YM778.TV Chapter 96
Back in the cave with all the wood collected, Harth watched as Tarkyn made them a meal in quick, efficient movements. He’d gotten very serious as they were carrying their finds back and hadn’t stopped moving since they returned, building a fire in the back of the hollow against the rock wall, watching to make sure the draw on the chimney was right and the smoke wouldn’t fill the cave, then showing her the cupboard where he kept most of the utensils and pots.
It was fascinating to see the soldier in him-fast, efficient, task-driven, and satisfied by a job well done-come to life. And yet, his brow remained furrowed, and his breath a fraction quick.
Had something happened while they were out gathering the wood? Or was he just remembering what they’d left behind with the Queen and the events of that day?
Harth had been distracted from all that herself when they’d first arrived-and wanted to be distracted again. But the way he wouldn’t quite meet her eyes, and the way he moved about the cave as if he was on a mission... it worried her.
When they were done eating, Tarkyn sorted through what rations Gar had provided. He placed them carefully in the cupboard as well, where they would be safely shut away from any wildlife that might make an appearance.
“I’ll need to hunt tomorrow,” he said distractedly as he wrapped and stacked the food. “If I do, this will keep us going for days.”
“I can hunt too,” Harth said, “If you have a bow, or a snare.”
Tarkyn looked up at her quickly. “You hunt?”
.....
“Yes,” she laughed. “And track. I was taught when I was young. I’m quite good-though probably not as good as you.”
His eyes narrowed slightly even as he smiled. But before she could ask what was on his mind, his scent hit the back of her throat and thoughts of anything beyond him fell out of her head.
He wanted her.
For whatever reason, hearing that she could hunt and track had... aroused him?
She tilted her head and raised one brow. “Hunting? Really?”
“Honestly, Harth, you could have told me you’re competent at juggling... I love a strong female with skill in any arena. I find it-” he broke off, frowning. “What is it?” he asked suddenly.
Harth realized she’d gone still when he mentioned “a strong female.”
She’d been so preoccupied with everything else, it was easy to forget that he was so much more experienced in these things than her.
‘Nothing, it’s fine,’ she said in his head quickly, forging the link instinctively because her throat felt tight.
“Harth-”
She cleared her throat. “I’m fine, Tarkyn. I was just distracted-”
“No, Harth-”
“It’s fine!” She got to her feet, intending to take her plate to the entrance to the cave where he’d said they would wash the dishes under the flow of the waterfall.
But Tarkyn stood too and caught her arm as she passed. He didn’t pull hard, but she stopped, her heart beating faster, cursing herself for bringing dark thoughts into this moment, because she was so happy to be there with him and free and-
“Harth,” he murmured, staring at her, tracing a finger around her ear to push her hair behind it.
His touch sent goosebumps all the way down her side.
“It’s fine, Tarkyn,” she breathed.
“No, you aren’t fine. And you’re my heart. Talk to me.”
She was about to protest again, but realized that would only be inviting his frustration. So she made herself put the dishes down and turn to face him.
He stared down at her, his brow furrowed again as it had been outside and she sighed. She reached up to press smooth his forehead. “Don’t frown. There’s no reason to frown,” she muttered, feeling frustrated with herself.
“There is if you’re suddenly unhappy. I know my life has been different than yours, Harth, but what you hear when I speak of other females... it isn’t the reality.”
Harth sighed again and dropped her hands, gripping the bottom of her shirt. “Okay then, tell me the truth of it... I’ll try to see it,” she said simply.
Tarkyn’s shoulders rose and fell once, then he took her face in his hands and leaned down, his expression intense. “What I know now,” he said, his voice so low she could only just hear it over the rush of the waterfall, “is that everything that drove me forward, everything that drew me in the past was the search for you.” He paused, letting those words sink in and Harth managed a small smile. He caught her chin when she started to look away, suddenly uncomfortable in his scrutiny.
“No, Harth, hear me: I didn’t understand. Truly. There was something in me that was always seeking.”
“Pleasure,” she pointed out, working hard not to let her voice be sullen.
“Yes, at times, especially in my youth,” he said bluntly. “But even that... Harth, it was hollow. I gave myself over to my work when I was little more than twenty-five because what I’d found elsewhere up to that point had left me hollow. I was wounded and tired and lonely. But I tried not to feel it. I wanted... I wanted you. I wanted what I feel with you-that unity. That harmony. That soul-connection. But I didn’t know how to find it. I thought that came from intimacy... but when it didn’t work... sometimes I sought intimacy just to soothe the ache. But you? Harth, you don’t understand-touching you is electric. There is a charge in my skin that I have never felt.
“Wanting you is like needing air-it isn’t purely physical, though that’s how it’s expressed. There is something within me-deep inside-that thrives when you and I are close. I yearn for it. I ache for it. I burn for it-for you. I have been mating females for twenty years and I have never experienced that before.”
Harth knew he wasn’t lying-at least, not consciously. But the way he’d spoken earlier... his understanding of females and himself. Knowing himself to be... drawn by things within different females.
She looked at him skeptically and set her jaw.
Because she might be inexperienced, but she wasn’t stupid.
*** POSTED 29 November 2022 AFTER publication so you aren’t charged for the words ***
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