Page 10

Chapter Nine

Susara

I ’d done it! I’d actually really done it!

My steps felt a little jerky and unstable as I made my way back to the road. My heart hammered and my palms were sweaty despite the chill.

But my mind was light with relief. Now, I just needed to get my heart to stop beating so hard.

It was done. Finished. I’d made the deal and Caivid had agreed and that was that. He would be my protector, and I would give him everything he wanted, and we would spend every waking moment together out in the woods.

Every moment.

I paused in my stride and pressed my hands to my heated cheeks.

Fades, I was being silly. This was a business transaction.

A way for me to keep my flock. It had nothing to do with how his smiles made my heart race, or how his voice made my stomach quiver, or how him calling me sunshine made my whole body thrum with bliss so strong it made me tremble.

The way he’d held me, so tender and warm, with the musky smell of him filling me up. . . I hadn’t wanted him to let go.

“Susara!”

I jerked around just as Caivid burst out of the woods behind me. He stepped into the lantern’s glow. His hair was tousled, and his cheeks were colored dark green. He swallowed hard, his throat flexing with the effort, and I followed the line down to his rippling abs.

Fades, he looked incredible.

“Did you forget something?” My throat felt a little too constricted for my own good.

He opened his mouth and the color in his cheeks brightened. He stood there, mouth open, unable to find the right words.

I couldn’t help teasing. “Caivid, you have a nice tongue, but it’s not good for much unless you’re using it to speak.”

His mouth snapped shut and I could see something flash in his eyes, some dark thought he hesitated to share.

To my disappointment, he kept it to himself but rewarded me with a burst of bright laughter.

“Fades, woman, you’re always catching me off guard.

” His laughter was so cheerful it completely transformed his face.

He looked younger and softer. One could almost forget he’d spent most of his life in battle.

I smiled at him helplessly. “Well, you’re going to have to get used to me. We’ll be around each other a lot with you as my protector.”

His expression softened and he let out a huff. “I think getting used to the sheep will be a more difficult task.”

My stomach flipped right over. “I promise that today’s event isn’t how things usually go. The worst you’ll have to deal with is listening to them shout at me about the quality of their grazing lands.”

“Do they shout at you often?” He gestured to the path and began to walk toward Oakwall.

Was he walking me back? A nervous giddiness made my voice a little high. “Y-yes, quite often. They are ruled by their stomachs, so any disruption to their food will get them riled, but they also bleat for weather changes and if they’re nervous. ”

“Do they warn if there is a predator near?” He kept a steady, slow pace that was easy for me to follow.

His green eyes glowed in the darkness and the gentle light of my lantern illuminated his face.

His jaw was chiseled, his gaze was soft, and his hair fell over his forehead. I had to resist pushing it back.

He just looked so. . .

I cleared my throat, forcing myself to answer his question. “Yes, they’d warn me, but any odd noise will get them going. More times than not, they’re in a tizzy over a squirrel.”

He chuckled and I couldn’t help but grin.

“It’s even worse during lambing season. When they have their babies at their side, they get paranoid about everything. A leaf will fall, and they’ll go to pieces.”

“Sounds difficult. How often do you breed them?”

“Only once a year. We don’t keep rams in our flock because it’s so small, and they tend to pick on the girls when they’re together for more than just breeding.

There are three other shepherds in town, two with larger flocks, and we trade any male lambs to them.

We’re in it for wool rather than meat and only keep enough mutton to last us through the year.

Since it’s just my father and me, we can only handle so many.

It’s a lot of work to shear and process the wool, but the ewes we’ve got have the best coats in town. ”

Fades, I was rambling, wasn’t I? I glanced up to find Caivid still watching fixedly. He was probably waiting for me to stop. I blushed deeply. “Sorry, I must be boring you with all this.”

“No. You aren’t.”

He sounded so sincere. It had been so long since I’d had someone to talk about the herd with.

“My father and I used to talk sheep all day long. From dawn until dusk and sometimes late into the night too. I suppose the obsession is passed down through our blood. You’ll have to tell me if I’m talking about them too much. Or talking too much in general.”

His eyes went wide and then he stopped in his stride, turned to face me head on. My heart thundered right up into my throat.

“Susara, I don’t think I will ever tire of hearing your voice,” he said with such vibrant sincerity that I could feel it all the way from the bottom of my heels to the top of my head. “It doesn’t matter what you speak on, I will still want to hear it. ”

“You say that now,” I said, even as the intensity of his gaze made me squirm and I was forced to look away. “But just wait, after a few seasons of following me around while I jabber about nothing but sheep, protecting me might become a real chore for you.”

I felt warmth under my chin and my eyes went wide as Caivid brought my face up to meet his gaze again. His green eyes were so vibrant that I felt them hooking deep inside me, pulling me toward him.

Tethering me to him.

“I don’t think it will, sunshine. But go ahead and try. I will enjoy every moment of you trying to prove me wrong.”