Men and Mornings
That night I spent it alone in my tent and discovered how much of a difference not having two other warm bodies in the space made. I swore I shivered throughout the night until I finally gave up and headed out of my tent to make some hot water, hoping it would help.
The sun was far from rising and warming up the freezing air, but moving around had to be better than being a shivering ball on the ground.
The fire was a glowing bed of coals as someone packed it in, preserving it to use in the morning which I was thankful for.
I found a pot to heat the water in and trudged over to the river, slamming it on the ice to break it.
“You’re awake early,” Izel said, his calming voice fitting for the early quietness.
Dipping the pot, I filled it fairly full, unsure if anyone else would want something warm to drink. “I was so cold I couldn’t sleep.”
“One of us should have been with you. I knew the temperature was going to drop, I could feel it in my bones,” he muttered to himself.
“Too late now. I’m already up, and moving around seems to be helping.”
Izel took the pot from my hand and tucked me into his side so he could wrap part of his cloak around me as we walked back. “What were you planning to make with the water?”
“Nothing, really. I just hoped it would warm my hands along with my insides.” I chuckled. “Not the best plan, but it was all I could think of to get warm fast.”
He started to build up the fire and then set the pot in the center of the hot coals to heat.
Without saying a word, he left and entered his tent.
He returned with one of his packs and a blanket.
Before I could object, he sat down, crossed his legs, and pulled me onto his lap, where he settled his cloak around my shoulders and added the blanket over my lap.
Cocooned in warmth, Izel took one hand, started to rub the warmth back into it, and then moved to the next.
“Better?” he asked, his lips brushing my ear.
Licking my lips which had suddenly gone dry, I managed a breathy, “Yes.”
Once both hands were back to their normal temperature, he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me tight against his chest, dropping his chin over my shoulder in a tight hug.
The silence between us was comfortable, and even though sitting in his lap wasn’t what I would normally have allowed, it was the warmest I’d been all night since I went to bed.
Izel was a man of honor, but I could tell from where I sat that he was pleased with me being this close.
I might not have ever experienced a man before, but I did study anatomy and had lessons on how children were made.
I wasn’t completely ignorant. As if he sensed where my mind had wandered, he shifted his head so his nose ran up along my neck until it reached behind my ear, where he placed a soft kiss.
I let out a sigh as my body relaxed into his, giving him the encouragement he needed to place another kiss a little farther down, taking his time and allowing me the chance to object as he kissed along my neck then back up to trail down my jawline.
Turning to face him, he caught my lips with his, allowing me to set the pace, never once pushing me for more, just enjoying the sensation between us.
His hands released their hold and slipped under my shirt until they rested on the bare skin of my ribs.
I tensed, and he paused, holding perfectly still, waiting for me to decide whether we continued.
I pulled back and looked into his stunning dark eyes that held such tender emotions as they looked back at me.
Just as I was about to speak, Dayson emerged from one of the tents, scratching and yawning loudly. He caught sight of us and froze as if he wasn’t sure what to do now that he spotted us. “Ah… I’m gonna go back to bed… yeah, that’s what I’m gonna do…”
“Day,” I called, shifting so I was once again sitting with my back to Izel’s chest. “It’s fine. Come join us. The water is boiling.”
Izel pressed a lingering kiss to my neck and let his fingers play along my ribs before he removed them and lifted me so he could stand. He took a moment to adjust things before he stepped out from behind me. “I have tea leaves and thought I would make a pot. You want some, Dayson?”
“Of the tea or…” he asked, his eyes flicking to me then back to Izel with a knowing smirk.
“I cannot speak for others, but I can offer you tea at the moment,” Izel answered, not at all playing into Dayson’s suggestion.
The large man let out a sigh. “Then tea will have to do, but I’m going to claim your spot since you got up.”
Not catching on to what he meant, I let out a yelp as Dayson scooped me up and settled on the ground with me perched in his lap. Too stunned at the turn of events, I lost my chance to get up without causing a fuss as the blanket was tucked in around us.
“Man, no wonder why you two were so snuggled up. This is the warmest I’ve been in days. These mountains are fucking cold,” Dayson grumbled, and he buried his face into the crook of my neck.
Once again, I squeaked as his freezing face touched my skin, making my body shiver in response to the abruptness in temperature change. “You’re freezing!”
“Why do you think I’m huddling for warmth, Cassy-bear? A man could lose his nose in weather like this if left cold for too long. I had to find someplace warm to hide it,” he answered, his words muffled by my skin.
“I’ll bet that’s not the only thing of yours that wants to find a warm place to hide,” Paxton said as he poked his head out of the tent Dayson just left.
Izel grabbed Paxton by the hair and yanked him out of the tent before I could even understand the true meaning of Paxton’s words.
“You dare to speak about your queen in such a manner? Being her guardian means you protect her from anything that could harm her body and mind. Cassarah is an honorable woman and will be treated as such. Do you hear me?”
It was moments like these I was reminded my guardians were more than meets the eye.
Izel was quiet and observant, but I knew he was lethal with any blade he could get his hands on.
Paxton was still alive because Izel wished to keep him that way, and that made me oddly trust him even more.
