Page 54 of Hunting for her Heart
“But if you do choose us,” he continues before I can respond. “Then we can figure out the next steps together. Izzy, Redmere, whatever lies ahead, we’ll do it together.”
My heart feels like it lurches toward him, as if it’s ready to leap out of my chest and give itself to Bo right at this very moment. Is this what love feels like? Sacrificing something you hold dear, just so the person you care for can be happy?
Before I can give him any sort of response, he kisses me again. It’s quick, but even so, when he pulls back, I find my heart hammering in my chest.
“How about we take care of that swimming lesson now?”
We spend the next thirty or forty minutes in the pool as he tries to teach me to swim. He does it differently than Hawk, and I find that if I take intoaccount the things they both taught me, I’m able to tread water for a few seconds on my own.
Bo stops the lesson when I start to tire, and lifts me out like I don’t weigh anything at all. As I’m changing back into my daytime dress, the other two return with their latest meal. They set it aside to cook later, and I decide to lie down for a little nap since the swimming tired me out.
I lie on my side and jerk in surprise when a hand touches my waist. Lifting my head, I see Hawk moving in behind me. “I thought I’d join you for a nap, if you don’t mind?” he asks, already pressing his large body around mine. I nod and he moves his arm under my head, allowing me to use it as a pillow as his other arm curls around my waist, holding me tight against him.
A sigh escapes my lips as a feeling of contentment washes over me. Even though he’s dressed in his leathers and I in my dress, it’s still pleasing to feel him wrapped around me, and that’s enough to lull me into a restful sleep.
Chapter Seventeen
Willow
Aloud roar wakes me so fast, I’m gasping before I even know what’s happening, my gaze flying around the cave as I sit up.
Hawk lifts me to my feet, then moves to stand in front of me, a knife in one hand and his spear appearing almost out of thin air in his other.
I hear a deep growl, something that definitely didn’t come from any man, and I lean to the side to peek around Hawk. A large beast, identical to the one I saw rip a man’s head off, tears through the last of our traps and steps into the cave.
His head turns, assessing the cave until his eyes land on my three Viking warriors. It lowers its head and snarls. Fear rips through me, remembering what that beast is capable of. Although these men are strong and trained warriors, I’ve already seen what the beast can do against men with swords.
Dread pools in my belly, realizing that being hurt isn’t the worst thing that could happen right now. Having any ofthese three get injured, or worse, killed, would be much worse.
“Take her in the pond,” Ronan yells over his shoulder toward us. “The grimclaw can’t swim.” So this beast is called agrimclaw. I file that away for later, and as Hawk starts to turn to face me, the beast lunges, somehow darting around the other two to head straight for us.
I back up quickly as Hawk aims his spear at the beast, causing it to stop before impaling itself. Bo and Ronan charge it from its rear, and it lets out a roar as it tries to bat their weapons away.
I keep moving back until my back is pressed to the cave wall and watch in fear as the three of them battle the giant beast. Its back is almost as high as Hawk is tall, and its paws are bigger than my head. One swipe from those deadly talons and they could be gravely injured.
It swipes out at Bo, and he jumps back just in time, but the grimclaw manages to hit him with the back of his paw, sending him flying backward. My hand slaps over my mouth to cover my cry, not wanting to distract anyone.
Hawk manages to stab it in the rear with his spear, and the beast turns so quickly that Hawk loses his hold on his weapon. He holds out his knife, which I always thought of as large, but looks tiny against the massive creature.
Ronan uses the opportunity to swing his ax down on the beast's back, and it lets out a pained roar as it turns and backhands him away. He flies almost ten feet before hitting the cave wall and falling to the ground. My hand presses even tighter over my mouth as fear and worry fill me.
Hawk uses the distraction to jump on its back and bring the knife up above its head, but as he starts to bring it down,the grimclaw rolls, sending Hawk sprawling on the ground, his knife flying from his grip in the opposite direction.
My heart hammers in my chest, realizing that they’ve all lost their weapons. The beast seems to know it too, as it prowls in front of them, snarling at each man still on the ground, though, thankfully, all still conscious.
I find where each of their weapons is splayed across the cave floor, but know that I will never get to them without the beast seeing me.
It must have a weakness.
Glancing around the cave, there’s nothing but our firepit, our meager possessions, and the pools of water.
Ronan said it can’t swim.
All I need to do is distract it away from them long enough that they can grab their weapons. And the only place in this cave that it can’t get to me is in the middle of the pond.
Too bad I can’t swim.
I just have to hope that the lessons I had were enough to keep me afloat long enough for them to kill it. Looking back, I can see the beast stepping toward Ronan, who’s feeling the ground around him for any sort of weapon.
