22. Ezra #3
“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath and lifted my scarf higher onto the bridge of my nose to prevent sand inhalation. Eshe was a second behind me.
I didn’t need to explain what we had to do.
A moment later, we were off my horse and digging a thick tarp into the ground.
Once the tent was up and secured, I brought my horse in just in time to receive some stinging sands across my squinting eyes.
The sandstorm was raging above us, hissing and rattling the tent left and right.
My giant of a horse took up too much space, so Eshe and I sat crowded in the space that was left for us. My eyes caught Eshe shaking her head slightly.
“What is it?” I snapped. I needed to learn how to control myself better around her, but today was not that day.
Eshe lowered her cloth. “I wouldn’t be in this mess if it weren’t for you. I’d be on my way home.” She cursed under her breath.
“Or dead,” I muffled through my scarf.
Her head snapped in my direction.
“What are you talking about?” she demanded. “Why would I be dead?”
I shrugged, but then I narrowed my eyes at her. I lowered my own cloth. “There is darkness in the sands that even you can’t escape, little warrior.”
“You speak in riddles that don’t make sense, wise one,” Eshe said sarcastically.
She was challenging me.
A new sensation rose in my chest. No one challenged me.
“If I spoke to you directly, you’d just find another excuse not to understand.”
She curled her legs up to her chest and placed her forearms on her knees. “Try me.”
Try me.
Try to tell her the truth.
I remained quiet.
An hour passed, and neither of us had spoken another word. I lifted a flap and noticed the storm was ending, but the sun had already set.
“We’ll stay here for the night and leave before the sun rises.”
I took my horse back out, tying his reins against one of the tent posts, giving us more room in the tent.
I placed a covering over him, just in case another storm hits and I’m a minute late in retrieving him.
As soon as I walked back in, Eshe had her boot at the neck of a Silver Snake with a palm reaching for me. A Silver Snake had reached and crawled under the tent.
“A dagger,” she demanded with brows raised.
No fucking way was I giving her a weapon.
I shoved myself past her, grabbed one of my daggers on my belt, and slit the snake’s neck. Silver blood splattered on the sands.
Eshe’s jaw dropped. “You’re a glory-thieving asshole. That was my kill.”
I grabbed the snake’s head and studied the fangs in its mouth. A long, tiny tongue hung across and dripped glistening silver venom. I caught it with my finger.
I heard a soft gasp. I slid my eyes toward Eshe and found her taking a step back.
My lips twitched.
“If I wanted you dead, woman, I would have left you with your brother.”
Her jaw tensed. “Stop saying that.”
“Why?” It was the truth.
She didn’t answer.
I threw the snake into my bag to be further inspected and most likely placed in a tincture once we reached my destination.
I was taking Eshe to a secluded oasis my parents liked to adventure to from time to time.
Once the snake was secured in my bag, far from Eshe, I laid another tarp on the sand for us to lie.
I jutted my chin.
“I’m not sleeping near you.” She placed her arms across her chest.
I tilted my head and held in a laugh.
“I couldn't care less if you sleep or not. You’re going to be by my side with my hand around your neck and one arm around your waist in case you get any funny ideas. I’m not taking a chance. I don’t trust you. Get on the floor.”
Her lips parted, and then she slammed her jaw shut. I also left my weapons out with my horse.
I didn’t feel like dying in my sleep tonight.
“You are… so… so…”
My lips curved at the sight of her being so flustered. She was going to learn today, I repeated myself.
Eshe huffed and lay down, the tent getting darker by the minute. I brought out another wool blanket and dropped my heavy body near Eshe’s. As a man of my word, I placed my rough hand around her soft, delicate neck, pulling her close to my body. My other arm, under her body, held her waist to me.
“Don’t even think about trying to escape. I don’t feel particularly in the mood to be chasing you in the dark.”
I felt her pulse flutter beneath my palm, and I resisted the urge to brush it with my fingers.
I inhaled deeply, preparing for a long night, only to have her jasmine scent fill my nostrils.
Eshe moved her hips and shoulders to find a comfortable position while her body was pressed against mine.
My muscles tightened.
I thought about everything I hated in that moment: broccoli, sandstorms, and losing control.
I felt a twitch between my legs.
She moved again.
“Don’t. Move,” I said between gritted teeth, pulling her closer.
“I’m. Not. Comfortable.”
“I. Don’t. Care.”
“You’re not comfortable, which is causing me to not be comfortable. So really, this is all your fault,” Eshe hissed.
“My fault, hmm?” I rolled my eyes, knowing she couldn’t see it. “I’m not surprised.”
“Yes. If you weren’t so tense. Your arms feel like iron. How do you expect me to sleep on metal?”
I took another deep breath, hoping to relax my muscles, only to regret it again. Her fucking hair was in my face, and I could smell her. It was intoxicating. It was too much.
“It’s your fucking hair—”
She turns over to face me. “Do not blame my hair—this is on—”
My eyes glared into hers, her words tapering off as I leaned forward. “You’re testing me, Eshe.”
And I meant it.
I heard an audible gulp. “You told me you don’t want me dead,” she whispered.
“That’s not what I’m implying,” I whispered and glanced at her bottom lip.
God, was she really that naive?
Her eyes widened slightly in understanding, and she turned back the way she was. Her mouth closed. She didn’t move again.
Good.