Page 10 of Saved By Her Guardian
It took only a heartbeat for her to make a decision that might probably change the whole course of her life.
“Would you like to come into the church?It’s chilly out here.”
“Sure.”
She led him to the abbey and put a kettle on top of the pot belly stove, tucking a few more logs inside to get the fire stoked.“I just got here last night.It’s a punishment.”
He took off his leather coat, and she didn’t blink for quite a while as she watched him hang it up on a hook by the door.He was as muscular as she’d thought, his shirt hugging his body like a second skin.She took off the work apron and her coat and draped them over the bed.He sat on one of the two old rocking chairs, which creaked under his weight, and he froze with a grimace before settling into it.
She joined him, telling him about her first assignment out of reaper school, her uncle’s punishment, and the fact that she had only a supernatural dog for company.
“So you can’t leave?”he asked, looking around.
“I can leave during the day, but I have to be back at sunset and stay until dawn.Sometimes people think there’s magic in old witch and warlock bones and will desecrate graves to steal them, so I was assigned here to stand guard with Church and also clean and tend to the church and grounds.”
“That’s why your last name sounds familiar.Grim’s last name is Lethe.I remember hearing Santa mention him.”
“He and Santa don’t really get along,” she said.“Uncle Grim is neutral like all reapers, but he tends to lean more to the less-good side of the neutral line and does what he wants.My parents weren’t together when I was born, so I took my mom’s last name.My father and his family didn’t want anything to do with me and my mom because of Grim.I never talked to them, but my mom - who always said Grim was a good guy at heart - said my father thought Grim wasn’t a good guy, because good guys don’t do evil things for fun.So I can see why Santa wouldn’t want to associate with him.”
When the kettle whistled, she made tea for them, setting the cups, spoons, and a box of sugar cubes on a small, rickety table between them.He told her about his alphas having a party for their baby, and that he only had his grandma left in his family, and his need to return to Northernmost in the morning.
“This is a rough time of year for you guys,” she said.“Having to watch for Frost and keep everyone safe.”
He stared at her intensely.“You can’t leave,” he said.
She opened her mouth to remind him that shecouldleave, she just had to return, but then she realized what he’d really said.Hehad to leave because his duties were to Northernmost.
“Oh, damn,” she said.“You have to leave.”
“Yeah,” he said.“I’m honor bound to report back for duty in the morning.This is the time of year Frost ramps up his attempts to take over the Well.I wish I didn’t have to leave, especially now that I know you’re here.”
She smiled at him and a pang of sadness hit her.
“We have to do what we have to do.”
He let out a low grunt that she guessed was from his leopard, a rough sort of snarl that made her spine tingle.
They talked for a while longer and finished their tea, and then they ventured back out into the cold and darkness and he helped her with her weeding project.
They worked mostly in silence, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.Every so often, their arms would brush as they reached for the same tool or cleared debris side by side.The first time their fingers touched, a tingle shot up her arm and she glanced at him.
He met her gaze, his eyes molten amber and glowing faintly.
“Did you feel that?”she whispered.
His jaw ticked and he nodded.“Every time we bump into each other, my leopard snarls in my head to drag you into my arms and never let you go.”
It was hard to look into his eyes.It made something tighten in her chest.“Same.But I don’t have a snarling leopard in my subconscious.”
“I didn’t know why my leopard was bringing me here, I just knew there had to be a reason for it.It’s because we’re mates.”
She sat back on her heels and looked at him without turning away from the intensity of his gaze.She felt like he could see right through her, and she liked it.She liked being with him, liked talking to him.They were pulling weeds for goodness sake and she was having the time of her life.
The feelings hammering in her heart weren’t born of lust but of something deeper and more precious.
“I feel it too.It’s like my body is suddenly attuned to you.”
“Mine too.”
