Page 44 of A Hunt Bound in Blood

Part way through that thought, I realized my concern was less about the mission and more for the woman, which gave me yet more pause. I’d agreed to come out here so I could get my life back. When had finding this amulet stopped being exclusively for my benefit? Before the bite? Because of the bite? I hated that I didn’t know. The question was an itch in the back of my mind begging me to scratch it, because one answer meant my priorities would shift again as soon as this bond wore off. The other… The other meant I’d need to wrestle my priorities into place, because I couldn’t let anything get in my way. Not when I was so close to claiming my revenge. Not even for the sake of a fascinating woman with a mind like a well-honed blade.

With my refreshed aims in mind, just as the sky began to darken from its bright blue to a deeper indigo dashed with brushes of red and orange, I grabbed Glory’s arm and pulled her to a halt.

“What?” she snapped.

“Do you realize you’ve been complaining all day?”

She opened her mouth, no doubt to argue with me, then clapped it shut again. “Yes, yes I do.”

“Do you realize in half a day, we’ve nearly gotten to the point where we’d planned to stop tonight?”

Her brow furrowed, and she grabbed the map out of her pack. “We’re nowhere close. Our plan was to get to Bridle Falls, and we’re…”

She looked around us as she stretched out the heavy parchment. Her eye fell on the mountains to the west, and I pointed to the lake to the south. She followed the landmarks, then translated them onto our route. Her lips parted. “How did we make it so far?”

“Amazing what you can do when you’re angry.” I plucked the map from her hands. “So no, we won’t make it quite as far as we’d hoped, but do you think you can cut yourself enough slack to put your feet up and have some dinner? Maybe an early night so we can wake up ready to go in the morning? Just a thought.”

“I—I suppose it wouldn’t be the worst idea.”

My calloused fingers brushed against the soft skin of her wrist, and goosebumps broke out over her arms. That cinnamon-spice smell wafted off her, teasing me.

Again it nagged at me that the bond might be enhancing her scent, but I couldn’t help but give in to the urge to draw her out, fuelling my energy at the end of an exhausting day. I nodded towards the river. “It’s not a hot spring, but I’ll bet that after such a bright, sunny day, the water will be warm enough to soak in for a while.”

Her breath caught, and I suspected that the desire now seeping off her had nothing to do with me.

My nature to encourage people to take what they wanted pushed me to lower my voice and inch my lips closer to her ear. “You could get undressed, slide into the water, scrub yourself off while I make dinner. You’d be truly clean for the first time in days.”

A moan slipped through her lips, and her eyes sparkled with amusement. “You think that’s how you woo me, princeling?”

I pulled back with a grin, my flush of pride that I’d pulled such a reaction from her having nothing to do with the bond. “Tell me it didn’t work.”

Her cheeks reddened, but she didn’t deny it before heading off. As soon as she was out of sight, I set to work organizing camp for the night. I knew Glory was still fighting with herself about continuing on. Being this close to sticking to our schedule despite the events of last night had to be eating at her, but I was glad she’d listened to reason. And to reinforce what a brilliant idea I’d had, I went above and beyond to make camp comfortable. Despite my loathing of the thing, I put up her tent and arranged her bedroll and enchanted blanket to look especially enticing. I even made sure to leave out her flask in case she needed another nip before bed.

Once that was done, I strode into the woods to hunt for something more appetizing than the scrawny rabbit I’d snared the night before last. We’d restocked a few items in the village, but I was hoping to stretch what we could, as I didn’t foresee another such break along our route. Although we were close to the main road, we’d be striking off it soon, winding around any other towns. Tersey had done well in keeping our path isolated.

While I walked, my mind wandered to the mission, to my siblings, to Glory. I caught myself wondering what else would make her happy, and my thoughts ground to a halt along with my steps. This was unacceptable. Not even Syrus enjoyed the privilege of me doing so much for him, and that man had been my closest friend for over half a decade. The bond was worming its way through my brain, and my first reaction was to resent it. She claimed the bond wouldn’t enslave me, but how could it be anything else when I was putting myself so far out of my way to meet her needs? Without thinking about it. By the hells, I’d put up her tent.

Yet when I thought of how she might react to seeing what I’d done, how her eyes might brighten the way they did when she hit on some revelation in her research, the resentment faded into something more like satisfaction. My own, or the lulling approval of the bond?

I hated that I didn’t know my way around my own head. Despite my best efforts, I’d wound up neck deep in complicated, and I needed to figure out how to keep it from getting worse. Hells forbid I confuse her with my acts of kindness, make her think this was normal behaviour on my part or that I was developing actual feelings. My only goal had been to save her life. I didn’t want anyone getting hurt because of it. Hurt didn’t taste good.

Frustrated, I pushed through the brush, focusing my senses on the sounds and smells among the trees. Going for larger fare, like the deer I was craving, wasn’t practical for the nature of our trip, but I hoped to come across a duck or two for something different.

The first sound to reach me, however, was a soft voice singing a familiar song, joined by the soothing lap of water. Glory.

My cock twitched at the thought of her naked in the water, scrubbing that flawless, milky skin, her eyes closed and face tilted towards the setting sun.

I shook my head and strode faster in the opposite direction. I needed to get my head on straight and remember that at least part of my longing for her wasn’t real. It was a fabricated connection that would fade. Neither of us wanted to do something we might regret.

Yet the farther I walked, the stronger that longing became. My fingers itched to touch her, my eyes yearned to take her in. To make sure she was all right and soak in her beauty.

I fought against the pull. How did people cope with this bond? How did they survive it? If I hadn’t already formed a respect for the mage, I’d be ready to claw my heart out just to get rid of this nagging, insidious draw. Was it worse because of my demonic nature? Or would it be worse if I were human, their weak constitutions leaving them open to greater manipulations?

I had to believe that was the case. I was strong enough to resist the connection. And if I was turning around and walking back the way I’d come, it was because I’d heard something closer to the water that made me think dinner was waiting to be caught.

Luckily for my brain—and my self-respect—as soon as I cleared the greenery, I spotted a pair of ducks drifting along the shore. I moved silently and quickly, and with two strikes, I brought them both down with nary a sound.

By the time I returned to camp, Glory was already there. Her loose, wet hair dripped over her shoulder as she attempted to dry it in front of the fire she’d started. She was dressed, with her waistcoat folded neatly and lying on the log beside her, but her damp skin made her shirt cling to her in ways I struggled to overlook.