‘Yeah, you’re a real gentleman,’ I say sarcastically. ‘That’s why your cock is pressing into me.’ I shift myself deliberately forward on Elska’s back, even though I instantly miss his warmth.
Kyor groans. ‘Don’t use those words together. It’s not fair. Not when I want to press it into you in a very different place, my love.’
‘Don’t call me that,’ I snap.
‘I’ll call you whatever I please,’ he says languidly as he reaches an arm around me and pulls me flush against him again.
I try to ignore how much I like it. Try to ignore the way the rhythm of the wolf’s stride has my body rubbing up and down his length, wishing I could feel it without the confines of fabric between us. But that’s insanity. It’s only tiredness and a lack of physical touch that’s making me feel that way.
Or at least, that’s what I’m telling myself.
Luckily, Benny and Loch join us up front shortly thereafter, though the latter’s constant vigilance sets my teeth on edge. Loch is alwaystense, always listening for danger. His eyes are wide as he mutters and whispers.
Maybe it should be reassuring, having him with us, knowing he’ll hear even the slightest hint of danger before it’s upon us. But it’s not. His constant state of anxiety is just stoking my pulse higher and higher. Add to that the fact that the woodland is thickening into something far darker and more oppressive, and I’ve never felt more relieved thanwhen Kyor calls it a day and suggests we set up camp for the night.
Exhaustion pulls at my bones even as the tension between Kyor and me coils tighter with every heated glance. And there have been many today, along with numerous gentle caresses as we’ve ridden, which I’ve tried my best to ignore.
Each casual brush of his fingers, each steadying squeeze at my hip when Elska landed hard, felt like its own quiet question:Will you let me in again?I’ve ignored every single one, but my body has catalogued them all the same.
Enjoyed every one, too.
‘Els says there’s a pack of feral wolves deeper in,’ Kyor says. ‘But we’re out of their territory here.’
I’m grateful for that reassurance, the attack of the unbonded pack still fresh in my mind.
‘Quiet ones,’ Loch says feverishly, wringing his hands, his volume just audible. ‘The Quiet Ones will keep it safe. They’re close. The Quiet Ones are close.’ He’s rocking back and forth, and I exchange a concerned glance with Benny.
As we tether the horses and gather our things, I seek out Caz.
‘Sounds like you had some fun conversations today.’ She smirks at me as she unclasps the top button of her cloak then proceeds to tie her hair into a loose bun.
‘Yeah, you could say that. I just wish they would stop riling each other.’
‘I actually think it’s a good thing. It feels like banter now. Kyor hasn’t threatened to slit Ruben’s throat in hours.’
I baulk. ‘He threatened to slit his throat?’
Caz nods. ‘While he was sleeping.’
I pinch the bridge of my nose.
‘I mean … he didn’t follow through,’ she continues hastily as she takes her cloak off entirely and rolls her shoulders. Clearly mine aren’t the only muscles that are aching from all the hours on horseback. ‘I really think Ruben is growing on him, now that he’s seeing you’re not interested in him like that. Not anymore.’
Needing to shift the conversation away from my disastrous love life, I let out a slight sigh before gesturing to Loch.
‘What do you think?’ I ask Caz. ‘Are you able to get anything from him?’
She shakes her head. ‘His only intention is survival. That’s all. No duplicity though.’
I think about what Ruben said about the ring and how maybe it wasn’t what I was supposed to find. I suppose that someone with Loch’s hearingwouldbe far more useful on this trip than a piece of metal, but that’s assuming Loch can actually communicate what he’s hearing, and right now, that’s not happening. Other than the dick comment, none of his ramblings have made any sense. Not to me anyway.
There’s little chatter from him or anyone else as we eat our food around the fire, though it’s Benny’s quiet that unnerves me the most. His wisecracks and constant flirting with Ruben have been one of the few things to lighten the mood on the trip; without them, the sense of despondency is hard to ignore. I think Ruben has enjoyed the flirting too, Benny has given him something to think on, other than the loss of his mother.
‘Come on, buddy,’ he says to Loch as Caz and I start making our beds. ‘Time to get to sleep.’
For a second it looks like Loch’s about to agree, when without warning he suddenly cries out.
‘Quiet Ones!’ he shouts, spinning in a circle. ‘The Quiet Ones, they are near! We should go! We should go!’
