Page 88 of Hunting for her Heart
“You’re incredible,” Hawk whispers, hugging me from behind.
“I’m pretty sure you guys did all the work,” I tell him honestly.
We dress quickly, and soon, I’m holding Ronan’s hand again, with Bo in the lead and Hawk behind us as we traipse through the forest.
We move silently, and at first, it’s almost enjoyable, but the longer we walk, the more that relaxed feeling starts to fade and my body starts to fill with tension again. I keep seeing images of the day I arrived in this world and stood on the platform with a sea of men waiting to hunt me down and claim me.
Sure, many of them may have gone after the other women, and we know quite a few are dead, but it doesn't mean there isn’t another trap waiting for us right before that finish line.
Bo stops walking, but he doesn’t look concerned as he turns back to us and starts rummaging through his pack. He pulls out a food pack and passes it to Ronan. “She needs to eat.”
“Yes, let’s break here for a few minutes,” Ronan agrees as Hawk takes a seat right beside us on the ground and holds his arms out to me. I gently drop myself into his lap and lean against his chest. I hum in contentment at being close to him.
He starts to feed me little pieces of meat and nuts as I ask, “Do you think we’ll run into any more problems?”
“We need to be on guard just in case,” Ronan says as he and Bo sit with us, their gazes on the surrounding forest. “It’s impossible to know what awaits us.”
“I can’t wait for this to be over,” I say with a sigh.
“Me either,” Bo agrees before biting down on a large piece of meat.
I glance down at the forest and see a small purple flower. It makes me think of my new, strange gift. It’s crazy to think I’ve had this gift inside me my whole life, but only my Viking mates can bring it out of me.
I wonder if any part of it can be controlled or if the magic is all random. I reach down and dig my fingers in the dirt around the tiny flower until I can pull it up with its roots.
Holding my palm out flat near my face, I study it for a moment before my eyes turn to Hawk.
“What are you thinking?” he asks.
Looking back at the flower, I tell him, “I want to try to control it.”
“Control it?” Bo asks, leaning toward me with interest.
I nod. “The magic. I want to know if I have any control over what it does.”
They all study me and the flower for a moment before Ronan nods. “That’s a good idea.”
“Let me help,” Hawk says as he leans forward and kisses that soft spot right below my ear. His lips are incredibly softand slow as he gently moves down my neck. When his teeth graze my heated skin, I gasp as I feel myself growing damp between my legs and let my eyes slide shut.
“Focus,” Ronan reminds me.
My eyes fly open and I stare at the flower and nod. “Right.” I narrow my eyes, trying to focus my attention on the flower as Hawk continues to kiss up and down my neck.
Slowly, I see the flower starting to grow and I have to force myself not to shout with excitement. Instead, I refocus on my efforts. Soon, a second and third flower start to grow from the little bit of soil in my hand.
Next, I try to imagine a vine spreading out from them and moving down my arm and across Hawk’s chest. And when it starts to grow and travel along that path, Hawk stops, his eyes widening in shock. It stops spreading the second his lips leave my skin, and Bo reaches out and caresses my ankle, before his hand starts sliding up my leg, under my dress.
When I glance at him, he winks at me, and the vine starts to grow again. I picture it moving down Hawk’s side and growing flowers in the grass beside us. His lips reconnect with my neck and I close my eyes, but this time I keep my focus on the flowers growing around us.
Then I try to visualize them growing taller than their current one-inch size.
“Uh, Willow?” Bo suddenly says as he moves his hand away. “You might want to stop now.” I open my eyes and jerk in surprise. The flowers have grown over our heads. I can’t even see Bo or Ronan’s faces.
Hawk stands up, taking me with him as we look around us.
“They must be over three feet tall,” Ronan says in astonishment. “Is that what you meant to do?”
I nod as Hawk lifts me up and I wrap my legs around his waist. “Yes, I was picturing them growing tall.”
