Page 32 of The Demon God's Desire
“Stupid idiot,” I mutter under my breath. Guilri shifts under my ministrations, clearly trying not to wince as I scrub his cuts and abrasions.
As soon as I’m done, I lean back against the rocky wall and close my eyes. I don’t need to be expending anymore energy for now, I need to rest up and conserve it until nightfall.
“Get some shut eye,” I tell him tersely. I can sense that he’s unable to rest though, with the way he shifts and moves a few feet away from me. I hear him rustling around.
Once it starts cooling off, I wake up again and rummage through the pack for a blanket, tossing it to him. It will get very cold tonight and I won’t be letting him freeze to death just to get out of our agreement.
As it gets dark, I build the fire with the gathered wood and start it using a flint. It will keep us nice and warm as the temperatures drop. I also start preparing the meager dinner I brought along. It’s enough for two. I might be angry still, but I won’t let him starve either.
“My father was always gone,” Guilri says as I hand him a bowl of stew. “My mother raised me. I always wanted him to come home. I just wanted him around. But he ended up dying when I was ten.”
I didn’t know Guilri lost his father so young. I always imagined his father was just some retired general somewhere.
“My mother was a weak person,” he continues. “He only married her because she was the kind of traditional wife he wanted. Theirs was a political marriage. There was very little love in my household growing up. I always thought that my only purpose in life was that I was born to be exactly like my father and continue our family legacy in serving the Hearthkeeper.”
That sounds...sad. And a little lonely. “I didn’t have a bad childhood but it was filled with duty and responsibility. I have no siblings and my mother and I haven’t been in contact since the day of my majority.”
I had the opposite. I had a very loving home. It was the real world that was cruel to us. But I understand how lonely he felt. “My parents loved me but my own father was preoccupied with the rebellion in the last couple years of my life,” I tell him.
I stare at the dancing flames of the fire. “I think he thought that if he could just get us free, he could give me the kind of life that I deserved. But I would rather be enslaved still, with both my parents than living the way I do without them. I know I’m spitting in the face of everything they did for me but it was so hard to lose my father and then see my mother wasting away.”
Guilri has been so lonely, despite everything he’s accomplished. I shouldn’t be so harsh on him. Having his men turn on him like that must have been the ultimate blow. His miou menwerehis family, in a way. And his brothers-in-arms rejected him and made a mockery of their kinship.
“You’re not alone anymore,” I tell him. “You and I both know what it’s like to live a hard life but I’m here for you. You don’t have to be alone with your hardships. Let me help you carry some of that burden, Guilri.”
He looks at me for a long moment. “I appreciate it,” he says in a quiet voice. “I didn’t mean to leave but those were my people out there. I thought I needed to get back to them, to help them. I thought I was letting everyone down by not going back.”
“I’m sorry,” I tell him. We’re sitting very close now, unconsciously huddling together for warmth. We’re both quiet for a long moment but I glance up at him. “I am still mad at you though,” I add.
He edges a little closer to me, his hand reaching out to caress my cheek. “I know,” he smiles. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
His mouth descends on mine, kissing me softly at first before deepening it, showing me just how much he’s missed me in the few hours we were apart.
I find myself kissing him back just as passionately, eager to be with him again. I can’t help the way he makes me feel and even though I’m still annoyed, part of me is just glad to have him back in my arms.
For however long he’s willing to stay there.
17
GUILRI
Gods. I don’t deserve this woman. She’s so beautiful and so strong. She’s perfect in every way. How could I have ever thought someone like her was beneath me? It’s a mystery to me.
If anything, I feel like I’m the one who is beneath her. Like my touch will somehow stain her very spirit. As though just being around her will dirty her somehow.
But I can’t help myself. I want her. And the way she’s kissing me right now shows that despite everything, she wants me too.
I’m the luckiest bastard this side of the mountain range.
“Gods, I’m so sorry,” I whisper to Bridget between kisses.
“No talking,” she says, her words traveling straight to my dick. She’s so fiery and strong.
“Yes,” I agree, shutting up as I continue to kiss her. Eventually we end up laying down on top of Bridget’s bedroll, curled up together as we continue kissing.
My hand moves down and I curl it around her hip with a tight, possessive grip. I want her and I want to make hermine. Throwing caution to the wind, I push her all the way down onto her back and shimmy down the bedroll until I’m level with her waist.
I have a lot of groveling to do and a lot to make up for. This is an opportunity to start and I’m not going to miss it.