Page 72 of Hunting for her Heart
“Take her dress off and get her near the flames.”
I glance at the fire, but a better idea comes to mind. I scoop her up in my arms, making her gasp in surprise, but as I march across the cave, I can’t help but smile down at her. “I think it’s time we check out this hot spring,” I tell her as I set her down right beside her changing room. “We already placed your stuff here,” I say, pointing to a bag in the corner.
“Thank you,” she whispers as I turn my back. But I don’t move away. I’m so desperate to be close to her. The need has been growing since I met her, and every time I learn something new about her, I crave her even more. But ever since last night, seeing her tied up and being unable to do anything to help her, my need has been almost primal.
I’m praying that some skin-to-skin contact will soothe the part of me that’s desperate to complete the bond.
I know I can’t push her. She’s been through a lot this past week, what with being thrown into a completely new worldand straight into the Mating Hunt, being attacked by a grimclaw, and getting kidnapped repeatedly by men she doesn’t know.
It’s surprising she’s still as calm and collected as she is. And I selfishly hope that a big part of being that way is because she feels safe around us.
“Bo?” I turn around and inhale sharply. She’s wearing her leaf bikini, as she calls it. It’s been over a full day since I’ve seen this much of her skin, and I’m unable to stop myself from reaching out and gripping her waist. She’s still shivering, but I can’t stop myself from being mesmerized by her.
“You’re positively beautiful,” I whisper in awe. Somehow, in only the few days that she’s been with us, she’s already looking a hundred times healthier. Her skin is practically glowing, her ribs are no longer sticking out, and her hips and breasts now have more of a curve to them.
“So are you,” she whispers back, making me laugh in surprise.
“You think I’m beautiful?” I ask with a smirk.
She nods her head, her eyes trailing up and down my body as if mesmerized by me. It makes me stand a little taller to know my mate is so attracted to me. “Beautiful, handsome, hot,” she says before licking her lips.
“Alright, little mate. Stop looking at me like that, or we’re going to have trouble,” I mumble as I scoop her up. She squeaks out in surprise as she quickly tries to make sure her little leaf is covering her pretty little pussy.
I pinch my lips together to stop myself from saying anything as I march over to the hot spring. Ronan and Hawk are already there, wearing their loincloths, and Ronan smirks, holding his arms out to me.
“Dammit,” I hiss, passing her over, realizing I need to change too.
I run to my bag and strip as fast as possible, tying my loincloth around myself so haphazardly that I rip the bottom of the front leaf off. “Whoops,” I say, trying to lean over to see if it’s still covering me. But the entire contraption is completely useless. I’ve been half hard since she took off her dress, and the leaf isn’t doing anything to hide me.
“Fuck it,” I whisper to myself before jogging back just as Ronan lowers himself down in the center of the hot spring.
Luckily, it seems to have a low spot where we can gradually walk in, and I don’t hesitate to join the three of them. Hawk finds a large rock to sit on that submerges him up to his neck. I feel around the hot spring and find a few more rocks lining the outside, as if it were made for this very purpose.
Ronan sits on one across from Hawk and sighs as the warm water covers most of his chest, coming up to Willow’s neck, where she sits in his lap.
“Lean back,” he instructs her. And she takes a second to get herself comfortable, her back resting against his chest, then she sighs in contentment.
“Feeling better?” I ask with a smile and she nods.
“Yes. The warm water feels so nice. It’s like a giant bath.”
She glances around the cave as she asks, “What’s happening with your charm? Have you figured it out yet?”
“We think it’s the flint rock and fire,” I tell her. “Possibly something to do with extinguishing the fire is what releases the magic, or whatever it is.”
“We will put it out after we’re done here,” Ronan adds. “Then, if we’re right, we should see new growth several hours later.”
“It’s a good plan,” Hawk says with a nod from beside me.
She licks her lips as her eyes dip to stare at the water's surface. The water has a small current in it, from where it’s fed in from a small stream along the wall, so we can’t see under the surface, and I wonder why she suddenly looks a little nervous.
“What are you thinking?” I ask, needing to know where her mind just went.
“Oh, I was just thinking about how this is all going to be over tomorrow.” My heart skips a beat as a feeling of dread starts to form in my stomach.
“What do you mean?” Hawk asks bluntly. I’m glad he asked because I feel utterly speechless right now. Like one wrong word could send her running from us.
She finally lifts her gaze to meet his. “The Mating Hunt. It’s over tomorrow, right?”
