I smirk and turn back to Kojo in the yard. I think about how he lifted my car at the gas station and threw it at the clerk like it weighed nothing. I was furious at the time, but thinking about it now with my thoughts back to normal, I can admit it was impressive. The memory sits somewhere low and warm, and I look away before my face gives me away.
“You don’t need my approval to save the Bouda people,” I tell her, trying to sound casual.
“You mean your people,” Zaki corrects immediately.
I don’t respond to that. I’m not ready to claim an entire species I just learned existed a day ago.
“I do not understand you, Kendra,” Zaki says, coming to stand beside me at the window. She follows my gaze to Kojo, who’s now stacking the split logs into neat piles. “If you want my brother, go get him.”
I look up at her, startled. “What are you talking about?”
“You are aroused for him.” She says it so matter-of-factly, that I nearly choke on my own breath. “Go get him and command Alemayehu to take care of that ache. You have a mate, there is no reason for you to be yearning.”
My mouth drops open and my stomach plummets to somewhere around my ankles. Heat floods my face so fast I feel dizzy with it. How the hell does she know what I’m feeling? And could she possibly be any less awkward about it? Jesus.
Zaki places her hands on her hips and gives me a look.
“Your mood can be detected in your scent,” she explains. “You want my brother to do things to you, and I am tired of smelling it. Go tell him to take care of it.”
I get off the sofa. My face is on fire. My legs are unsteady as I walk to the door, grabbing my boots and shoving my feet into them with jerky movements. I snatch my coat from the hook, desperate to escape this conversation and the knowing look in Zaki’s eyes.
“I’m gonna go sit on the porch for a little while,” I say.
“Fine by me,” Zaki says with a dismissive wave. “Maybe the cool air will calm you down since you will not ask my brother to handle it.”
I hurry out the door, shutting it quickly behind me before she can say anything else mortifying. The cold air hits my flushed skin, and I breathe through it. Kojo stops chopping immediately and looks over at me, the axe still in his hand, reading me.
“I’m fine!” I call out, waving him back to work. “Keep going!”
He watches me for a moment longer, his eyes scanning me for signs of distress, before nodding and turning back to his task. I walk over to one of the chairs on the porch that isn’t covered in snow and brush away the few flakes that have landed on the seat before sitting down.
From here, I have a perfect view of Kojo working.
This is unnerving. It’s not just the different customs or the expectations they have of me as their “queen.” It’s how they operate.
I smile despite my lingering embarrassment. All men have limits and I’m certain that’s the case for Kojo. I’m sitting here, watching him working thinking about what will happen when I push those limits. The thought sends another rush of heat through my body, and I shift in my seat.