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“Astounding, isn’t it?” Flare said. “That I smile on occasion.”
“It suits you better than your scowl,” I replied, watching him wrap the material around his hard, muscled chest, the flesh of which was still stained red.
“I don’t scowl,” he said, feigning offence at my remark. “That’s my intense face. It scares off the dwarves.”
Shadow and I exchanged a smirk. Flare’s lighthearted approach took the edge off my nerves and for a brief period, he helped me forget the memory of those poor hunters falling to their deaths.
“We better make camp,” Phantom suggested, interrupting and destroying the moment.
I supposed he was right. The panthers needed rest to heal.
After some hunting, we found a cave tucked into the mountain about five hundred feet above our previous position. Our group split up, Phantom and I searching for firewood, while Shadow and Flare hunted for an offering to their goddess for saving their lives.
Arms bundled with kindling, sticks, and logs, Phantom and I carried back the firewood and then made a small pile of logs and kindling in a hollow in the cave floor. An experienced hunter and camper, I took two sticks, rubbing them together until a spark jumped onto the leaves we’d collected. Leaning down, I blew into the leaves, encouraging the flames to grow. No wind reached inside the cave, making it easier for me to get the fire going, building it up with twigs, until I had a booming blaze.
Phantom sat close by, his warmth and calm leaching into me, shattering my earlier nerves. Day by day, I warmed up to him a little more, drawn to him by the way he invaded my boundaries, pushing closer, as if he sensed I needed the time to acclimatize.
“Tell me more about your father,” I suggested, warming my hands on the heat pumping from the fire.
“He’s brilliant.”
My heart sank at the melancholy in his words, but I stayed quiet.
“He teaches the history of Haven at the local school. Children come from leagues away to learn from him.”
He shifted, pressing his legs to his chest.
“Is he one of the elders?” I asked.
“No,” Phantom said, squeezing his legs harder. “But he’s well respected. A few winters back, arthritis set in, and it hits him pretty hard in the colder months. He can’t use his hands as well. Needs help with basic stuff. Cooking, cleaning, writing his class notes, that sort of thing. So I returned from Whitepeaks to care for him.”
My father, bless the sea god, had never been afflicted with arthritis. But many of his workers had, forcing their premature retirement from picking apples. Papa had given them nice severance checks in an effort to lessen their financial struggles. He’d always been generous like that. Whenever those workers had been in need, he’d sent around maids, kitchen hands, and handy men, all at my father’s expense. Father had said it was important to care for your community because you never knew when you might be in need of help, too. Where were those cowards when he’d fallen ill? Where were they when that wicked bitch had imprisoned me? Memories struck me like a punch to the chest, and I closed my eyes, my hands fisted.
Phantom released his legs, stretching them out. Gently, he unraveled my fingers, sliding his between mine, and my pulse skittered.
His gaze caught mine, holding me. “You miss your father, don’t you?”
Words failed me. I nodded and shoved my hands in my hair, gathering myself.
“I miss mine, too.” He squeezed my hand tight and gave me a heavy-hearted smile.
Before I knew it, Phantom shifted onto his knees and leaned his face toward me, his intentions clear.
His lips met mine, the heat and softness of his mouth making me dizzy. I gripped his shoulders for balance, a spark lighting in my breast. He kneaded my bottom lip with tender kisses, and I gasped for the breath he’d stolen. His arms snaked around my back, pressing me to his firm, naked chest. It felt right, as if his arm belonged there. Yet, I still found it hard to fully let go and submit to the moment, that old fear chipping away at the back of my skull, keeping me on high alert.
Shuffling footsteps echoed down into the cave. Immediately, I removed myself from Phantom’s embrace and wiped my mouth. I wanted this moment with him to remain private. The selfish side of me worried about Shadow’s reaction. Despite my best efforts to forget him, thoughts of him gnawed away at the back of my mind, leaving me with an ache in my chest.
Dead rabbits hung over Flare’s and Shadow’s shoulders. They must have shifted again to go hunting. Both carried strange berries and flowers I’d not seen before. But that was not the main thing that caught my eye. Flare’s generous balls and cock jiggled with each stride.
“Like what you see, sweetheart?” he said, widening his stance to flop them back and forth.
All the blood in my body rushed to my cheeks.
“Goddess, Flare.” Shadow shoved Flare in the arm with his elbow. “You’re in the company of a lady.”
Lady? I’d never been much of one. Not when I preferred the caress of pants, a shirt, and a vest over the strangulation of a corset…much to my father’s chagrin in his last few years when he wanted to find me a husband. But I appreciated Shadow’s sentiment.
“What are those for?” I asked, changing the subject.
