Page 29 of Rhaz’s Redemption (Shifters of Valo Prime #6)

Beatrice

Rhaz helped me carry my things inside. If it hadn’t been for his help I doubt I would have been able to get all my papers out of the snow in time.

It was really coming down. It had started out slow with big flakes drifting to the ground, but now it looked like it was turning into a blizzard.

I shivered as I looked out the window one last time, then closed the shutters to keep out the cold.

Rhaz added a log to the fire and I sat down on my bed of furs.

“What do you guys usually do when it snows this hard?”

“Stay inside,” Rhaz gave me a deadpan answer followed by a sly smile.

“I know that,” I laughed. “But what do you do? Like what activities do you and the hunters do inside when it snows like this?”

Rhaz sat down on his bed and thought for a moment before answering. Then he lifted his head and the corner of his mouth turned up in a smile.

“Oh no.” I braced myself for whatever he was going to say next. “What is it?”

“We would use the time to hone our wrestling skills. It’s not uncommon for a jagwa to try to take us down from behind, so we would wrestle each other to keep our skills sharp and to be prepared for such things.”

“You wrestled?” My cheeks heated at the thought of being that close to Rhaz, to have my body pressed against his… It wouldn’t exactly be a hardship.

“Yep, and I think it would benefit you to learn some of those same skills. You never know what you might find out in the forest.”

“You want to wrestle me? Don’t you think that would be a little unfair?

” I crossed my arms over my chest and tried not to smile.

But I was enjoying this. Our tense awkwardness had faded away to reveal something new.

It was getting easier to talk to Rhaz and there was a distinct flow to our conversations that was pleasant almost like floating down a lazy river.

“I won’t be wrestling you. Not at first,” he amended. “I’ll be teaching you how to move out of someone’s grasp or how to throw a creature off your back.”

“Alright,” I stood up and moved my furs out of the way. “I’m willing to learn if you’re willing to teach me.”

The rakish grin that spread across Rhaz’s face was to die for. I could have died happy right then and there, but then he stalked toward me and I felt weak in the knees. No one should be that sexy, but here was Rhaz, grumpy, kind, intense, and sexy as hell.

“May I?” he asked as he walked behind me, ready to wrap his arms around me in a wrestling grip.

“Ya-yep,” was all I could manage at the moment, but it would have to do.

Rhaz stepped even closer to me and let his arms rest on top of mine.

“I’m going to put you in a locked grip, and then I’m going to talk you through how to get out of it.”

“You’re going to talk me through it?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Is that alright,” his ragged voice came out more gruff than usual, proving he was just as affected by this as I was.

“Yes, that’s fine,” I squeaked. It’d been so long since anyone had touched me like this. Even when I was back on earth I didn’t really date much so my experience was beyond limited.

Rhaz grunted his approval then clasped his hands together in front of me caging me in.

My knees buckled from the contact, and if it hadn’t been for Rhaz, I would have fallen to the ground.

“That’s a good strategy,” he complimented me as he set me back on my feet. “If you can slip out from under your opponent you should do so.”

“Thank you,” I replied not knowing whether I should be embarrassed or just roll with it. To hell with it. I’d take the compliment and let our lesson move forward.

“Now I want you to slide down again but this time move to the side.”

“Move to the side,” I confirmed out loud.

“Yes, it will make it harder for me to get you back into my grip if you’re out of reach.”

“Alright,” I pictured the movement in my head. It seemed easy enough, but Rhaz was made for this kind of stuff. I was just a former librarian with no athletic skills whatsoever.

“Are you ready?” he asked, his breath fanning onto my neck in the sexiest way possible.

“I think so,” I tentatively agreed.

“Okay, go ahead then,” Rhaz encouraged.

Here goes nothing… I tried to side step at the same time as I shimmed out of his grasp. I wasn’t fast enough to get away, but I did better than I thought I would.

Rhaz was able to catch me before I got out of reach and he promptly wrapped his arms around me again.

“Good, very good,” he purred in my ear. “I knew you’d be a fast learner.”

“Why is that?”

“Because you’re the smartest person in our dekes.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that.” I brushed his compliment aside.

“I do,” he replied. His words were firm and immovable. He’d said what he’d said, and he’d meant it.

“Let’s try it again. This time see if you can move away a little faster.”

I nodded my head and readied myself for action.

“Whenever you're ready,” he assured me.

I thought maybe the element of surprise would be on my side, so instead of nodding my head, I quickly moved down and away from his grasp.

I got a little further this time, but he was still able to grab me and pull me back to his chest. His woodsy scent filled my nostrils and I liked the feels of his arms wrapped around me.

“Better, much better,” he congratulated me.

“Let’s do another round,” I suggested. I wanted more… He had a pull on me that I couldn’t explain, but I also didn’t want to fight against anymore.

“As you wish,” Rhaz chuckled from behind me.

I took a deep breath and tried again, but this time my foot slipped out from under me and caught under Rhaz’s leg as he tried to move to catch me. This resulted in us both crashing to the floor on top of each other with Rhaz on top of me.

“Are you hurt?” There was concern written on his face that melted my heart.

“I’m alright. Sorry if I tripped you.”

“I’m not sorry,” Rhaz replied with a grin.

Then he was staring at me as if his whole world revolved around my every action, my every breath. His eyes locked onto mine and I caressed his cheek just to make sure this was all real. His soft blue skin felt right under my fingers.

He leaned into my touch and his tail wrapped around my leg.

“Kiss me,” I whispered.

“Gladly,” he purred.

Rhaz slowly leaned in while I lifted my head to meet his. Then our lips were touching in a gentle embrace, delicate, exploratory, and timid.

His lips brushed against mine again and again as he caged me in under his weight and delicious warmth.

I lifted my hands to his scalp and let my fingers sink into his hair. There was a sharp intake of breath as if my very touch had sent a jolt through his system. Then he was descending on me with a hunger I’d never known before.

Our gentle kisses turned passionate as I drew him even closer and he wrapped a hand around my waist.

I teased the seam of his lips with my tongue and he shuddered as he opened for me and my tongue danced with his.

I moaned as he slid his tongue over mine again and again until we were panting and out of breath.

Rhaz slowly rolled over onto his side and lay on his back for a long moment and I watched his chest rise and fall with each breath.

“Every time I touch you is better than the last,” he broke the silence with a sentiment that was as sweet and intense as he was.

“Good.” I felt smug, as if I’d won a prize that I wasn’t even competing for. I had an effect on Rhaz that was beyond words and I loved it.

He barked out a laugh and let out a tired sigh. “I should probably gather more wood before the snow gets too high.”

“Do you want my help?” I offered. I had a long fur coat that Neelu had given me. It did a good job keeping me warm along with my fur boots.

“I want you to stay here where it's warm,” he said as he pulled himself up off the floor and headed for the door.

“I’m happy to gather wood for you. It brings me joy to serve you as the goddess you are.”

I swallowed hard at his words. I’d never been called a goddess before, but by the look in Rhaz’s eye I could tell he meant every word.

He opened the door, shivered at the cold breeze, then shifted into his badger form that was covered in fur.

“Stay inside,” he gave me one final command before he closed the door and I shivered, but not from the cold. His voice held an authoritative gruffness to it that made me tingle.

That evening Rhaz built up the fire and placed the rocks from my furs inside it. Later when it was time for bed he moved the rocks from the fire back to my furs and tucked me in for the night.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” His face hovered close to mine and I longed to kiss him again, but I wasn’t sure I was ready for a bedtime makeout session that might lead to other things… Rhaz and I were on a good track and I wanted to keep things that way. There was no need to rush things. Not yet.