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Onyx is lying on his fluff of blankets and pillows. He had recovered enough to walk back here, but he’d been left with a blinding headache, and an exhaustion that’s weakened him. I can’t even imagine the state he’d be in if Ann hadn’t used her strange ability on him.
That was another thing we hadn’t discussed. Ann could kill the rot monkeys. She could heal us. And the moon shards glow when she’s close to them, like the Moon Goddess herself.What else can she do?
I rub my face. I can’t keep worrying about her strange abilities or what it all means. The second morning arrived, it was time for us to rest and recover. If I waste my time thinking about things I can’t control, I won’t be at my best when the night comes once more.
Sighing, I grab my blankets and pillows from where we keep them tucked away during the day and lay them out near the fire. Then, I check on Onyx.
I sign, “Are you okay?”
He nods and signs back, “Just tired.” And his eyes flutter shut.
I remove the wet cloth from his forehead, dip it in the bucket of cold water from the river, squeeze the excess water out, and lay it on his forehead once more. He makes a content noise and his breathing steadies.
Okay, that’s done.
When I turn around, Ann is lying on my blanket near the fire. I smile.Well, at least that’s a good sign. She might not like us, she might not trust us, but she was willing to share my blankets.
That’s something.
I climb onto the blankets behind her and feel something in my heart ease. Her body is soft beside me, and I lay my arm over her and pull her back against my chest in a way that feels strangely natural. More than natural. It’s like we’ve been doing this all our lives.
That feeling within my heart seems to grow. Touching her feelsright. Being near her feelsright.
I never told Onyx or Dusk this, but my only interactions with the people who lost their mates were not good ones. It wasn’t as if they just lost a part of themselves. It was as if they lost the part of themselves that made them happy…that gave them any peace.
And we’ve already lost most of that.
As much as they others thought they could leave Ann behind, I knew better.
“What are you doing?” Her voice is soft, breathless almost.
What am I doing?She chose to lay on my blankets. Was I wrong about why? Maybe she never wanted to be close to me. She just sought my protection.
I feel like a fool.Okay, this can just be about keeping her safe.
“Protecting you.” The answer is stern. Definitely stern. Not husky. Not passionate. Not needy.
“Am I in danger right now? Even in the early morning?”
It wouldn’t take much to turn her so her chest is against mine. “Not as long as you don’t try to leave again.” I concentrate on keeping her safety and her compliance as front and center as I can so I don’t think about the scent of sunshine on her skin, the gentle brush of her hair against my skin every time she shifts or breathes, the pressure of her ass against my cock.
Oh shit. New thought.
“Just go to sleep.” This is gruff because I’m trying to get my cock under control, and I need to not hear the melodic sound of her voice. “Tomorrow is a big day.”
When I look over at Onyx, he’s watching, eyes narrowed, mouth in a thin line.Damn it. How long has the asshole been awake?
He’s made no secret that he never wanted her here. That he knew this kind of thing would happen… us wanting her, and it distracting us from our responsibilities. That he wants us to send her away. Yet none of that explains why he went after her, except that she escaped on his watch, while Dusk and I were torching the trolls.
Onyx is always so damned good at hiding his gentler emotions. Did he pursue her because he didn’t want to lose her either?I have no idea, but the look in his eyes definitely isn’t one of happiness.
She shifts again and her ass rubs my cock so that I moan. I hear myself do it, then angle my body away from her.
It’s going to be a long night.
TEN
Ann
