His constant determination to call mehismelted me every single time. I was his Finn. And if I wanted to stay his, I needed to embrace every aspect of being in the clan. Including the freezing river baths.
Lifting my chin, I summoned my courage and nodded once. “Okay. Let’s go.”
We weren’t the only ones at the river this time. There was a group of men there, cleaning themselves briskly. Rath steered us farther down the river until we had some semblance of privacy. He stripped his clothes with quick efficiency and dove in, looking completely unbothered when he came up for air. Meanwhile, I barely got a toe in the water before I was scuttling back away from the edge, my head shaking rapidly.
“No. It’s too cold. I can’t.”
Rath’s expression was patient amusement. He put his hand out and waited for me, pride stretching across his face when I relented and entered the water. I loved that look, and it almost made getting in the water worth it. It was horrible, so cold I couldn’t breathe. I hurried forward, pressing myself against Rath to steal his warmth as much as I was able, my teeth chattering from the icy cold.
Rath hummed, rubbing his rough hand along my spine. “We won’t get clean this way.”
“Y-yes, we will. Y-you can work around me,” I chattered, considering climbing him to get closer. He’d felt warm between my thighs this morning. Couldn’t I have that again?
“No. It only makes me want to dirty you more.”
I didn’t know what he meant by that until he pushed his erection against my belly. I gasped, looking up at him wide-eyed. “How can you be aroused right now? It’s too cold!”
He barked out a laugh, his head thrown back, and my heart stuttered in my chest. He was so handsome. And right now, all mine. I felt my own arousal stir, brutal temperatures be damned, but besides a heated look and a kiss that was so dirty it warmed me to my toes, Rath didn’t let us linger for a repeat of our morning activities. He lathered soap from a bar and scrubbed himself down, working around me just like I requested. When it was my turn, he didn’t force me to move away, instead washing me himself. His hands left trails of heat in their wake, keeping me plenty warm until we were finished.
“M-maybe the river i-isn’t so bad,” I murmured as he ran soapy fingers through my hair.
“Mm. Hold your breath.”
Confused, I frowned up at him. He mimicked what he wanted, and I did as he asked, but I didn't understand why until he dunked my head under the water. I came out with a screech, this time not hesitating to climb him to get closer for warmth.
“Rath!”
He bellowed out another laugh, his eyes crinkled at the sides with his amusement.
“W-why?” I whined, so cold I couldn’t even feel my extremities anymore. At least my teeth had stopped chattering.
“To get the soap out,” he replied with a grin. “There’s more left.”
I shook my head rapidly. “No. I’ll keep it there. I can’t do it again.”
His smile softened to affection, and he cradled me close with a hand on my lower back. “Hold on.”
Tightening my grip around his neck, I trusted him to maneuver me, tipping my head back when he dipped low enoughto get my hair wet. He was quick about it, for which I was grateful, and he didn’t put me down as we got out of the water. Not until he dried me off with a cloth and I could put my clothes back on.
After Rath was dressed, he steered me to the fighters’ fire, as he called it. He still wouldn’t bring me to the village center until he figured out who had hurt me. When I told him I didn’t know, he asked what they looked like, but it was too dark for me to tell. And I couldn’t admit out loud that it was a woman. I was too embarrassed. I liked the people at the fighters’ fire, though. They were loud and boisterous, but friendly, and they didn’t blink twice at me cuddled in Rath’s lap as I attempted to get warm.
“No more river,” I complained, tucking my arms under his tunic to warm my hands. He flinched from the cold and nodded.
“Okay. No more river.”
We stayed that way until I could feel my extremities again. And when Zoya arrived for another language lesson, I was smiling.
Eleven
My Finn was happy, but I was still determined to find who had hurt him. Leaving him in Zoya’s care had not gone well last time, so I asked her bondmate to join them while Finn practiced speaking. He was much better after spending most of his days focused largely on that, but he wanted to be fluent. And it was a convenient excuse to leave him without needing to hunt.
I marched to the village center to meet with Verus. He was helping me in the search. He broke off from the conversation he was having with some of the guards who had stood watch during the celebration, jogging over to join me.
“Brother. How is he?”
I appreciated his concern over Finn. He and Godr both had checked in often since his attack. They wanted me to find happiness, and because I found it in Finn, they were determined to protect him for my sake. Neither was happy to hear about his attack.
“He hates the river. It’s too cold for him.”