While Paxton and Cole were rasher with their emotions, Izel was beyond controlled.
You didn’t know what he was thinking or feeling unless he decided to show it.
“What the hell, man?” Paxton spluttered as he kicked out, hitting the back of one of Izel’s knees.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t fast enough, and Izel dropped and swiveled to put Paxton into a headlock with his other leg resting on his throat.
The more Paxton fought, the more he would just cut off his air supply.
“You aren’t the master of your own life anymore.
Once that mark showed up on your arm, Cassarah became your master.
It is better to curb this attitude of yours now than to have it cause problems for us later when her life might be in danger,” Dayson spoke up after he lifted his head to see what was going on.
Paxton tapped furiously at Izel’s leg, trying to get him off by showing he was giving in to the takedown. When Izel stood, freeing Paxton’s airway, Paxton gasped and rolled onto his side, coughing as he sucked air back into his lungs.
Finally back to breathing normal, he pushed himself up and glared at the two men.
“How dare you assume to know a damn thing about me or what I think. Yeah, I might not have been thrilled to have the mark show up on my arm and be dragged back into this mess, but it’s because of people like you assholes.
Since when did all of you become so uptight?
Doesn’t anyone know how to take a joke anymore? Or is it just because I said it?”
He had a point. Dayson had also been making suggestive comments before Paxton appeared out of the tent. Hearing what was happening might have made him feel more comfortable to make such jokes, thinking I was all right with it.
“Paxton, what do you know about me?” I asked, drawing all their attention.
“Ah, well…” Paxton started running his hand through his hair. “Not a whole lot. Just that you are paired with the black dragon and didn’t grow up in the clans.”
“If I didn’t grow up in the clans, where might you guess I was raised?” I questioned, curious as to what his thought process was.
He looked at me with his pale blue eyes like I was asking him to tell me what the weather was in Sheca. “In Norden somewhere, maybe a farmer or someone in Royal City. I don’t know what this has to do with anything?”
“It has everything to do with everything, Pax,” I announced, getting a raised brow from him.
“I was raised as a noble woman, and I’d just been presented at court to the king and queen when the dragon eggs started to hatch.
Cole had to come and steal me out of my home because my parents refused to give me up since the Crown had shown interest in me.
My value has always been in my virtue and who I marry, along with having a boy to secure the lineage of whomever I was married off to. ”
Paxton gaped at me then looked at the other two men. “You’ve got to be shitting me. A noble woman turned queen of the mercenaries… how the fuck does that even happen?”
“You said it yourself. The black dragon chose me, the first in centuries to appear, in fact My parents refused to believe the pair-bond with Vasin was real and locked me away, hoping it would be forgotten. Well, that is until Queen Mary thought it would be a good idea to make me a potential bride to one of her sons.”
As if on cue, Gavin appeared, having refused to leave with the rest of his family and taking the long way with us.
“Isn’t it interesting that the first time I met you was the day you came to rescue Vasin from Lord Everett?
I should have known then that being around you would never be boring.
Seeing as I’m now one of your consorts, things worked out the other way around, didn’t it? ”
“Hold up. The crown prince is a consort to our queen?” Paxton blurted. “I seriously shouldn’t have run off to Errit. I’m behind on everything.”
“See, I’m not the crown prince anymore. I gave that up to my brother so I could be the ambassador between our two kingdoms,” Gavin explained. “I never wanted to be king, so this turned out for the best.”
Paxton rubbed his hands over his face as he tried to wrap his brain around all of this. “Okay, so Cassarah was raised as a noble woman then was brought to the clans… how did that go?”
“Not at all how I thought. I was given a year to learn everything you all spent your childhood training for. I was to go on a job to prove I could be one of the people. Getting kidnapped by the Lost King put a bit of a wrench in that plan, but it led us to discover his presence. When I blew up his camp and saved Gavin, I found out the clans had moved to the mountains. From there, I think you know the rest with the alliance and then the battle we lost,” I answered.
By now, the rest of my guardians had awoken and joined us as Izel passed out cups of tea to everyone. They seemed to catch on to what we were talking about and were content to listen in as Paxton came to terms with everything I told him.
“No wonder the clan leaders don’t respect you.
Their worst nightmare rode in on the back of a black dragon and stripped them of everything in one swift moment.
It also makes more sense why you wouldn’t be as comfortable with vulgar language and the like from us.
I apologize if I made you feel uncomfortable.
I might have been around the snobs of Creisal, but I didn’t make any friends there for a reason.
You’ll have to be patient with me as I learn how to act around a lady, but feel free to hit me again if I offend you.
Sometimes it’s the only thing that gets through my thick skull,” Paxton said with a sigh.
“Don’t worry. We will be more than happy to help you out with that,” Cole answered with a grin.
“Leave it and drink your tea,” Jade ordered, cutting off whatever Paxton was going to say next. “We have the last stretch of this journey, and then we’ll be in Sheca. There will be time enough later to deal with our own issues once we get everyone settled.”
They all grunted their agreement and did as they were told, making me smile behind my cup at how they would work together for the good of our people.