Page 52 of Heart of the Hunted
"I'm sorry," he said. "But there's nothing I can do about that."
"Of course, there is," she snapped, sitting up to look at him.
"What could I have done?" he asked.
"You could have let me sleep in the bunker for one more night," she said. "But no, you wanted to leave straight away."
Taredd sighed. "I'm not going over this with you again. You'll never get me to stay in a hole in the ground."
"It's not a hole in the ground!" She snapped at him again. "It's a bunker. There's a difference, you know."
"Not as far as I can see, there isn't,” he told her. But giving in a little, he added: "If you're that adamant about sleeping in a bed, I can arrange somewhere for us to stay tonight that isn't outside, but it does mean we have to leave sooner rather than later."
"So, in other words, get your ass up Natalia, because I've got a whole day of walking planned for you," she said, making her voice sound deep as she tried to imitate him. Then in her normal voice, she added: "Why, thank you, that sounds like loads of fun."
"Well, if you want to sleep in a bed tonight, then yes, we have a great distance to cover between now and then."
"Fine, I'll get up,” she moaned.
"Not much of a morning person, are you?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Taredd wished he could take them back.
If looks could kill, Natalia would definitely have killed him with that one.
"Sorry," he said, holding his hands up and backing away in surrender.
Natalia didn't say a single word as she got herself up and ready to set off. She did, however, stomp around and giving him an evil look every time she glanced in his direction.
"Right, I'm ready to go," she said a short time later.
"Do you want anything to eat before we go?" he asked. "We have time if you do."
"No, I'm fine," she said. "Let's just get going."
"If you insist," he said.
Even biting off his head as soon as she opened her eyes didn't seem to alter his growing feelings for her. The fact she’d actually spent the night under the stars was more than he thought she would do. He knew it wasn't easy sleeping rough on the hard-unforgiving ground, so he was happy to take whatever she wanted to throw at him.
When he first mentioned sleeping rough, Taredd had imagined her getting up in the middle of the night and storming back to the bunker. He wouldn't have blamed her if she had because she had been right, they could have stayed there until the morning. It was only his stubborn refusal to stay underground that they didn't. They hadn't even travelled very far from the bunker before stopping for the night.
Taredd might have even gotten into her good books if they had, but at the time he didn't care about her feelings or staying on her good side. It amazed him at how quickly all that had changed. Now he wanted to be in her good books, he wanted to do anything in his power to make her happy.
Taredd followed behind Natalia, directing her when she drifted off course, but otherwise he didn't say a word to her. She didn't attempt to have a conversation with him either. She barely even acknowledged he was there half the time, so he assumed she wouldn't appreciate him trying to start one with her. Taredd didn't want to disturb her or piss her off more than he already had, but he wanted her to talk to him, he wanted to hear her voice.
They travelled like that for most of the day. Not once did she complain, or ask to stop for a rest. It was only when Taredd heard her stomach start to growl that he decided it was time for them to stop. He didn't care whether she wanted to or not, but he had a feeling she appreciated the break from walking.
Taredd didn't bother setting up a trap to catch a rabbit this time, mainly because he didn't plan on stopping for that long, but not only for that reason. Since they were right next to a river, he opted for catching a fish instead.
Natalia found a spot along the shore where she could sit and watch him fish. He didn't mind her watching what he was doing, because as long as her attention was focused on him, she wasn't looking for an escape route. But still, as he waded into the water he made sure to keep her in his sights at all times.
Staying as still as possible, Taredd waited patiently for a fish to swim between his submerged legs. Luckily for them, the river was teaming with fish, so it didn't take long for one to brush between his hands. Clamping his hands around the fish, he swiftly lifted it out of the water and then threw it on to the shore, right next to Natalia.
As soon as it landed next to her, she squealed as she jumped up and away from it. Taredd couldn't help but laugh. He hadn't known she would react in such a way when he threw it, but he had to admit, he might still have thrown it just to see how she would have reacted. And it would have been so worth it.
"Not funny," she said, pointing her finger at him. "You could have told me you were going to do that."
"What would you have done differently if you had known?" he asked.
"Well, I would have moved further away for starters."
