Page 40 of To Hunt a Ruby Remedy

We laid together for long moments, out of words. Eventually, I forced myself to get up and dip a cloth in the pitcher of water in the washbasin. I cleaned us both, then slid back into bed next to Scarlette, tucking her against my side and stroking a hand over her hair.

“In case I still haven’t made myself clear, I want you to stay at the cottage. With me.”

She chuckled. “I was beginning to get that impression, but I appreciate the words.”

“If you are ever unsure, I want you to ask me, Scarlette. Or at least remind me to use my words. I’ve spent too long alone, I’m liable to forget.”

“You seem to enjoy talking in bed. I’m sure I can work with that.”

I snorted. “Remember, I’m just a man. If you just drag me to bed without explanation, I might not realize there was a reason.”

“I was thinking more that we’d establish a positive association. You’ll learn that talking means pleasure and give up your broody ways.”

“Or I’ll become even more taciturn out of the bedroom because it gives me a hard-on.”

Her laughter was a balm for my soul. I had done that. I had given her a moment of joy. It was almost more rewarding than bringing her to orgasm. Almost.

“Ranulf?”

“Yes?”

Whatever Scarlette wanted to ask was lost when a burst of blue light filled the room. I slapped a hand over the summons crystal, my other arm tightening around Scarlette so that she wouldn’t get up. “Ignore it.”

She ignored my words instead. “Is that for here or Ortfel?”

“Ortfel. The Wulfkin summons crystal glows red.” Twice in as many weeks. We often went months without the villagers using the summons crystals, even after all of Grandmother’s urgings not to hesitate. We supplied them with enough charms and enchantments, and visited often enough that emergencies were few and far between.

“Do you need to do something?”

“What? Even if I could risk flying around as a dragon, we are a couple hour’s walk from node lands.” I didn’t mention that Peter’s horse could carry me that same distance in just over a quarter hour. I wasn’t the healer villagers wanted in an emergency anyway, since all I could do was bring the same type of charms they already had access to. “They’ll be fine. Rosalia is with Grandmother. Between them, they’ll take care of whatever the emergency is.”

“I forgot Rosalia would share your blood-tie to the node. Can she shift, too?”

“Yes. She’ll run most of the way in wolf form. One of the villagers will meet her with a horse and she’ll be in Ortfel before I could even shift into a dragon.”

The blue light faded, and I moved my hand.

Scarlette relaxed against me once more.

“In fact,” I told her, my hand drifting lower. “Since I don’t want to risk dragon form with Gideon still out and about, it will take us hours to return to the cottage. We don’t want to get stuck walking in the dark, so we really can’t leave until tomorrow morning.”

“Is that so?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Whatever shall we do to pass the time?”

I tugged her on top of me, her thighs straddling my waist. “I can think of a few things.”

She pressed her hands against my chest and slid back. “So can I.”

Eighteen

Scarlette

Ranulf led me down barely-there paths, pointing out native flora—both those with medicinal properties, and the ones that were simply beautiful—as we went. Ranulf’s knowledge of the forest let us take a more direct route, rather than following the river, but we still hadn’t reached the cottage by the time the sun reached its zenith.

“Picnic?” Ranulf suggested, pointing to a mossy area a little way off the path.

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