Page 47 of Hunting for her Heart
She nods, and I quickly move my grip to her tiny waist and hold her out in front of me so only the tips of her shoulders and head are out of the water. Her hands fly up to grip my arms as her legs start kicking wildly.
“Slowly now. I won’t let you go under,” I tell her, and it takes her a second, but she’s soon able to relax a little when she realizes she’s not going to drown. Her legs are a little uncoordinated at first, so I keep encouraging her until they are moving more fluidly.
“Good girl. Now, instead of flexing your feet with your toes pointed at me, point them downwards a bit so the tops of your feet are leading the way, and flex them when you move your leg backward.” I look down through the water and watch as she tries to figure out what I mean. It takes her a minute, but she finally does it.
“Perfect. Now we need to work on your arms. I’m going to set you on the rock so I can show you.” I lift her out and show her how to move her arms at her sides to stay a float, then, I show her a few ways to move her arms and legs so she can swim instead of just stay afloat.
When I bring her back into the water, she struggles more with this part. After a few minutes she’s panting heavily, so I lift her back out of the water.
“I think that’s enough for today.” She looks a little discouraged, so I squeeze her knees and offer her my attempt at a smile. “You did excellent for your first lesson. Nobody learns it all in their first attempt. Besides,” I nudge my chin in the direction of the other two. “Dinner will be ready soon.”
“Oh! I didn’t realize they were back.” I try not to show my pride knowing that I had managed to keep all of her attention for so long. Ronan and Bo had returned fifteen minutes ago, and the meat is already cooking on the roaring fire.
Placing my palms on the rock beside her, I hoist myself out of the pond, taking a few seconds to let the water run down my body, enjoying the way her eyes track the movement.
I reach out a hand to help her up as I ask, “Would you like to put on your…pajajas?” I ask, trying to remember the word.
A giggle escapes her as we walk toward our bags. “Pajamas,” she corrects me. “And yes, thank you.”
I find one of the small cloths and give it to her to use as a towel, along with the nightdress. She takes both, thanking me, before scurrying off to her changing space.
I quickly change back into my leathers, and lay my strange leaf covering she made me near the fire to dry for sleeping in.
“Everything go okay?” I ask the other two as I approach the fire.
They both nod, as I expected since they looked calm.
“No sign of the charm, but we have enough meat to last us through tomorrow and the following day,” Ronan explains. “And the traps we set aren’t visible from outside, so nobody would know we’re here unless they climb up into the entrance. They will trigger them if they try to come back here.”
I nod, satisfied knowing that we are far better hunters and trappers than any of the mainlanders. They won’t expect that. The trap isn’t meant to kill them. It’s meant to trigger a lot of noise so we know they’re here. It gives us the opportunity to let our guard down a bit while we’re in here without constantly having one of us on guard.
“Were you teaching her to swim?” Bo asks, distracting me from my thoughts.
“Yes. She did well. But she will need more lessons before she can swim on her own.”
“This is the perfect place for that,” he says with a nod as he looks around the cave.
“A lot has happened today,” Ronan says as he stares into the fire. “After we feed her, we need to get her to bed so she can rest.”
“Agreed,” I say, just as movement to the side catches my eye.
I suck in a sharp breath of surprise when I see her. The dress, if it can even be called that, barely covers her thighs. The neck line is so low that, combined with the thin straps over her shoulders, it shows off a lot of her beautiful pale skin. Even though she was wearing less before, this dress makes her look even more beautiful.
“Remind me to find out who designed such a garment and thank them,” Bo whispers, and I find myself nodding along. Even in our tribe, women tend to wear less revealing items. Maybe I’m just transfixed because every inch of her makes my heart race with the need to touch her, to be close to her.
“Come, sit with me,” Ronan says to her as he reaches out a hand in her direction. She bites her lip, a habit she does when she’s feeling nervous, but does as he asks anyway, slipping her hand into his and letting him pull her into his lap.
I marvel at how small she looks in his embrace. She’s so tiny, it’s clear she needs our protection, not just from the Mating Hunt, but from everything. She is ours to protect and cherish. I just hope we can make her see that too. That she belongs with us.
She sits sideways in Ronan’s lap, which seems to be the only way she can sit without her dress riding up. He feeds her pieces of meat and some of the berries and nuts that Bo collected. We eat in silence as we watch her nibble away until she refuses more.
Feeling satisfied that she’s been well fed, Ronan eats as she stares into the flame, looking lost in thought. I see her eyes dim with sadness, and wonder if she’s thinking about her sister again.
Wanting to see happiness on her face instead, I start singing one of the songs of our homeland. Bo joins in quickly,and when Ronan’s finished eating, he starts to sing too. We harmonize easily, since we’ve been singing around a campfire most of our lives.
This song, in particular, has always been one of my favorites. Its soft, enchanting tones blend perfectly with the words that speak of love and fate.
When the hearth is low and the night runs deep,
