We sit there in silence for a minute before she releases me, and goes back to braiding my hair. As I feel her finishing up, I start to feel nervous. I don’t know how to act around her anymore. I want to turn around and push her into the bed as I kiss her and touch her soft skin, but she’s only just forgiven me and I worry I’ll scare her away with my assertiveness.
“Should we get something to eat?” she asks when I don’t say anything.
“Oh, yes, I forgot, I was cooking breakfast but I, uh, burned it. I’ve got some more meat I can cook.”
“You gonna let me help this time, rain man?” I give her a guilty look, feeling bad for snapping at her yesterday, but by the look in her eye, I realize she’s teasing me.
“Hmm, maybe if you’re a good girl.” I see her eyes widen in shock and red tinge her cheeks before she looks at the fire as we take a seat. I set to work skewering sticks with meat, and handing her one. When she doesn’t say anything, I keep my eyes on the fireas I speak. “I’m sorry, did I make you feel uncomfortable?”
“Oh, uh, kinda. But probably not in the way you’re thinking,” she mumbles, shifting in her seat. I give her a questioning look and she lets out a big breath. “Apollo…” she groans, dropping her face to her hand.
“I’m fucking this all up, aren’t I?” I ask, feeling defeated.
“No, it’s not that.” She sounds frustrated. “You made me feel… wet.”
“Wet? Wet where?” she gives me an exasperated look. And it’s as if a lightbulb goes off my head. My eyes widen and I glance down her body. Does she mean she’s wet… between her legs? “You’re not wearing any underwear,” I point out, obviously.
“I know that! That’s why I feel uncomfortable… Your meat’s about to burn.” She had me distracted, but I quickly pull my meat off the fire just in time to save it. Her skewer is done as well, so we eat in silence.
I think about what she’s just revealed to me. Did she like me calling her a good girl? So much that it… aroused her? I can feel my own cock harden at the thought. I promised I’d show her things today, though, and I don’t want to overstep that invisible boundary… yet.
“Do you want me to show you how to forage for some nuts and fruit? I know you found the berries already.”
“Oh, yes, I’d love that!” I nod and we finish up our meal. I put out the fire and gently take her hand, making sure not to injure it, as I lead her through the trees to the east.
“See this tree here?” She nods as I drop her hand and reach up to a branch, pulling it low for her to see. “These are the nuts.” I pull one off and use my knife to split it open.
“Oh! It looks like a pecan!”
“It is a pecan,” I tell her with a smile. “Here, the branches that still have some are a bit high, I’ll pull it down and you pull them off, okay?” She nods eagerly, and we set to work collectingnuts. I keep them in my pockets, as she has nowhere to keep them in my shirt. Which reminds me. “We should go see how your dress is drying.”
“Oh yeah! I almost forgot about that.” I take her hand again and lead her to the pond, thinking about her dress.
“Angel, what were you doing in the middle of the desert alone in your night dress? I know it had something to do with that sandcrawler, but I just can’t figure out how it happened.”
“Oh, well, me and my mates and Silver, did I mention him before?” I shake my head. “He’s our friend, he knows Ria, so he’s taking us to her. He’s really kind, he even used some magical cream to help heal me several times.”
“But he’s not your mate? Or is he courting you?” The way she speaks about him makes me think there is more there than she’s letting on.
“No, he isn’t interested in me like that.”
“Ah, but you are interested in him.”
“What? I didn’t say that!” She didn’t deny it either, but I’m not going to point that out.Not when I wanted to convince her to keep me.
My step falters and I almost trip as that thought enters my mind. Is that what I really wanted? To be with Angel and Indy and her other men? What if the others were assholes who hated magic? I glance down at her and realize I’d put up with it if it meant being with her.
“So anyway, we were crossing the desert to get to the sea, to find Ria. And we had stopped for the night. I heard a noise, so I got up to take a look. I saw what seemed like a sand dune, but when I touched it… Well, it turned out to be that sandcrawler, and it shot a spike through my hand. I couldn’t pull myself free and it took off. I grabbed a spike with my other hand and managed to hold on for a while. Eventually, I was able to pull my hand free, but I have no idea how long I was on it. It could have been hours, and as it was night, I had no idea what direction we had traveled in. When the sun came up, I decided to just follow the direction we were heading, to the east.”
“How long were you out there alone before I found you?”
“I think that was the third day.”
“Fuck, Angel. You could have died. You almostdiddie.”
“How did you find me?”
I think about how I’d been feeling for the few days leading up to finding her. “I—I had been feeling this tug in my chest for days. I didn’t know what it was and tried to ignore it, but it got stronger and stronger. The day I found you, it became so unbearable that I found myself sprinting across the desert with no idea where I was going.”
