stood in silence, a tendon in his jaw working furiously. It seemed like he wanted to say something but couldn’t decide if he should.

Please say I was wrong. Say you pushed me away for some other reason.

He remained quiet. Lily began walking toward the river, but a firm hand on her arm stopped her. “Lily, I…” He let out a low breath. “Last night…”

Her breath seemed trapped in her throat. What?

Verakko’s shoulders slumped, and in a resigned tone, he said, “You didn’t misread anything. I just…can’t.”

“You can’t?” Lily’s embarrassment ebbed, replaced with curiosity. He hadn’t said he didn’t want to or that he wouldn’t; he’d said can’t.

He took a step back and ran his tongue over a fang, gaze darting. “You aren’t an option for me. You remember how relationships work with my people? How marriages work?”

Of course! Lily felt like an idiot for not thinking of it sooner. His culture was so different. Although he wasn’t married now, that didn’t mean he could start anything with her. He’d told her his mother had to arrange a contract for marriage. Did his people not engage in casual relationships? No dating?

“Your mom probably has other ladies in mind, huh?”

Verakko’s lips thinned, and he shrugged in agreement.

“I don’t want to get married or anything.” She thought this assurance would help to ease his mind, but he only seemed more uneasy. “I just meant, once we find Alex and all…this could be casual. What happens out here doesn’t have to mean anything in the real world.”

Why was she saying this? Was she so infatuated with Verakko that she felt she could have a meaningless relationship with him? Not likely.

A small, sad smile curled the corner of his mouth. He lifted his hand as if to reach out to her, then curled his fingers into a fist and dropped it back to his side. “It would mean something to me.”

Lily’s heart thumped in her