Margot checked the door. He’d bolted it from the outside in his hasty overreaction, it seemed.
“He’ll be okay. He’s just freaked out is all,” she mused, then crossed the room, settled into a comfy cushion and relaxed, eventually drifting off to sleep, thoughts of this remarkable,unusual man dancing in her mind and invading her dreams until morning’s light.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Braxxos didn’t come home that night. But while the forest was particularly loud with the sounds of predators and prey, Margot slept comfortably. She’d spent enough time with him by now to know he was more than capable of taking care of himself, and though she hadn’t seen his other hidey holes, she was confident he had multiple safe places where he could spend the night if he so desired.
And when she woke to find herself alone and the door still bolted tight, she knew that was what had happened.
She took her time, preparing a light meal of leftovers to start the day given the somewhat expansive spread she’d prepared the previous night. She ate, cleaned up, and set about tidying up a bit. There was nowhere to go, so it at least kept her busy.
Lunch was spent alone as well, as was the entire afternoon until finally, as the sun dropped low on the horizon, the day was coming to an end. Margot felt surprisingly relaxed for having spent the entire day stuck inside, but she’d put that out of her mind and was moving through a series of yoga poses when she heard the ladder clatter down. A moment later the doorunbolted, the heavy wood sliding open revealing a very ashamed man.
He crawled in, eyes cast low, a parcel of wrapped leaves under his arm. His clothing was still a bit damp but clean. Her rapidly evolving senses were picking up on things like that easier now, she’d found. In this case, the damp smell and lack of sweat or dirt stench made it pretty clear he’d washed up in the stream not too long ago.
Margot watched him but didn’t say anything. This was his moment. His decision how he wanted to handle things. She could feel his discomfort, which was frankly a bit shocking for such an utterly manly specimen of a man, but she now knew he had no sort of experience with this kind of thing. Best to let him do what felt comfortable. Natural. And that meant holding her tongue, even if she wanted to soothe his worry and tell him it was all okay.
He unwrapped the leaves, revealing a pair of fresh-caught fish, cleaned and ready to cook. And with them, some water greens she hadn’t seen before. He set them aside and turned to her, his cheeks darkening as he forced his eyes to meet hers.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, his shoulders hunched in shame. “That was…it was not what I intended.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. I reacted poorly, and I am sorry, Margot. I truly am. You are a kind and wonderful woman, and you did nothing to deserve that from me. I’m so sorry.”
She let that hang in the air a moment, realizing he needed to let the shame run its course before the mending could begin. “I forgive you,” she finally said, easing the tension in the air. “Are you willing to accept my forgiveness?”
He nodded. “I am. And thank you.”
“Good. Now that that’s settled, you wanna tell me what you’ve got there?”
Braxxos perked up immediately, happy to have resolved the situation so easily, and equally glad to have the chance to make it up to her.
“I caught us dinner. And tonight,Iwill cook foryou.”
She grinned, more than happy to let him play chef for her. “Sounds fantastic. I see some kind of fish there. But what’s the other stuff?”
“River greens. They grow where the water is still close to the shore of fast-moving rapids. A bit difficult to collect, but very high in compounds that feed your pigments, as well as being quite tasty.”
She noted the green in his runes, an idea forming. “Hey, does eating that stuff make your pigment do that?” she asked, pointing to the swirl of green in his markings.
“No,” he replied, hiding some sort of churning emotions. “That is something else.” He shook it off, his smile reappearing in an instant. “But that’s not something to talk about now. You relax. I will prepare you a wonderful meal.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Margot moved away, giving him space to work. He was in good headspace, but she got the feeling he still needed to process things now that he’d made his apology. It wasn’t until he placed their dinner on the low table he’d built with his own hands that she shifted tack, sitting beside him instead of across from him. He seemed okay with that, relieved that she wasn’t mad at him, so she went with the flow, slowly inching closer as their meal progressed until she was lightly brushing her leg against his.
“This was truly delicious,” she said, resting her hand on his arm. “You outdid yourself, you know that? I think you could be a really great cook if you put your mind to it.”
He grinned, blushing slightly in the most adorable way. “Maybe you’ll teach me one day.”
Oh, I would very much like that, she thought, appreciating the beauty of his red-tan skin and fascinating copper and silver-gray eyes in the flickering firelight.
“I’ll be glad to teach you everything I know,” she replied, lifting her hand and gathering up the dishes.
“No, I’ll do it.”
“Nonsense. You cooked. I’ll clean.”
