Page 21 of A Soul to Guide

He, however, was being oddly chatty. She learned much about him, and every bit she did added to his personality. She found herself softening towards him, and the awkward night before was washed away.

It also aided her to forget about their journey through the forest as she listened to every word he said. Apparently, his town had been a farming place that fed the mining villages nearby, which in return gave ore to the smithing and carpentry town. The whole area worked as a unit and traded regularly with each other – and came to each other’s aid when needed.

He’d apparently been one of the few brave enough to go into the forest to chop wood, and he said he still wore the lumberjack shirt to go with it – it was rather coarse against her skin whenever her hands brushed over it. She figured that was why he’d been confident outside of the protective walls of towns and villages.

When the temperature began to drop, Merc informed her they’d need to be quieter now, since night was falling. He was always alert during it.

“I’ve always wanted to ask,” Raewyn whispered, despite his warning. “Do you carry weapons? You know... for fighting against Demons?”

“What kind of question is that?” he snapped back in a low tone. “Of course, I do. Only an idiot would walk around the forest without a weapon.”

Raewyn bit her tongue.Did he just call me an idiot?She didn’t have any weapons!I guess he is my weapon, though. Go forth, meat shield.

“I’m surprised we haven’t come across any Demons on our travels,” she said, turning her head so she could listen around them.

“You really don’t know anything, do you?” Merc sighed, his gruff voice disapproving. “We’re in the southlands. There’s a border wall made of logs that cuts this part of the continent completely off from the rest of it. It keeps most of the Demons out, or, at least, the ones that aren’t good at climbing.”

“Oh... does that mean people can’t get through it?”

“There are gates, just like in the towns. Now shut up.”

Ignoring him, she asked, “Do people monitor the gates?”

“No. You have to open them yourself.”

“That sounds like an awfully difficult–”

Merc suddenly turned around and grabbed her entire face to quieten her. Her eyes clenched under her blindfold, and she bashed on his forearm, barely able to breathe. Her mouth was covered by his large palm, and the purlicue between his thumb and forefinger partially blocked her nose.

He was right in front of her, merely inches away, and she could feel his hot breath washing over her forehead.

“Shhh,”he demanded, getting even closer. “Something is coming.”

Raewyn’s ears pulled back, a natural twitch that made her hearing more alert. Great. Did her words conjure the very creatures she’d just been asking about?

Only when she calmed her rapidly beating pulse from thinking Merc was trying to hurt her did she finally notice the thud of paws. Something was running towards them on all fours, and it was faster than anything she’d ever heard.

Raewyn shook her head in his palm to reject the idea of a monster coming their way, although barely, since his grip was tight.

“Stay still and keep yourself calm. Don’t smell like fear.”

He brought her closer to his body and, for the first time, she got a grasp of what he truly felt like.

He was much bigger than she thought he’d be. His body was dense with muscle, thick and wide with it. He had a slightly bulging gut, like he had a layer of fat under an eight pack of abdomen muscles.

As though he was trying to hide her, he wrapped a big, strong arm around her waist. His cloak fell around her to shield her further.

Forcing them together pushed his hand down so it was only covering her mouth, but it also allowed her to feel the trunks he called legs.

Her eyelids fluttered at his draflium scent. Despite the danger she could clearly hear nearby, her body went warm with arousal. His body heat, mixing with the freshness of that scent, had a strange coil of desire tightening in her gut.

Raewyn tightly clenched her eyes shut.It’s a placebo. It’s not real.

The draflium flower, when glowing at night, was a powerful aphrodisiac when ingested. It did nothing when touched or smelled, but she’d played with its effects once or twice for fun.

Get your head together, Rae,she demanded. She was forced to suck in another draw of his scent, and her nipples tightened. She clenched her thighs together when liquid began to pool at her entrance.He does smell nice, though.

She almost wanted to drool.

---