Chapter 59: I desire you

Fortunately, the horse wasn’t dead, so getting it back using his special eye wasn’t too difficult.

Once they had rested enough and eaten a small meal that Luke bought from the system, they resumed their journey.

Dalia was now more careful with how she sat, making sure not to touch his injured hand. She was, evidently, feeling guilty for what had happened.

Luke could only chuckle as he noticed how often she kept glancing at his wound.

"If you are really guilty, then how about you do something for me and make this journey a little more interesting?"

Dalia blinked in surprise. "What do you want me to do?"

Luke shrugged. "Maybe tell me a little about your life or your past experiences?"

He was genuinely bored just riding the horse. He couldn’t even flirt with Dalia since, for now, he was keeping a modest distance from her.

"Umm... I don’t really have anything interesting to say. I was raised quite sheltered and got paired up with your brother. The journey I had from my village to yours was the longest time I have spent outside my house."

Luke hummed before prompting, "Tell me how you met Lex."

Luke wasn’t very familiar with how people chose their mates in this world, or whether something like marriage even existed here.

Dalia thought for a moment before saying, "He actually got lost in the woods and ended up in my village back then. That’s when we first met, and after he once saved me from a swarm of rapid hares, my mother asked him if he wanted to take me as his mate."

Luke grinned. "So you fell for his strength, huh, and chose him as your mate?" He leaned closer to her ear and whispered, "I saved you today as well."

Dalia’s ears heated up. Whether it was because of his breath or his words remained a mystery.

Luke leaned back and asked, "You have been with Lex for four years now, and yet no child?"

Dalia grumbled. Not long ago, she would have glared at him and snapped, ’none of your business.’ But recently, they had grown closer, though not in the way they should have.

Lowering her gaze, she muttered, "Despite how deeply he cares about me, I lack the skills needed to entice him into bed."

Luke was surprised. It was not easy for a woman to admit she lacked the charm to make a man desire her.

He shrugged and said, "Well, you have the perfect body and your eyes are quite beautiful. And truthfully, I have thought of breeding you a couple of times as well."

Dalia’s whole face turned red in embarrassment and shock as she glared at him wide eyed, "What are you even saying?"

"The truth," Luke added, "Letting you know that you don’t lack what it takes to make a man crave you. Take me for an example."

Dalia was rendered speechless at those words...she couldn’t say he was lying because the shape and girth of his manhood was still vivid on her lower lips.

She knew, that day, he wanted to breed her, to make her bear his child. She could feel that instinctively that he was ready to betray his brother for the sake of his hunger.

She lowered her head and said, "It doesn’t matter..."

Luke chuckled inwardly. There was no doubt his presence has started to bother her. She is actively conscious of his attentiveness towards her.

That was enough for now. He would take his time to prepare this meal.

....

Not long after, they arrived at the village where Dalia was born.

There was nothing remarkable about it. If anything, it felt isolated and underdeveloped.

The houses, built from mud and straw, looked fragile, as if a few strong kicks would be enough to bring them down.

A crude perimeter surrounded the village, made of sharpened logs bound together with thick tree roots. But considering the dangers lurking in the forest, it seemed unlikely that such a fence could offer any real protection.

"There is no chief here anymore. The villagers survive on their own," Dalia explained. "Most of them have already left. Only those remain who either couldn’t migrate or chose not to."

Luke hummed softly. "What about your mother? Which of those does she fall into?"

Dalia let out a quiet sigh. "She has already given up on life. She’s just waiting for her days to end. No matter how much I try, she doesn’t listen to me."

Sorrow laced her voice, making it clear how deeply she cared.

"But I understand her," she continued. "She doesn’t want to become a burden. She knows how hard it was for me to earn enough to support a mate. And she could never ask Lex to take care of her as well."

Luke’s brows lifted slightly. "What does Lex think about this?"

Dalia shook her head. "He’s neutral. He has suggested bringing her home a few times, but the house barely has enough space for our family as it is."

Luke nodded in understanding. The rooms in their house were quite small. Actually, Laila and Lex’s room was once one but later was divided by a wall. So yes, it would be problematic to bring Dalia’s mother home. And Lex wasn’t that rich to have her build her separate house.

Luke didn’t say anything after that and just silently made his way through the street as Dalia guided him.

"There," she said while pointing towards a house. It was a small one, with a conical top and a hanging window on the side.

Luke got down the horse first before helping Dalia down.

Dalia waited till Luke tied the horse to the side before they both approached the main door.

Taking a deep breath, Dalia knocked twice on the door.

There was a long pause before finally, the person from the other side opened the door.

And the first thought Luke had upon seeing the woman was,

’Holy fuck...’

A mature hotness stood there.