Warm and smooth. Soft.
Her touch is calming, soothing, but at the same time, the most minor contact has my body tight and hot, as if the embers of a fire are scattered over every inch.
Olive reaches for my other hand, plucking the gauze pad from my fingers before pressing it against my thumb. She holds it there as she goes into the first aid kit for a bandage, taking the end of the roll and covering the pad before she begins winding it around my thumb and down over the heel of my hand.
She finishes quickly, tying it off with the right amount of pressure and it takes everything I have to hide the disappointment I feel when she releases me.
I’ve failed her too many times to expect her to want anything more from me but I’ll hold onto her kindness and cherish this brief moment for as long as my memory allows.
“Thank you,” I say quietly as I lower my hand. I clear my throat and take a step away from her. “I’ll go back outside so?—”
“Have you had anything to eat?”
I wince internally at her question.
She’s hungry, she has to be.
Days of sleeping off and on has made it difficult to keep either of them hydrated, let alone properly nourished. I’ve been worried about that, was even toying with the idea of finding a way to establish IV fluids but one simple touch has me forgetting my instincts, pushing my desire to care for my omegas to the back of my mind in favor of one fleeting moment fueled by selfish need.
I shake my head as I back toward the fridge. “I need to…”
My eyes widen as Olive follows, standing right next to me while her grass green eyes try to see under my hood.
I don’t want her to see me.
Not really.
I mean, I want her eyes on me almost as badly as I want her hands on me, but if she looks at my face? If Olivereallysees me? Fate might not even be enough to dictate the outcome.
“I wasn’t implying that you should make something for me,” she says as she comes around to stand in front of me. She cranes her neck, looking up at my face through the shadows, fearlessly searching for my features. “It was the other way around, actually.”
I immediately frown at the thought.
She’s in no position to be standing out here following me around the small open space let alone cooking for anyone. Frankly, that seems like a bad idea even when she’s in perfect health. The one time she tried making something for her andNikolai, the toaster caught fire and he had to run it outside and kick dirt on it so the camper didn’t go up in flames.
Clearing my throat, I take a deep breath and open my mouth to argue but with Olive standing so close to me, I end up inhaling nothing but her scent. It causes an involuntary growl to bubble from my chest while my eyes slide closed. I draw more of that eucalyptus and peony fragrance into my lungs, my fingers flexing at my sides as that growl turns into a loud, unmistakable purr.
“I knew it,” Olive whispers as I force my eyes open just in time to watch her push up on her bare toes and reach for my hood.
I flinch and tense up as her fingers barely touch the edge of the fabric, making her pause but only for a moment before they slide higher then curl around it.
A soft smile touches her pretty pink lips as she waits. “You have the upper hand here, Rune. I’m a fraction of your size and still recovering and even if I wasn’t, I’m not exactly a threat. You can stop me if you want to but I really hope you don’t.”
My chest heaves and my heart races as she slowly begins to push my hood back, my eyes darting back and forth between her face and hands until she rests the fabric around my neck.
Olive frowns slightly, giving only a hint of the reaction I was expecting, and I watch as her gaze moves over every exposed inch of me.
I watch, and wait.
Wait for the disgust and fear. For the look of horror to replace what I can only describe as curiosity.
But it doesn’t come.
Olive’s hands don’t move from my collarbones, she doesn’t lower herself flat on her feet and recoil in terror. If anything, it almost seems like she’s fighting an entirely different reactionand I can only stand here holding my breath while I wait to find out what it is.
Then the strangest thing happens.
She smiles.
