Page 61 of The Orc's Sweetheart
I snort a laugh as I massage the tips of her fingers, trying to see how much sensation she’s lost. “I’ll keep that in mind about the bindings. Now, I have good news and bad news.”
Annamae’s forest-green eyes stare at the fingers I’m trying to restore blood flow to. “I think I can already guess the bad one.”
“Go ahead.”
Sighing sadly, she guesses correctly, “You’re going to have to cut the branch off to free me, don’t you?”
I kneel in front of her and brush some hair behind her shoulder so I can see her face more clearly. “Unfortunately, yes. We need to do it fairly soon too, because it’s cutting off circulation to your fingers. If we wait too long, it could cause tissue damage and you could lose your arm.”
Annamae leans her forehead against the tree, speaking to it directly when she says, “I’m sorry that we’re going to hurt you, friend, but it might be better than me losing my arm. I’ll come back when I’m healed and do another ceremony, then you can try to grow a new limb. Unfortunately,Iwon’t be able to grow another one, so it has to be you.”
Her easy acceptance makes it a bit easier to figure out what to do next, and I turn to Bodin to give him instructions, but find his rapt attention already trained on me, seemingly having followed every word.
He nods. “I’ve got the hatchet, but we might need a saw too. Let me run and get it.”
I add, “And your mom, please.”
Arran steps forward. “I will retrieve the saw and the doctor. It will be faster for me to run through the forest than you lumbering your way through.”
Bodin doesn’t take any offense to Arran’s words, and explains where to find everything. Then the vampire’s off in a blink of an eye, much faster than either of us could possibly travel.
Bodin sits down next to me with a hand on the small of my back as we chat to Annamae. He keeps the conversation lightand breezy, even manages to make Annamae smile as I continue to massage her fingers, hand, and arm while we wait.
As I help Annamae adjust her position and get more comfortable, I realize that the ferocious fist around my heart has lessened, and I know it’s mainly because of Bodin’s unshakable support.
That male,mymale, is more than I’ll ever deserve. I want to make him just as happy as he makes me. I want to relieve his worries, be the reason for his joy, and share a future with him. I’m not holding back any longer. As soon as we’re out of here, I’ll tell him about my past and explain why I’ve acted so strangely today.
Above us, the sky darkens as Pierre descends through the opening in the canopy. He places Doc Calla on her feet, and she rushes toward us, giant earrings swinging with the motion.
Bodin and I stand to make room for his mom as she points a long finger at her friend. “Annamae, I know you always go where the trees call you, but don’t you ever dare go anywhere again without at least telling Richard the exact location of where you’ll be.”
Annamae shrugs. “But I didn’t know where I was going to be until I got here. I listened to the trees and they led me to this spot. Such is the life of a dryad, old friend. But I appreciate your concern nonetheless.”
Bodin and I step away from Annamae and Doc Calla as they continue to lovingly bicker through the doctor’s examination.
Knowing Annamae is not in life-threatening danger and that she’s in Doc Calla’s very capable hands, I allow myself to close my eyes and take a deep, calming breath. When I open them again, Bodin’s tender gaze is fixed on me and I give him areassuring smile before walking into his body and wrapping my arms around him.
Right there, in the chaos of the day, I find my anchor, my center—my Bodin—and a piece of my soul I didn’t even know I’ve been searching for clicks into place as he holds me in his sweet embrace.
I’m pulled out of my bubble when birds burst from the trees with angry twitters, and take to the sky. Their abrupt departure is followed by the sounds of cracking twigs as Arran rushes back into the forest and comes to a halt in front of us, Bodin’s bag of tools in hand, and sweat dripping down his forehead.
Bodin keeps one arm around me as he takes the tools. “Thank you. I owe you one. Might get you your own caulk gun as a thank-you present.”
Arran shakes his head, but a faint smile pulls one corner of his mouth. “Don’t you dare, young orc. Besides, your female has freed me from a prison I’ve been in for centuries. If anyone owes something, it’s me who owes her.”
Before Bodin can respond, I say, “It’s my pleasure to help, really. Plus, you never know, I might just ask you for a favor in the future.”
The two males stare at each other for a second, then at me, until I click that it might’ve sounded like a sexual favor. “Not like that. I was just thinking that Arran’s castle is big and if Audrey came to visit, she might rent a room from him since he’s our nearest neighbor and it would be nice to have her close by,” I ramble.
Arran makes a face that tells me exactly what he thinks about the thought of having someone live with him, but italmost morphs into something that could lead to considering the option.
Bodin tries to hide his amusement at the myriad of emotions flitting across Arran’s face, and cuts the line of conversation off before Arran can fully shut the idea down.
“Let me get started on that branch.” Bodin presses a quick kiss to my temple, then gets his equipment ready.
Doc Calla and I cover Annamae while Bodin saws, and Pierre and Arran hold up the branch so it doesn’t fall back on her once it’s cut off. The whole process feels like it’s taking forever but also like it’s over in a minute.
With a final creak of defeat, the branch is off and carried away by the males. My gaze shifts to Annamae’s tear-filled eyes as she cradles her limp arm and apologizes to the tree with a press of her forehead to the fresh stub.
