Chapter 20 Willow #2
Luckily, he’s not sitting facing us, but he is facing sideways. The tiniest movement of his head will have him looking in our direction. We won’t have much time here. Once Ronan is free, if he can avoid being seen, I pray he’ll cut one of the other two free first.
Because, unlike me, they’ll be able to help him fight them off. I’ll only be a liability. Even if I run, I don’t stand much of a chance out here without them.
I risk a sideways glance, and my eyes widen when only the rope remains where Ronan just was. He’s already escaped!
Staring back at the guard, my heart races with fear of him getting caught. I don’t feel him touching my rope, and hope that means he’s working on the others. One yell from that guard and all the other men will be up in a flash. And they’re all armed.
It takes everything I have not to turn my head toward Bo and Hawk, but I don't want to risk the guard sensing any movement over here.
When I finally let my eyes move in that direction, only turning my head an inch, I see that both Bo and Hawk are gone. Fear crashes through me.
Did they leave me here?
Before I can even consider how ill-conceived that idea is, my rope starts to move, and I know someone is behind me cutting it.
I start to hope that all four of us are going to be freed before the guard even notices, but then he turns in our direction. His eyes widen and he immediately jumps to his feet as he yells, “They’re escaping!”
My ropes drop as Hawk appears at my side, scooping me up and running away from the camp before I even realize what’s happening. Looking over his shoulder, I can't see the other two, and fear fills me once again.
“Hawk! Wait! Bo and Ronan aren’t following!”
“I know. We have a plan.” Just as he says that, I hear the clanging of swords, and I cling to his neck with worry.
He keeps moving at a clipped pace until the sound of fighting can’t be heard anymore, then he slows a little and starts to look around. He stops near a large tree and sets me on the ground. “Get on my back. I’m going to climb,” he says as he squats down in front of me.
I jump on and wrap my arms around his neck, then he stands and starts to climb the tree. He moves slowly and carefully, but it amazes me how easy this seems for him. He continues higher than I expected, moving past several rows of branches until I can no longer see the ground.
He finally stops on one of the larger branches and sits down, his legs straddling it with one hand on a larger branch to his side.
“I need you to try to move around to my front. Can you do that?” he asks quietly.
I nod as I hold on tighter with my arms. One of his hands covers one of my wrists, giving me a safety net as I slowly unhook my legs and use them to help me wiggle around his side until I’m standing on the branch in front of him.
He grabs my waist tightly as he explains, “I’m going to move back so I can lean against the trunk. You need to move with me.” I nod as he does a weird little butt walk backward until he’s firmly against the tree.
“Good girl,” he says with a tight-lipped smile. “Now sit sideways in my lap so I can hold on to you.” I don't bother arguing. There’s no place I’d rather be right now. Except maybe on the ground with him, and the other two, and away from this stupid Mating Hunt.
He hugs me tight, and I lean my head against his shoulder and let out a deep breath. “They’re gonna be okay, right?” I ask quietly.
“Hey,” he says, making me look up at him. “They’re going to be fine. Those men might be trackers and have that knockout spray, but Bo and Ronan are warriors. Now we know about their weapon, and they can watch for it.”
“How will they find us?” As soon as I ask, I realize I already know the answer. “Oh, right, the bond.”
“That’s right,” he whispers, kissing the top of my head. “They’re going to get rid of all of them, then they’ll come find us.”
“Get rid of them?” I question. “Like… kill them?”
“They are not good men, Willow. And we still have two days left in this place before we can leave. We can’t risk them taking you again. We won’t.” He speaks the last part more firmly.
The thought of them killing doesn’t bother me, and I’m glad I’m not there to see it. I realize the three of them had planned to shield me from seeing that and to keep me safe. Warmth surges through my chest as I tilt my head up to him and cup his face.
“Thank you,” I whisper as his hazel eyes bore into mine.
“For what?” he asks, his eyes dropping to my lips.
“For everything.” I lean toward him, and thankfully, he takes the hint, tilting his head down until his lips connect with mine. My fingers dig into his beard, and we both moan. The connection we share is undeniable at this point.
