Chapter 11

Julie

"Why are you smiling? Got someone on your mind?" Hai teased me. I'd been smiling since I woke up this morning. I'd liked kissing Orsu last night. I'd liked it a lot. It was both exciting and felt natural and familiar, as if we'd kissed each other a thousand times. I liked that. I liked how comfortable I felt with Orsu.

"Oh nothing," I said as I gave Hai a coy smile.

"Uh huh," she smiled back with an expression that told me she knew exactly why I was smiling.

We made our way to the main cavern where Orsu was already boiling water for the oatmeal.

He smiled the moment he caught sight of me and I caught myself staring at his lips and wondering when I'd get the chance to kiss him again.

"Good morning," Orsu bellowed from across the room and waved me over.

"I made this for you." He handed me a flatbread topped with fruit drizzled in sweet nectar.

"Oh this looks delicious!" I said as I excitedly took the bread.

I took one bite and moaned.

Orsu blushed a dark blue and shyly asked. "Do you like it?"

"Oh yes, it's wonderful!" And it truly was. Once again I was impressed with his seemingly limitless cooking abilities. He had so few ingredients to choose from here compared to what I had had back home and yet he provided a variety of perfectly seasoned food.

I finished my bread and got to work on making a large pot of oatmeal. Orsu and I were nothing but smiles as we cooked and served the dekes breakfast.

Once everyone was fed, he and I sat down across from each other at Tarak and Gabby's table when Orsu made the mistake of mentioning that he wanted to pick berries a little too loudly.

"I want to gather berries!" Talia, who was sitting at the table next to us interrupted.

"Oh, me too!" Hai added.

"Are we having a berry gathering party? I'd like to join," Ashley interjected.

Soon Orsu's berry-gathering comment had turned into a group activity. He relented with a promise that he would teach us where and how to forage while we were outside.

After breakfast was done and the tables were cleared, Ashley, Talia, Sarah, Anusha, and myself joined Orsu at the base of the mountain.

"Hey! Wait up!" Axon called out just as Orsu was about to push the boulder guarding the entrance back into place, Axon, Sozu, and Jax came running down the hallway with woven foraging baskets in hand.

"You might need us to protect the females," Sozu blurted out.

Orsu rolled his eyes. "Come if you wish, but you know the berry vines are located in the safest place in our territory. There is no need for extra protection."

"Maybe we just want to pick some berries," Axon suggested.

"I had no idea you all had such passion for foraging. I could have used your passion these past few seasons when I collected all our spices, berries, and root vegetables on my own."

"We're here now," Axon said with a placating smile.

"What about you? Do you have any excuses to add?" Orsu turned his attention to Jax who gave him a sheepish grin and innocently shrugged his shoulders.

"That's what I thought. Let's get going," the bear-shifter sighed.

To my surprise the berries weren't far from the mountain; in fact they were on the mountain itself. We walked along the base until we came upon a large swath of vines that grew like ivy on the southern side, which received the most sun.

"Wow, there are so many of them," Talia commented as she pulled a cluster of berries off a vine.

Anusha picked a berry and inspected both it and the vine it came from. "These seem similar to elderberries."

"Can I go ahead and taste one?" I asked Orsu, unsure if they were safe to eat off the vine or if they needed to be dried out first.

"Sure. Here." Orsu held a cluster of berries in the air near my mouth, implying I should open up for him. He stood over me like a sexy attendant just waiting to fulfill my every need. I looked into his eyes and the heated gaze I found there made my toes curl.

Slowly I opened my mouth and bit a berry off the cluster. Orsu swallowed hard and I was pleased to see he seemed as affected by me as I was him.

"You have some juice…" His words trailed off as he swiped my cheek with his thumb, ridding my face of the juice that had spilled down my skin.

Orsu licked his thumb, showing off his ridged tongue, and purred, "You're so sweet."

I nearly fell over. What I wouldn't give to have him say that as he looked up at me from between my thighs…

"Are you two done having a moment? It's gross," Talia commented as she scrunched up her face in disgust.

"You won't think it's so gross when you're older," Ashley teased.

Talia rolled her eyes and placed some berries in her basket, but when she thought no one was looking her gaze shifted to Sozu, who caught her glance. His tail thumped the ground and he quickly grabbed it as if it were an embarrassing younger sibling giving away his secrets.

Sarah was in her own world happily picking berries when she absentmindedly dropped a cluster of them. Jax was quick to pick them up for her and offered a warm smile.

"Thank you," she smiled back as he dropped the berries safely into her basket.

They resumed their berry picking side-by-side, blushing dark shades of red and blue.

Orsu led the group in a lesson on the dos and don'ts of berry picking, explaining to only pick every other cluster up the vine.

"We need to leave some for the animals who help pollinate the berry vines."

He pointed out which berries were ready to harvest and which weren't ripe yet and I found myself staring at him the whole time. There was just something so sexy about a man who took pride in his craft and the time needed to hone his skills.

Joy showed on his face as he pointed out the different vines and told jokes as he picked berries himself.

Ashley was on her tippy toes as she struggled to reach a cluster of berries at the top of a vine when Axon reached up and plucked the cluster for her.

"Here you go." He dropped them into her basket and shuddered when his hand brushed his.

"Sorry," Ashley apologized as she pulled her hand away.

"It's not your fault," Axon gave her a weak smile that did nothing to wipe the sadness from her face. There was something about his shifter form that made it seem almost painful for him to touch her. They clearly had an attraction to each other, but I wondered if they'd find a way to be together without it causing Axon discomfort. He didn't seem to react to anyone else that way, just Ashely, and the poor thing was starting to take it personal.

As the sun started to come down from its peak in the sky and our baskets grew heavy, we made our way to where Orsu dried out berries to preserve in jars. He removed a tightly knitted cover from a large flat stone with a woven mat on top.

"We'll put half the berries here to dry out in the sun and the other half I'll use to make a strong drink I call vilt."

"A strong drink?" I asked.

"Does this drink make people act differently than they normally would? Maybe a bit silly even?" Ashley interjected.

"It does," Orsu looked surprised. "Have you had such a drink before?"

Ashley and I looked at each other and smiled. "Oh yes, we have lots of those kinds of drinks on Earth."

"Oh," Orsu looked disappointed, as if he had hoped he was offering us something new. "I only just discovered how to make this a few seasons ago when I accidentally left a batch of fruit juice in the storage cavern for too long."

"Your people didn't make vilt before?" Ashley asked.

He shook his head. "No; in fact, the other dekes warned anyone who made juice to never let it sit in storage for too long. It has been a strict rule for many generations."

"They must have figured out it made alcohol and forbidden it," Anusha surmised.

"Party poopers," Ashley frowned. "There's nothing wrong with having a little wine. You don't have to go crazy with it."

"Every culture is different, I guess," I added.

After we placed our berries on the woven mat to dry we went back into the mountain for lunch. Orsu showed me how to make his favorite sauce that he liked to cover the cooked meat with. Vegetables and spices were simmered in a pan-like bowl until they liquefied into a delicious sauce.

"This is so good. Is this another one of your recipes?"

Orsu nodded his head and pride showed on his face.

"I built it off of one of my grandmother's recipes."

"I bet she'd be proud of what you've done," I smiled back at him.

We sat down at a table and chatted with Taylor and Anusha. Half way through the meal Orsu leaned over and whispered, "I can show you how I make vilt if you're interested."

"Are you whispering because you don't want to be joined by a large group of humans and hunters this time?" I teased.

"Perhaps," he smiled and I laughed at his confession.

"I'd love to," I whispered back.