Page 138 of Of Serpents and Ruins
I just held him tight, savoring his heat and strength, even if his breath did smell like horseradish and lemons mixed with peppermint.
"Thank you for fighting," I whispered.
"I wish I were better at it," he murmured. "You’re worth everything to me." Tentatively, he brought his arms around me and held me tight. His chin rested on my head.
This, I remembered. This, I craved. The closeness and the strength even amidst our grief. I just held on to him, savoring powerful arms around me.
All too soon, it was time to leave. We finalized everything. Kine carried the Great Spear. Buttercup greeted Brandt happily, wagging her thick tail and nudging him as she shifted her weight from one foot to another.
He smiled a little, some of the sadness and weight from his shoulders lifting as he stroked her front horn and snout. "Good to see you too, girl," he crooned.
"Kine said you looked after her while I was gone. I'd say you did a pretty fantastic job," I said as I walked to her other side. I scaled her swiftly and then settled behind her crest. With a coy smile, I glanced down at him. "Are you going my way?"
He offered me a faint smile. "You want me to ride with you? After everything? I could ride with Kine."
The way he looked at me now had some measure of shyness to it, as if he couldn't believe I'd really want to be near him.
Maybe he needed reminding.
I rested my elbow on Buttercup’s crest and grinned down at him. More than anything, I wanted to make him smile, to remind him of what we had.
"You know…we should go out for coffee sometime because I definitely like you a latte."
His brow quirked, his expression almost pained. "A latte?"
I pursed my lips at him. "Never mind. Just get up here and put your arms around me."
He groused at me a little. "Were you trying to tell a joke, love?"
"I succeeded. It’s not my fault you don’t know what coffee is," I said.
"I know what coffee is. I don’t know what a latte is."
"Right." I cut my eyes at him.
My stomach somersaulted as he settled in behind me. Oh, ihlkit, his arms around me…this position. Maybe it was because sex last night ended with him trying to kill me and thus it wasn’t that satisfying, or maybe it was just that I really did adore him even if I couldn’t remember everything. I loved his grumbling smile, his half smile, his crooked smile, and his annoyed scowl. I especially loved getting all of them at once.
"You definitely still like using your word games on me and teasing me and making me laugh," Brandt said, his arm banding around my waist. He hugged me back against his powerful torso and muscular thighs. "But before this, you were never so…"
"Witty?" I glanced up at him as I guided Buttercup to follow Arjax.
"Bizarrely sassy with all this strange wordplay." He dropped his mouth to my ear. "And where did all these bad word games come from?"
"Hmmm." I snuggled back against him. If all we had together were these last moments, I was going to make them count. "You know, I have a theory."
"Do tell."
"Someone stole all my oils lamps. You'd think I'd be upset…"
Brandt looked down at me, caution edging the concern. "That’s horrible. When did this happen?"
I grinned. "I’m actually de-lighted."
He clicked his tongue, pulling back. "Are you testing the limits of this curse, woman?"
"What do you call an alligator in a vest?"
"I don’t think I want to know," he grumbled as he nuzzled me.