I don’t know what’s going to happen with Izzy, but what I do know is that I can’t walk away from them. Whatever my future holds, they are part of it. Feeling the urge to immediately tell Hawk how I feel, I pull back, cup his face with both hands, and whisper, “I love you.”
His eyes widen comically wide. “You—” He cuts himself off to lick his lips, then his mouth parts, but nothing comes out as he stares at me in complete shock.
“You don’t have to say it back,” I reassure him, even though my heart is starting to squeeze painfully.
“Willow…” he trails off, his eyes bouncing between mine as if searching for his words. “You have no idea how much I wish we weren’t thirty feet up in a tree right now.”
That pulls a small smile from me, realizing his shock is a good thing. “Because you want to run away?” I tease.
“No, angel, of course not.” His hands tighten against me as if to remind me he’s holding me in this tree right now. “It’s because I always pictured the moment I finally said those words, I’d be making love to you and sealing our bond.”
I lick my lips as my cheeks start to heat. “Well…” I start, staring at where my fingers lie against his broad, bare chest. “Why don’t you save it for later?”
“Later?” he questions.
“Yeah. I want that. What you just described.”
He stares at me for a full thirty seconds before he swallows heavily and starts to ask, “Are you saying you—”
A sharp whistle silences him and he grips me tighter, both our heads angling toward the forest floor. We stay silent, and the whistle is followed by two more short ones.
Hawk lets out a breath, and I feel some of the tension fade from him. “We’re up here,” he yells back.
“You need us to come up?” Bo yells, filling me with relief.
They’re alive, and they’re here!
“No, I’ve got her,” Hawk yells back as he turns his head to me. He gives me a quick kiss then smiles. “To be continued,” he tells me before he turns me so I’m clinging to his front, my arms and legs wrapped around him.
He starts to climb down, but I’m still reeling from that smile. I’ve never gotten that much visual reaction from him before, but that smile, it told me everything I needed to know about his feelings for me.
As I think about what he had described to me, and how I’d basically told him I wanted to have sex with him, my entire body heats at the idea, as if more than ready to feel his touch.
By the time we reach the forest floor, I feel completely flushed.
As I unhook myself from Hawk, I’m pulled into Bo’s firm embrace.
He sways me back and forth for a minute before pulling back and ducking his head down to mine, and kissing me fiercely.
It’s full of emotion and love and ends way too quickly.
“I need her,” Ronan all but growls as he pulls me from Bo’s grasp and lifts me up, his hands under my ass as he gently presses my back to the tree and his lips to mine. He doesn’t hesitate to demand entrance, pressing his tongue against mine as if to remind us both who is in control here.
I moan as I claw at him, wanting so much more, but he doesn’t linger. He pulls back and rests his forehead against mine as we both pant heavily.
He licks his lips as his eyes fill with pain, then he says the last thing I expect. “If you leave us, it will break my heart.”
I cup his face, a huge smile on my lips from what he just admitted to me. “I love you too,” I whisper just for him. His eyes widen, then his lips crash to mine in a fierce display of affection.
When he finally tears his lips away, he glances around us before grunting in annoyance. “We need to get out of here.”
“Let’s go back to our cave,” Bo suggests. “It’s the best chance in the middle of the night.”
Ronan nods, then pulls back from the tree, keeping me in his arms as he starts to march through the forest. Hawk quickly moves in front, and I realize he has his spear now. Even Ronan has his ax on his back again. I guess they were able to grab their weapons when they took out the men who took us.
“It’ll take us a couple of hours,” Ronan tells me after a few minutes. “You should try to get some sleep.” I feel too worked up to sleep, but I don’t tell him that. Instead, I nod and turn my head to rest my cheek on his shoulder as I wrap my arms around his neck, happy to finally have him back.
In this position, my core presses against his abs, and it’s a bit arousing, but the action from the day must catch up to me because soon I find I can't keep my eyes open.
At one point, I open my eyes and find myself being laid down with one of my Vikings. I snuggle into their chest, too sleepy to even know which of them it is as they whisper, “Shh, go back to sleep.” And I do just that.