She caught him looking down remorsefully at her listless body before he got out of bed. He returned with a basin of water and a towel. Maxi wanted to sit up, but she was unable to move an inch from the stiffness in her inner thighs and the limpness in her limbs.
“Did I hurt you?” Riftan asked.
Maxi shook her head. “N-No…I’m just…a l-little sore.”
Cursing under his breath, Riftan used the cool towel to carefully wipe the sweat and semen from her body. Maxi surrendered herself to his care despite her embarrassment. She had no energy left to even lift a finger.
When he was done, he cleaned himself before returning to lie beside her. A tranquil silence fell over them, and they lay staring at the shadows swaying on the ceiling for a long time, entwined in each other’s arms.
Finally, Riftan said, “Starting tomorrow, I’ll have Garrowguard you as well. Both he and Ulyseon are as skilled as any knight. Having them with you should dissuade others from repeating today’s incident.”
“I-I don’t think that’s necess—”
Riftan gripped her uninjured wrist. He looked frightening as he glowered at her in the dark. “If I had my way, I would send you back to Anatol immediately. The only reason I haven’t done so is that I know that would be even more dangerous.”
Wincing, Maxi replied in a weak voice, “But…I-I do not wish to occupy…any more of your men….”
“I only brought Ulyseon and Garrow along so they could gain experience before they are officially knighted,” Riftan said. “They don’t participate in any of the battles, so stop your needless worrying.”
He spoke so firmly that Maxi could not object. She pressed her lips together. Evidently not wishing to ruin the peaceful moment further, Riftan clenched his mouth shut, despite clearly wanting to continue.
Maxi buried her face in his shoulder. She felt him growing hard again as they caressed each other beneath the thin blankets. However, Riftan only patted her gently on the back as though he were lulling a baby to sleep.
Soothed by his tenderness, Maxi slowly drifted off into a deep slumber. All the anxiety and fear she had carried with her evaporated in the warmth of his embrace. Nestled in his arms, she felt a brief, blissful reprieve from the world and its troubles.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Maxi awoke in the weehours of the night to what sounded like the loud growling of a monster. The candle had burned out, and the tent was now pitch black. Suddenly, a flash of light illuminated the dark sky.
Maxi shrieked and clung to Riftan. Thunder boomed overhead, and a downpour began a moment later. Hearing the torrential rain spattering the tent, Riftan sighed and gotup.
“Must be a storm,” he muttered.
Maxi climbed out after him and hurriedly got dressed. As soon as she peeked through the double flap of their tent, a fierce gust and rain lashed in like a barrage of arrows.
Wiping her wet face, Maxi looked up in a daze at the rumbling sky lit by flashes of lightning. Rain pelted down from the dark expanse of clouds rolling across the sky.
“Come here. You’re letting the rain in.”
Riftan approached her and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. The ticklish sensation of his scruffy chin on her cheek made her hunch her shoulders. Rubbing his lips on her temple, he reached up and squeezed her tender breast.
The brewing storm made the air thick, and lightning lit up the night once more. Deafening thunder boomed across the sky. It was so earsplitting that it made Maxi fear that the heavens would come crashing down on them.
Letting out a soft sigh, Riftan led a trembling Maxi back to the cot and made her sit down. “I must go. I don’t want you taking a step out of this tent until the storm is over, do you understand?”
Maxi looked up at him, wide-eyed. “You’re…going out? In s-such weather?”
He nodded grimly. “The horses will be agitated. I’ll have to check the stables and increase our defenses.”
Riftan lit a new candle. While he donned his armor, Maxi sat swaddled in a blanket as she listened to the peltingrain that fell like hooves thudding the ground, the flapping of the tent walls against the fierce wind, and the rolling thunder. Occasionally, she also heard the bellowing of the soldiers.
Her heart pounded uncontrollably. It was as if the world had been thrown into chaos.
She asked anxiously, “D-Do you think there will be trouble…because of what happened yesterday?”
Riftan paused from putting on his robe and turned toward her with a questioning look.
Lowering her eyes, Maxi added, “If…there were to be trouble in the c-camp because of me…”
