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Hungrily, I dug into the food, making sure to leave enough for Holly should she wake later and need more sustenance. I turned most of the illumi-cubes off, only leaving enough light so we could safely make our way through the chamber if one of us got up, and lay down next to her.
Because I had been on sentry duty earlier this morning, tiredness crept quickly over me, and I noticed how my muscles relaxed almost instantly upon lying down. I wanted to stay awake all night and luxuriate in the sight of her but recognized how impractical that would be. It seemed things were about to change for us, and I wouldn’t be an effective leader if I wasovertired. So I gave in and rested on the pillow next to her, inhaling her sweet fragrance, and closing my eyes.
I didn’t want to touch her in her sleep, unsure if she would welcome the gesture; so no matter how much my body burned for some form of physical contact, I soothed myself by placing my hand as close to hers as possible without touching.
Just the warmth coming off her was enough to sustain me for now, or so I tried to tell myself as my cock pulsed inside my pants, wanting, needing, yearning for her sweet entrance.
Soon, I tried to pacify him.
Gods willing, soon. I couldn’t imagine Odyn having led her to me only to keep my body wanting for the rest of my days.
Sometime during the night, her stirring woke me. “Are you alright, Holly?” She sat up in the semidarkness, looking confused and utterly adorable.
“It’s alright, you’re safe,” I assured her.
She crossed her arms over her midsection and gave me a look of slow recognition before her face flushed. “I, um, I need to use the… bathroom.”
Bathroom, I thought, smirking. How long had it been since I heard that word?
“I’m afraid we don’t have a bathroom,” I said. “I have a bucket, or we can go outside.”
Her face darkened even more. “Of course. For a moment… I forgot.” Her lips twitched, and I wished with all my heart I could take that look of sadness from her face.
“"We have an area we use for our, um, bodyfunctions. But I can take you to a different place if you would be more comfortablewith that?”,” I offered.
“Yes, please.” She turned to climb out of bed, and I smacked my head. I should have spent my time making shoes for her instead of sleeping. That I had forgotten, though, told me how much I had needed the rest.
“Here”—I moved to the other side of the bed—“let me carry you.”
Surprised, she looked up at me. “I can walk,” she said but winced when her feet hit the cold ground.
“Nonsense.” I picked her up and, despite her earlier protest, she allowed it, snuggling her head into my chest. I grabbed one of the illumi-cubes, which turned on at contact, to light our way through the darkened passage.
It took a bit of maneuvering to get through the narrow part that led in and out of my chamber, but I managed, and soon we reached the main part of the cave, where low fires burned in three fire cubes.
As many chambers as the cave offered, there weren’t enough for everyone to have their own, so most of the warriors slept in the main chamber, which was large enough to accommodate all of us and then some.
Two warriors stood guard by the entrance and eyed us curiously but stayed quiet. I gave them a nod and walked past, down the path that led to the wooded area, which we mainly used for just this purpose.
Carefully, I stood her up by a tree. “I’ll just make sure it’s safe.”
I hated that her feet would get cold on the ground, but that couldn’t be helped at the moment. At least the shirt I gave her reached all the way to her knees, giving her some modesty.
From hooks on a tree hung several small digging devices. I took one and found a secluded spot behind a bush, where I dug a small hole for Holly to do her thing.
I returned to her and was about to take her back into my arms to carry her to the spot, but she protested with weak laughter in her voice. “I can take it from here.”
When I gave her a dubious look, she added, “You’re not going to watch, are you?”
This time, it was me whose face flushed. “No, but I can’t just let you go off alone into the bush. I’ll turn my back, I swear." And with that, not giving her an opportunity to argue any further, I picked her up again and carried her to where I had dug the hole.
I did what Ihad to do, wishing for toilet paper and a place to wash my hands more than I had ever wished for anything in my life—well, except food, shelter, and being able to go home. At least the first two wishes seemed to have come true.
Every time I woke during the last couple of weeks, I felt disoriented and hoped, for just a few seconds, that all this was just a bad dream.
Not a few minutes ago though. Like before, it had taken me a moment to realize where I was, but for the first time in a long time, I hoped Iwasn’tdreaming.
Being near Thor made me feel different than I had ever felt before, and I didn’t think I would ever want to give that up. Never mind that I had only known him for a few hours, it simply didn’t feel that way at all. It felt more as if I had known him all my life, without him being there. Like he was something I had been missing without realizing it. I wasn’t ready to say that given a choice between him and going home that I would pick him—because the thought of going home was still more thantantalizing—but even then, it would have been a hard choice. One I wasn’t sure I would have been able to make.
