Page 35 of Warrior
I liked how he made me feel, period.
I liked him, period.
Everything he did was for me and the children. He worked all day clearing a path for our escape, then spent half the night on patrol, determined the guards would never again have the opportunity to hurt any of us. He was strict with the children, but patient and kind, teaching them how to excavate the mumje with less injury.
Not to mention how he cared for me. Gentle, almost loving… and the way he looked at me. Even when I was sleep-drugged and sweaty from night terrors, those golden eyes regarded me as the most beautiful woman ever.
I seriously had a crush on Daicon and felt a little guilty about it.
Gavin was a good man. However, our marriage was never based on undeniable attraction, just expectation. My whole life, I’d been trained to be the perfect minister's wife, first by the teachings of my father and the example set by my mother. When Gavin became associate pastor at my father’s church, he was young, handsome, and caring. The perfect man for me—or so everyone agreed.
Our dates centered around church outings save for a Braves baseball game here and there. The first time he kissed me, it felt right, and comforting. It's kind of the way one feels coming home after a long, hard trip.
When we married, the entire church congregation attended the wedding—except Clancy Montrose, who'd just had gall bladder surgery the day before. When my father stepped down and Gavin became pastor, our church family showered us with love and support. The congregation was important to us… maybe too important.
Our marriage centered around the church and the needs of the parishioners. My parents taught me that the duty of a minister’s wife was to support her husband as he follows his calling to God.
I don’t think Gavin ever thought he was neglecting me. Truthfully, I never considered it neglect—just my duty.
It was my duty to suffer fertility treatments alone while Gavin ministered to a family whose son struggled with drug addiction.
It was my duty to smile through the birthdays and anniversaries spent alone because someone in the congregation needed him more.
It was my duty to understand that no matter how much I might need Gavin’s support, ministering to the congregation was always his first priority.
I never doubted Gavin loved me. I loved him. Part of me always would. But sometimes, when I'd hear Willa or Clara talk about their marriages, the ugly green of jealousy coated my heart. How would it feel to have a man devoted to your every need above all else?
I got the feeling Daicon would be like that. When he loved, it would be with a devotion and passion that made everything else fade into an afterthought. There was something in how he held me—the way he cared for me in the aftermath of my altercation with the guard, like he considered me a most precious treasure.
I liked it much more than I should have.
Daicon was so different from Gavin... from any man I’d ever know. There was wildness in him and danger, but it drew me like a magnet instead of making me shy away.
Which probably explains why I currently traipsed through the tunnels to bring him lunch.
One of the kids usually undertook the delivery. After what happened with Ewok, I didn’t like the children being in unauthorized areas. Daicon might not enjoy me playing deliveryman either since there’d been more of a guard presence in the tunnels recently. Daicon told me what happened with hisskiff, abashedly as though seeking my approval—which I readily gave. Add Scarface disappearing without a trace as far as the guards knew, and it seemed to set them on edge.
Daicon didn’t turn as I approached, although I knew by the twitch of his pointed ears, he heard my arrival. The tunnel looked slightly different from when Ewok brought us here. To the naked eye, nothing appeared out of place. Daicon wasn’t dismantling the entire cave-in but digging a tunnel large enough for us to fit through, his handiwork strategically hidden by a well-placed boulder.
A low rolling growl split the air, and I grinned, knowing it was all for show.
“What are you doing here?” Golden eyes glanced over a muscular shoulder, one dark brow cocked high.
"You didn't come back for lunch, so I'm delivering." I held up the cloth-wrapped parcel.
He turned, giving me a scolding glance that had little effect on wiping the smile from my face.
"Hungry?" I teased, giving my hand a little wave. "I made sandwiches again."
Daicon turned away from his work, giving me the stink eye, although I noticed the upward quirk of his lips. He loved my sandwiches. I’d gotten pretty good at making a decent type of bread. Soaking the dried meat to soften the texture and adding a concoction of mashed vegetables and spices yielded a decent copy. It was no Reuben, but it would do.
“How close are we to breaking through?” I asked as Daicon perched on a rock, unwrapping his lunch.
"Another couple of feet, as near as I can tell." He took a bite of the sandwich, a low moan issuing from deep in his throat.
I bit back a laugh, pretending to concentrate on the barrier. "How much longer will it take to dig through?"
Daicon barked a laugh. “If I could use explosives, a few minutes. With hand tools, at least another week.”
