Page 107 of Bound

“I do not like to think of you making this walk alone. And so near to dark. Predators make use of dusk, you know. And you do not have any of your beasts to help you out here.”

She got to walking again. “I’m usually home by now. I let Da make me tea. We sat for a while. It was... nice.” Awkward. The kitchen made of stone instead of wood. But the table was similar. The chairs with their low backs, the cushions on the stools. Similar, but different. He was at ease there. Knew which canisters held what. Knew which mugs to offer.

While she sat and tried not to fidget, feeling an imposter.

Braum was walking nearer to her than he had on the way there, his eyes darting about their surroundings before settling on her again. “You make that sound like a novelty.”

She shrugged. “I’d never done it before, so I suppose it was.”

He didn’t tell her how unusual that was.

But he took her hand.

Cautiously. Evidently full of expectation that she would jerk it away again.

Maybe she should have. But it was warm, and she was still a little cold, and just for today, she’d allow herself to enjoy it.

“I see a single shadow moving, and I’m flying you back home,” Braum warned her, squeezing her hand slightly to show he meant it.

“You can try,” she countered, feeling lighter than she had. Feeling...

She lacked the words.

His head jerked toward her, his eyes narrow, but with a glint in them she liked. He’d caught her tease. He’d... liked it. “Is that a challenge?”

She shrugged.

And he reached for her, but she was faster.

He might know the skies, but the land was hers, and why would one need to run when they could fly?

She ran, her heart racing, but not in fear and the constant gnawing ache of old wounds and fresh anxieties.

He followed. Growling low in his breath about unfairness and how much worse this was because they could be pounced on at any moment, which meant she could laugh as well, breathless and a little choked because she really did not run that often.

And it was rather wonderful.

Not the catching part. That sent a squeal through her heart and lungs that was most genuine, and he was a wretched cheat because he’d used his wings after all, pulling her into his arms and up, moving faster than her legs possibly could.

Her heart needn’t be racing. It was the altitude, that was all. He’d gone higher than he had before, perhaps to clear even the tallest trees. Or maybe he was punishing her for making him run at all.

“I do not recall giving permission for this,” she reminded him, trying for cross. Hoping she was successful. She wasn’t quite comfortable, not with her pack still strapped to her back, and his hold on her was a little too tight.

“Really? I heard it quite plainly.”

She rolled her eyes, and if she shivered when he brought his mouth closer to her ear and whispered lowly, it was just because of the chill. “Besides, I’ve something to show you. And I need at least a little light for it.”

She shouldn’t indulge him.

But she did.

She stopped her squirming and the pack didn’t poke too much into her back after all.

And her heart was racing anyway, so when he smiled at her...

It was just the altitude.

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