The endearment settles like the softest blanket over me and I bask in the warmth it offers. I scan his face that has grown more handsome with each passing day. Emotion runs through me. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Ortak lowers his head and brushes his mouth over mine. When the kiss is over, he rests on my chest while I stroke his floks. We lie together quietly soaking up the love that surrounds us. Fatigue hits, but I don’t want to sleep yet. I worry if I do, I’ll wake up to find out this was all a dream. No matter how hard I fight it, though, it’s a losing battle.
I have a vague awareness of a heavy weight lifting off me and several furs being draped over my body, and then, there’s nothing but darkness.
Chapter 23
Ortak
I have just sat finished tying the knot on the last bundle of livando I hung from each corner of our dwelling when Gannen stirs. The sun has only recently crested the horizon and the second moon still lingers in the sky. The sounds of the village stirring grow louder. It will take many mornings for me to grow used to it.
He rubs his face and slowly sits up. “I thought you were leaving on another hunt with Kala and the others.”
“I asked them if I might stay behind this turn.”
“Why?”
“Perhaps I wished to spend this turn with you and Elodie.”
Gannen’s eye stars spark to life. “Truly?”
“Aye.”
He glances up. “It is far too early. Elodie will not be awake yet. She does not like mornings.”
“Perhaps if we bring her something to eat, she will enjoy this morning.”
He slowly shakes his head. “I do not know about that.”
It is a risk I am willing to take. “Let us try and see.”
“Alright, but if she growls her unhappiness at being disturbed this early, I am not to blame,” he says.
A rough scraping sensation inside my throat startles me. Even more so when it travels upward and spills from my mouth in a harsh, grating sound.
“Holy shit, did you just laugh?”
I pivot and find Elodie standing within the doorway, her eyes wide and her mouth parted. She comes fully inside as Gannen scrambles to his feet and rushes her.
“Elodie, you are awake already.” He throws his arms around her waist and rubs his cheek up and down her chest.
“I am and clearly just in time to witness one of the best things ever. Has your gogo ever laughed before?”
Gannen releases her only enough to swivel a half-turn in my direction. “That is the first I have ever heard.”
“Well, I for one am a huge fan of the sound, so now we need to make sure it wasn’t a one-off and we get to hear it again,” she says with a large grin.
My sleep had been troubled with thoughts that perhaps Elodie might regret what occurred between us. Or she changed hermind about being my mate. I cannot see into her mind to know if either of these have come to pass.
“Your gogo suddenly has a worried look on his face. I should check and make sure he’s okay.”
Gannen steps back in confusion, his gaze bouncing between Elodie and me as she hops slowly across the length of the tent, closing the distance between us. She finally stops when her chest presses against mine. Her eyes are questioning, seeking, as they scan my face. A smile spreads across her lips.
“Good morning, mate.” Elodie rises up and her mouth meets mine in a brief kiss.
Whatever worries I might have held disappear. “Good morning, sivalla.”
