Page 15 of Tusks & Saddles
Boone intended to approach it softly, to poke it like one does an unknown alchemic device with a clear fuse. That’s who Willamina was at that moment, an unknown firework ready to go off at any moment. He wasn’t sure if it would blow up in his face or soar into the sky, but he wanted to be gentle…because there was nothing he wanted more than her kissing him like that. Not as she hummed against his mouth so sweetly, her warm palms cupping his cheeks. His thumbs absentmindedly stroking her back and sides.Mine. All mine.
Boone didn’t get to claim much as his. Most of everything he had was wrapped up in the church, in being a Paladin for The Sun Bringer, in the town. What was his and his alone he could count on one hand, and he just added one more thing. Because there was no way after she kissed him, he was going to let her get away.
She broke the kiss first, inhaling sharply through her nose. His lungs rattled, the only air in them was hers as he peppered her cheeks in kisses. His husky voice came out deeper than intended.But it’s truly all her fault.“We gotta talk sooner or later.”
“Tomorrow,” she murmured, leading his mouth back to hers. She kissed him hard. It buried her like a dagger in his chest. “Or never.”
“Mmm, we’re gonna talk,” he growled against her wet lips, tugging on her lower one before popping off it playfully. “We’re gonna talk about how it’s been harder than wrestling a pissed off gator to get you to even give me the time of day.”
“Pfft,” she snorted. Nuzzling her nose against his, she stole another sloppy kiss after another. He was lost to her, unable to think, much less do anything other than follow her tempting lips. Then she let out a dreamy sigh, pressing her forehead to his. “You weren’t mine to have.”
“What are you talking about?” His hand at her neck slowly traveling up to her mess of hair. It was tangled and terribly damp at the roots from a long day. When they got to the valley and finally got a chance to bathe, he was going to run his fingers through it. Tug it, wrap it around his fist like a rein, then kiss her like she was the only thing putting air in his lungs. For now, he was okay with cupping the back of her head in his palm. His thumb brushed against her throat. Reveling in how she shivered, he chased her mouth again. She kissed him back and he could feel the happy hum that rumbled up her chest.
Will broke away once more, finally pushing back against his hand. While he didn’t want to let her run, he could allow her an inch or two of fresh air. Her oxygen was like hard liquor, filling his skull with fanciful smoke and leaving a dumb smile on his face.
“Jacobus is going to hate me,” she sighed.
“Woman, I have two hands,” he grunted.
“Don’t fucking ‘woman’ me,” she retorted with a snap of her teeth.
“Then what should I call you, huh?” He arched a brow despite the fact she probably couldn’t see it. Her face was nothing but a hazy shadow under the inky sky. Three moons didn’t mean shit when there was tumbleweed clouds floating over their heads.
Her mouth opened, he could see it in the low light, to give him back something snippy. But then she thought better of it and scowled.
“Go on, say it,” he urged.
“No, it’s… It doesn’t matter. I’ve already done enough damage.”
“To who?” He tugged her close again, eating her little gasp with the biggest, shit-eating grin. “You think your brother doesn’t see how wrapped I am around your finger? Willamina Jones, I’ve been sweet on you since the day I met you. You’re the one who hated me up until yesterday, it seems.”
“Hated you?”
“Don’t act like you didn’t want to bite my head off.”
“Yeah, but that’s only cause I don’t know how to…” she trailed off, swallowing loudly. He waited for her to find the words. Will’s once tense body, her fiery claws and fangs slipping away. She inched till their noses brushed and let out a dreamy sigh. “I did hate you a little cause Jacobus loves you so much. He respects you, listens to you, and I was just tossed aside for the new and improved big sibling…then Daddy died, and I guess, I just wanted my brother back. But he was yours.”
Boone stroked the back of her head. One kiss to the center of her forehead as he hugged her to his chest. Will snuggled up into his arms and for a long while, they lay there. Listening to only the sound of the other breathing and a gentle lowing coming from Roger across the camp.
“Will, I’ve got two hands,” he repeated gently, twisting to kiss any piece of her he could get.I can hold a lot more than you think I can, my firecracker, let me take care of you. Somebody ought to…let it be me.His lips met somewhere on the top of her head. She didn’t say anything else, so he let her be. Let her sleep while he drifted inand out of consciousness. The pressure of her against his chest the most soothing thing he’d ever slept with.
Somewhere along the way, he realized he’d communed with The Sun Bringer, as he opened his sleeping eyes to a roaring pyre. A woman made of flaming wings with stars for eyes floated at the center of it. She floated down to the sand beneath his bare feet. As he trudged through quicksand toward her, she extended both hands to him. In her open palms, she held bones and pieces of a broken saddle. Behind her it was pitch black, the pyre dying down to a low, hissing plume of smoke. He saw a horde of skeletons rattling after her, followed by a beast diving below the sand like a monstrous dolphin.Sand Slithers.
You are in grave danger, Boone. You must wake up… Wake up!
He snapped up in the bedroll, throwing Will into the other side of the enchanted fabric. She groaned, “The fuck, Boone?”
He searched the camp still in the dark of night, the moons barely dipping behind the dunes to the far east of them. Boone knew better than to ignore the warnings of his goddess. He undid their bedroll and scooped her out of her warm bed.
“Boone!” she hissed.
“Shh!” he urged.
“Hey,” Roger huffed from his side of camp. An eerie rattle, like that of hundreds of bones clattering in their direction. “You two hear that?”
“Fuck.” Boone and Will rushed to pull on their clothes. Will threw on her heavy jeans like armor, buckling them onto her waist with a sharp tug of her belt. “We can’t get the herd to move fast enough, we gotta stand our ground.”
“The skeletons ain’t the problem.”
