Page 50 of Keeping Freya
“The cloth!” he shouts, bringing me back to the present. With a blush, I bend to pick it up, and when I grab the wet thing, I see the same look I had moments earlier, reflected in T’Rak’s eyes.
I give him a little smirk. “Wanna come in and try the water?” He hesitates, so I try to lighten up the tension. “Ithink those stones over there would be great for drying our clothes on. Do you think it’s safe to cross the river?”
“Let me check,” he grumbles before he joins me in the river. I’m trying to ignore his nearness, but I am failing miserably. My nipples tighten, and I feel myself getting aroused. Judging from the state of his cock, he has similar problems.
He’s all business, though, as he grabs my hand and steadies me while we make our way across the river. I’m tall for a human girl, but when I start struggling, he just lifts me into his arms and crosses the deepest parts with me.
Wordlessly, we clean our suits and put them on the stones. Now that there’s nothing left to do but wait, I sink into the water and undo my braid—time to give my hair a good clean-up. T’Rak looks at me longingly, but he straightens his back, and his jaw is set as he looks around.
“We are vulnerable here, and I do not think we should stay for too long. Let me break down the tent and bring you some food. The suits will probably be wearable then, and we can continue looking for the High Commander.”
I nod. I would have liked a little break, but he’s right. We’re not here on vacation, we’re here to catch the bad guy. It doesn’t keep me from ogling his backside and sighing wistfully, though.
When my hair is freed from its confinements, I submerge myself in the water a couple of times. No soap, so this will have to do for now. I love the feeling of water against my skin, and even with the sonic showers, I haven’t felt this clean in ages. I’m floating in the water, basking in the luxurious feeling, when a harsh noise breaks me out of this happy place.
Immediately, I’m on high alert and scan the woods, looking for rustling leaves, but I don’t see anything out of the ordinary. I feel anxious all of a sudden and vulnerable. Theneed to be closer to T’Rak, on the other side of the river, is driving me hard, and I move away from the riverbanks. I freeze when I feel the current pulling at me. T’Rak carried me through this part; the current is stronger than anticipated.
I’m not taking any chances, so I swim back towards the shore, keeping enough distance from both sides.
T’Rak wrestles with the bush before he’s back at the beach, carrying the pack on his back. Relief seeps through me, and when the fear disappears, my snarkiness finds its way back. “Took you long enough.”
He raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t speak, methodically making his way over to me.
“Why are you out here?” he asks.
I blush. “Thought I heard something and got scared.”
His gaze fixes on the shore immediately. “Stay there,” he commands and rushes towards the rocks. It doesn’t take him long to wave me over, and he hands me the tiny towel when I emerge from the water.
“There is nothing here; we should get dressed and start moving.”
I couldn’t agree more, and we’re both dressed in a matter of seconds. The material of the suit is still a bit damp, but beggars can’t be choosers and all that. T’Rak hands me some trail rations, and I devour them, hungry as I am. We drink some water, but the flask is empty.
“Can we use the water of the river to refill?”
He grunts, and I step onto the stones.
“What are you doing?” he asks.
“I’m gonna go get the water from the current, it’s cleaner.”
“That is not necessary. There is a filter.”
My stubborn ass steps onto the stones anyway. I can easily make my way a couple of feet into the river, and I bend down to refill the flask. Too late, I realize the jungle has gonequiet. Just when I register the silence, an enormous roar comes from upstream. I look up and freeze. There’s a wall of water coming towards me - a river flood. I look at T’Rak, and panic fills my eyes. He shouts out my name, but I only see his lips moving, because the noise of the water is deafening. I stretch out my hands before the water takes me.
CHAPTER 29
T’Rak
Screaming, I fall to my knees. I had anticipated a lot of things, but my mate being torn away from me by a flood was not one of them. It all went down so fast, there was nothing I could do. Water splashes at me, soaking me, but I barely notice. Fr’Ya…
Despair threatens to flood my senses, making me reach for my Warrior Calm. I take a deep breath, and another one, finding that special place within me that brings me peace, focus, and control. It is an Arracate thing, and one of the reasons why we excel in battle.
I shut all my emotions down and let logic rule my brain. The aftermath of the wave is showing; the beach is soaked and littered with torn bush, the cove is filled with water, and dozens of large branches are floating down with the obviously faster river current. An abnormal amount of branches, if you ask me. A part of me itches to investigate, but I have more important matters to attend to.
Fr’Ya.
The wave took her downstream, so I took off to follow her without wasting any time.
