The Weaver's Source

Chapter 65

The room was small and narrow with a single bed made from carved wood with several furs and blankets covering it. As promised, there was a small fire burning in a tiny iron hearth, making the room incredibly warm. I felt my skin tingle as the cold faded away.

"You can have the bed." Grigore said as he rested Ursus against the wall and pulled off his sopping wet cloak. "I'll sleep in the chair as usual."

"Are you sure?" I asked before I could swallow the words, turning my skin red when he looked at me curiously.

I felt something stir in him, like he wanted to accept the offer, but he swallowed it. "I'll sleep in the chair." He repeated, his voice a little thick.

I didn't press and began to strip. The cold clothes were beginning to feel itchy and uncomfortable. I wanted to be in bed, warm and dry.

"Tomorrow, I'll find you something warmer to wear." Grigore said as he pulled off his jack and shirt, which I didn't like. I now had to be very conscious of where my eyes were going and make sure they wouldn't glance at him. "Once you've got something warmer, I'll begin looking for this monster."

"What do you think it is?" I asked. I had to keep talking. Memories of the lake and Lillith's bath kept popping into my head. Of his mouth and hands when he fed from me.

"It could be a fairy of some kind. Some are quite vicious and malevolent but not usually on this scale. They usually just enjoy getting miners or travellers lost and watch them die." He said as he hung his clothes up on the thin rope hung across the room. "It could be a man as well. Milcent said he wasn't the kindest of men."

I nodded. I was just pleased it wasn't something that would try and eat me, I'd had enough of things wanting to eat me.

As soon as I was down to my undergarments, I fled to the bed and wrapped myself up in the blankets. The blankets were rough but they were dry and warm, something I welcomed heartily.

I watched as Grigore hung up our clothes, giving them some chance to dry while we slept. As I sat curled in a ball, I let my eyes dance for a moment over his back, tracing out the movements of muscle and old scars. But eventually my eyes got attached to his arm. It wasn't much improved since Lillith fixed it. The great scar was mottled and lumpy with the skin varying in shades of white, pink and red. It was the worst scar he had gained and I hope it would remain so. To gain anything worse than that would take something far stronger and bigger than the fangs and claws of that black dog.

"I'll probably get something for my arm as well." Grigore commented as he noticed my stare and looked down at his ruined limb. "It's been aching recently." He admitted quietly and flexed and stretched it, making the muscles dance under his skin.

"I thought it was healed?"

"It is but the damage was great. It'll hurt for a while yet." Grigore said and turned to look at me, his attention slipping over me darkly. "Are you sure you want to sleep in your underwear? They're just as wet as the rest of your clothes and I'm not using wards on anything but this hunt now."

I flushed red but he was right. I could still feel cold seeping out and smothering my skin, keeping the rain water and hail close to me. It felt as if I was being held by ice. I didn't say a word and kept my eyes away from him, simply began to work away my thin corset and knickers, untangling the hooks and pulling it free. It wasn't like Grigore hadn't seen me naked today and, as Milcent pointed out, I was small and not particularly busty. I used the blanket to cover myself but there was only so much I could do. My moment my corset came away my small breasts spilled free, budded and pale.

It was only when I handed them to him that I was forced to look at him. I had kept my eyes away from him, embarrassed about the idea of being virtually naked before him, but, now that I had to look at him, I noticed how dark his eyes had become and how still his face was. It was filled with something, something that made my heart thud and my body warm, that made me hyper aware of his half-nakedness, his taut muscles and quiet power. I couldn't take my eyes from his as he gazed at me, his eyes sweeping over the slope of my neck, my small shoulders, the shapely swell of my breasts, the curve of my hips and the hem of the blanket that teased my legs. A hungry expression darkened him, a carnal look, his song swirling louder and louder, thickening over my tongue, calling to me. My lips parted and heat swirled in the pit of my stomach as the desire to kiss him, to feel him and have him feel me, clouded my eyes. And I knew he needed me. I felt it in him. Burning him. Not the hunger of a mage desiring magic, but of a man needing a woman.

Abruptly Grigore turned his back on me as resistance touched him, breaking the moment. A little breathless and embarrassed at the faint throb between my legs, I gathered up the blankets and laid down on the bed, curling into a ball. I told myself it was the magic's fault. It always made me act stupidly and wanting him and it was making him feel like he wanted me when he truly didn't. The desire I felt in him, that yearning in his stormy eyes, was a lie. I tried to ignore the little voice that told me I hadn't felt my magic stir at all though, that it had remained silent all evening.

"I'll wake you at dawn." Grigore said roughly and cleared his throat as he shoved his hand through his hair. "We'll get you something warmer for you once we've eaten."

I nodded once and squeezed my eyes shut, hoping the thudding of my heart would stop and that he would stop talking. His voice was sounding too good to listen to right now, his accent thick and his tone deep and husky. I tightened the grip on the blankets as I felt humiliation drown me in an unrelenting wave. I was reacting increasingly worse towards him over the last month. On my own. The magic wasn't needing to do anything now to make me want to reach and touch him. I felt a little panicked and embarrassed at the thought and quietly wondered what on earth was happening to me. I hoped that whatever it was would stop and go away but a part of me doubted it would. A part of me knew it was just going to get worse. The bond Lillith warned me about was forming.

I glanced at Grigore as he snatched himself a blanket and rubbed his wet hair, and I closed my eyes quickly when I saw him untying his breeches, knowing full well he was going to strip himself. I willed sleep to come almost desperately, wanting to run away from these feelings and reactions of mine. I hoped I would wake up tomorrow with all these reactions and thoughts gone.

Much to my despair and distress, they'd grown worse.