Rise of the Warrior of Everfen

Chapter 24: Maybe I Want To Make My Own Choices

He watched her long and hard, mulling it over before he said, "I'm serious, one word."

"No!" She giggled and threw her arms around his neck, grabbing onto him as she leaned into him. It took her several seconds to realize what she'd done and she let go. His eyes were wide like it was the last thing he'd expected her to do and she blushed, swiping her hands down her clothes for no apparent reason other than to straighten them.

He lowered his head, staring at the ground a moment before he set his hand on her arm and she met his gaze again. An unfamiliar heat burned in her and she almost trembled. She wanted much more than to hug him now, licking her lips as she watched him. "What did they say to you?"

"You came all the way out here and you don't even know what happened?" She gave him a half smile and shook her head as he shrugged.

"They just said you got upset over some of the proceedings and you took off, then I left. They were still saying something else but...I didn't think, I just came after you." He still wasn't looking at her but it felt significant that he'd even come, that he cared.

"Thank you." She returned the gesture setting her hand against his arm as well. He cocked an eyebrow, still waiting on her answer. He waited with a strange patience that she would've never expected from him. "Wren wants Lohke to pay money to me, for compensation for the years I spent as a servant and an extra sum to cover my dowry. Lohke supported him but I adamantly refused and Wren lost his temper."

"You ran all the way out here because a man lost his temper? I'm surprised you didn't remove his head from his shoulders."

"I almost did. I think. I don't know. I'm getting good at not doing that thanks to you."

"You say the nicest things to me." He said and she wrinkled her brow.

"Did you just tell a joke?" She asked and he scrunched up his face in an expression similar to hers. "Mark this day, Cold Hammer tells jokes that aren't just blunt sarcasm."

"I think it was fairly sarcastic." He cracked a grin and she smiled, wanting so much to fall into his arms and hug him. She glanced at his lips as she thought about his on hers, how warm he'd felt, the way her heart rushed as he kissed her. He suddenly turned, his gaze leaving hers and she frowned.

"Cold Hammer?"

"You shouldn't look at me like that, Sheobulf." His voice was tight.

"Maybe I want to look at you like that." She heard his sharp intake of breath.

"You don't-"

She grabbed his arm and whirled him around, "Don't tell me what I do and don't want! I've had enough of everyone telling me how to live." She snapped at him. "From day one Nukbrik commanded my every waking moment, from day one Lohke has dictated that I would come here with him to human territory, from day one Wren has dictated that I would go with him to Thunderfall. Maybe I don't want any of that, maybe I want to make my own choices!"

She grabbed his face and brought his mouth to hers, kissing him and he didn't stop her. His hands drew her closer and she wrapped her arms around his neck. His lips moved against hers in a way that made her stomach do flips and she tightened her grip on him. When they were breathless and she felt dizzy, she pulled away slowly, staring into his eyes.

He looked utterly confused and a little scared, "Why did you do that?"

"Why did you?" She countered and his chest heaved harder.

"It beats the underworld out of me." He replied, brow furrowing, but he grew somber and he cupped her cheek in his hand. "You're not afraid of me at all, are you?"

She wrapped her hand around one of his tusks and pulled him closer until his forehead touched hers. "You never scared me."

"Not because of stupid recklessness, but because you can hold your own in a fight, because you refuse to back down and let others-even me-walk on you. No one has ever stood up to me before like you have."

"And that's a good thing?"

He growled and it reverberated through his chest as he pulled her closer, "It drives me insane. It makes me want to devour you in good and bad ways." His lips descended on hers again with a furious passion that burned her soul from the inside out. "I have never respected another being more than I respect you or Lohke, for everything you've been through, you still fight for what's right and you never turn on anyone that doesn't turn on you first."

"Maybe you should kiss Lohke then."

He sputtered and choked on a laugh as he pulled back and they laughed together for a long moment. He went silent, eyeing her with one eyebrow lifted and a grin threatening to cross his face before he set his arm around her shoulders. There was a certain comfort in having him next to her, accepting her.

Her heart was soaring, her stomach dancing with butterflies. She felt like something changed between them in that moment. There was a certain vulnerability in him, as if she somehow scared him even as she stood unafraid of him.

"Come on," he murmured as he drew her in to his side, "let me take you back."

"Will you walk with me?"

"It'll take longer to get back if we walk."

"Yes, it will." She smiled warmly at him and he grinned.

"Yes, I'll walk with you." He said and took her hand. His was so big compared to hers that her hand disappeared completely. Together they started back towards camp.