Ian rolls over to the far side of the bed, Rel climbing in the middle. Shoulders stiff, I slide beneath the blanket, reclining against the pillow. It’s quiet and awkward at first, until Hawk leaps up onto the bed, stepping on my legs as he spins and tries to find a comfortable position.
“I think I figured it out,” Ian states, breaking up the silence. “All of the beds in the forest were already taken by the three bears; didn’t even have one left for the blonde intruder.”
“What are you going on about now?” I growl, tucking an arm beneath my head to get more comfortable.
Rel rolls over onto her side, her ass brushing against my hip and making me bite my tongue, but I stay still. “It’s easy to be content when you have nothing and are used to it. But once you know what it’s like to sleep in a real bed and such, it’s harder to go back, because you know what you’re missing now. It’s what I mean about getting spoiled with hot showers; cold baths in the stream just aren’t the same after.”
I take a moment to think about it, wondering if that might have been part of my reservations without even realizing it. But ultimately, even if the mage and I have come to a cease fire, I have no interest in him analyzing me.
“I’ll be fine.” But as the scent of my mate surrounds me, the heat of her body pressing up against mine, I feel the words as the lie they are. Because this? I can already tell the temptation is far too addicting to keep flirting with.
Twenty-Three
Esmerelda
“Iwas wrong; this sucks. I want to go back,” Ian groans as we slog through an endless expanse of snow.
“It’s only been four days,” Hawk chirps, still peppy despite everything. “Where’s your camping spirit?”
“Inside a tent halfway across the world where it’s actually summer?” he retorts and I rummage around in a side pocket of my bag.
“Here.” He turns to look at me, taking the protein bar I’m offering. “Hangry Ian may be delightful to watch, but I’ll sacrifice my amusement to put you out of your misery.”
Stuffing it in his face, I smirk as he groans. “Is this what it’s like to be a hobo? I’ve got to admit, you were right; a gas station bathroom sounds like heaven right about now.
An abrupt laugh tears from my lips. “It hasn’t even been a week.”
His sigh is long and overly dramatic. “Feels like a month.” He steals my hand, interlacing our fingers and stuffing them in his coat pocket. “Though I suppose we can lay to rest the debate if Hell is an inferno of demons or a frozen wasteland of death.”
We carry on for another couple of hours, conversation light to simply pass the time. Rheyas and Hawk keep venturing off to inspect any odd sounds or scents in the woods as well as helping cover our footsteps. Though at the rate that the snow is falling, our tracks will be covered before the sun sets.
The woods start to thin as we crest a hill looking down as it gives way to farm land. And by the way both shifters’ eyes light up, their minds follow mine right to the series of for sale signs posted on the road. At least four adjoining farms spanning several miles, and all of them devoid of life like a blight forced them to abandon shop and move on to new land.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this aroused looking at a haunted house,” Ian declares and I have to agree.
Hawk sheds his coat and shirt, passing his things to Rheyas and Ian. “I’ll head over and check it out before we go through all of the effort,” he offers, passing his pants to me with a wink before shifting into his brindled wolf.
Sprinting away, snow flies up as his paws tear a direct path towards the nearest house, shaking out his coat when he finally makes it to the porch. After sniffing around he shifts back, knocking on the door and waiting to see if he hears any movement. He follows that pattern to the rest of the houses in the vicinity, eventually making his way back to us.
Rather than shift back and stand in the snow naked, he simply bites the hem of my coat, tugging me into motion in a bid to follow him. “What’s that, lassie? Timmy was kidnapped by dragons!?” He makes a chuffing noise, tugging me again until I almost slip and fall on top of him. “Easy there. You want me to ride you, all you have to do is ask.” He releases me, unable to laugh, but grins as much as his canine form will allow.
Ian rubs his arms. “You can flirt in the house, now let’sgo.”
Chuckling, we start trudging through the massive field towards the nearest house. On a whim I reach back, grabbing Rheyas’ hand. He looks at me in confusion for a moment, but doesn’t comment or pull away.
I shrug a single shoulder. “This hill is pretty steep, I don’t want to slip.”
His fingers tighten on mine and I openly grin, not trying to hide it. “Would you rather I carried you?”
Oh, a girl could get used to this.Turns out chivalry isn’t dead, it’s just hiding as far away from the city as a person can get.
“That’s alright, I’m soaked and would hate to get you wet.”
Ian fake coughs. “Somebody’s horny today.”
Flipping him off with my free hand, I keep walking. “You’re the one that said you have to make your own entertainment in the wilds. Since we can’t go bowling and there’s not exactly a TV around, what else is there to do on our endless walk then make dirty jokes?”
“We could talk about the weather,” he snorts.
