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But if she doesn’t come to join me under the furs again, how will I get her to lie down? Should I tackle her and twist her into a leg lock? I contemplate the grappling moves I know, looking for one that hurts the least and will still have the desired result of prying her legs apart.
Females are so complicated.
“Here,” she says, interrupting my thoughts. She thrusts the waterskin toward me, the contents sloshing. “This is the tea Gail made. It might still be warm. Drink it while the stew is heating.”
“You should come and drink some, too,” I encourage, pulling out the plug of waterproofed leather that fits in the mouth of the skin. I tilt it back and grimace at the taste of the tea. It’s warm, all right, but it also tastes like leaves. Not my favorite. I hold it out to Vivi and she gestures that I should drink again.
“I’m mad at you,” Vivi says when I lower the skin. “I’m mad at you and I’m trying to remind myself that you don’t think the way I do, so I’m going to talk about it instead of turning and leaving like I want to do.”
My eyes widen and I automatically reach for her. “I don’t want you to leave.”
She tries to pull out of my grasp, retreating away a bit. “I don’t want to leave either, but Skarr…remember when I broke my finger and you looked out for me? You being affected by the cold is no different than that broken finger. If we really are a team and we’re going to look out for each other, that means you have to let me look out for you, too.”
“But this is different.”
“Howis it different?”
I stop the words before I say them.It’s different because it is happening to mewill just make her angry. I know her well enough now to realize this. “Because I am supposed to protect you as your mate.”
“What about me? Can’t I protect you? We’re supposed to be equals. That’s what a partner is.”
Frowning I imagine a scenario where Vivi might be able to “protect” me. I imagine us in the arena, with opponents rushing toward us, and a hot stab of fear makes it impossible to think straight. I do not want her anywhere near that. I certainly do not want her standing at my side, toe to toe. She should never be in danger, not when I’m around. “I…I don’t know.”
She tilts her head at me, her expression exasperated. “I can take care of myself, Skarr. You have to trust that—and trust me—if we’re partners. Do you trust me?”
I know what the right answer is, and yet I don’t know that I can give it. “I am trying. I do trust you.”
“But not enough to sit back when I say sit back?”
I hesitate again, because it goes against everything I am to “sit back” and let someone else take care of things. I am always in the lead. I am the instigator. It is how I have been trained. Yet Vivi does not seem pleased with this, and I desperately want to please her. “I will…try? How far back must I sit?”
Her lips twitch and she gives me an exasperated smile. “Please try. I trust you, you know.”
“You do?”
She nods. “You’ve proved yourself to me. Apparently I have farther to go to impress you.”
It wounds me that she thinks she is not perfect in my eyes…and yet this is the opportunity to sway her thoughts, to use the mind control that I’rec hinted at. “If you trust me, then we should wrestle.”
Confusion moves over her face and Vivi straightens, putting the last of the vegetables into the pot to let them cook. “I’m sorry, what?”
“We should wrestle,” I state again.
“Like…to get blood flowing? Or is this some sort of ceremonial thing?”
“No, nothing like that.” I hold my hand out to her and get to my feet. My breath puffs white in the air and I immediately want to return my naked body to the blankets, but this will not take long. Vivi has said herself that she is no fighter, and I have no wish to truly wrestle. It is simply to get my way. “I will not hurt you. We will be quick. You trust me, right?”
I can see on her face that she feels cornered. Her skepticism is plain to see, but if she backs out, she has made a liar of herself. Her jaw clenches, but she puts her hand in mine. “I trust you, but if this is a trick, I’m going to be really upset with you.”
“You will like wrestling.” I give her my best smile and shift my feet on the icy floor. “Just tell me to yield if you are uncomfortable, but I know I will not harm you. I am an expert.”
Vivi looks around the hut. “Okay, well, how do we want to do this?”
“We should seat ourselves, perhaps in the furs. The goal is to end up on the floor anyhow.” I sit down on the furs and toss one over my lap to warm my legs and tail, and give her an encouraging look.
“Floor wrestling?” Her brows go up, but she sits across from me, resting on her knees, and then gestures that she is ready.
This is too easy.
