“You’re right. You do have a lot of patience.” She leaned forward and cupped his chin with her hand before she placed her lips on his cheek. O’Malley stiffened for a moment. Had she upset him? Had she overstepped a boundary?
Then he relaxed and turned his face to look at her. “I want to find Karl as much as you do. The thought of you having to live with never knowing what happened to him eats me up inside.”
She nodded. “The not knowing is the worst.” Hannah drew back from him. “At least that’s what I’ve told myself. But if we find out he’s dead, I think I might change my mind.”
“We’ll get through it. Whatever happens, we’ll get through it. Together. You and me.” He took hold of her hand and kissed the back of it, his lips as soft as a breath of wind on her skin. She shivered and leaned forward, resting her head on his shoulder.
“Thank you.” She slid her arms around him and rested against him. He was the most real thing in her life. O’Malley’s heart was true, there was no part he tried to hide from her. Which scared her. Could she ever be that open with another person? Since her mom died, she’d hidden parts of herself away from the world and even from herself, scared of what would happen if she let people see the true Hannah.
“You are welcome.” He dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “Let’s get this fire going and then we can eat.”
She nodded and pulled away from him. “What do you want me to do?”
“You can sort through the packs and choose what we’re going to eat.” He nodded at the packs. “There’s some fresh fruit in my pack and there’s half a loaf of bread O’Brian gave us. Aside from that, there are trail rations we have to hydrate.”
“Okay.” She set to work while O’Malley built a fire. There seemed no end to the man’s talents. Soon they were seated side by side next to a small fire that gave off enough heat to chase the chill from her bones.
“At least the wind has dropped.” O’Malley looked around as he ate.
“Can you see in the dark?” she asked.
He swung his head to face her. “My cougar can. He has great night vision. Mine isn’t too bad, but with the light from the fire, I can’t see much past this small area around us. Once the fire is out, then my eyes get used to the dark. I can see shadows and shapes.”
“What’s it like when you change into your cougar?” Hannah recalled how Kelos had vanished for a few seconds before the dragon had taken his place.
“It’s instantaneous. One minute I’m there and then the next my cougar takes my place. And vice versa. There’s no hair sprouting out of my nose or my fingernails turning into claws.” He held his fingers up and wriggled them in the orange firelight.
“So it doesn’t hurt?” Hannah wanted to take hold of his hand and entwine her fingers with his.
“No, no pain.” He sighed and went back to eating his food. Which was surprisingly good since it came out of a packet.
“When do I get to see your cougar?” she asked nervously. What if he didn’t like her? She let out a small laugh. That was a thought she would never have expected to have.
“Whenever you are ready.” He glanced at her sideways. “He can’t wait to meet you.”
“Really?” Her relief was instant.
“Did you think he might not?” O’Malley took a bite of the delicious bread O’Brian had given them.
“I don’t know. I have no idea of the inner workings of a cougar’s mind.” Hannah thought about that for a moment. “Does he think the same as you?”
“Yes. He is your mate as much as the human side of me is.” A small smile played over his lips. “That sounds weird, but it just means that he is your protector, he loves you and is loyal to you. He would never let anything happen to you and out here in the wild, there’s no one else you would rather have by your side.”
“Oh, I don’t know…” She smiled and then ducked her head. “I should get to bed. I’m guessing there’s another long climb ahead of us.”
“Yes.” He stood up and they began clearing the camp. “Although the climb isn’t so steep, and we do get to visit a waterfall.”
“Really?” She glanced at him. Worried he was trying to make this journey into something it was not. Or perhaps he was just trying to take it easy on her. “This isn’t a sightseeing trip.”
“No, it’s not.” He cleared away any trace of food and then stowed everything back in the packs which he placed inside the tent. “But we need water and the waterfall has clean, fresh running water.”
“Oh, of course.” She nodded, feeling stupid.
“The view is great, too.” O’Malley checked that the fire was safe and then turned on a solar lantern. “Ladies first.” He held the tent open for her and passed her the lantern.
“Thanks.” She went inside and quickly got ready for bed. Which consisted of her slipping off her boots and changing into a pair of warm sweatpants. She left the rest of her clothing on since the numerous layers would keep her warm. The temperature outside was plummeting which had become apparent as soon as she lost the heat from the fire.
“Can I come in?” O’Malley asked.
“Yes.” She snuggled deeper down in her sleeping bag, wishing she could spend the night snuggled up against O’Malley instead.
He slid into the tent, which suddenly seemed incredibly small. Whoever designed the tent didn’t design it with two men of O’Malley’s size in mind. Yet, despite his size, he moved with such ease and slid into his sleeping bag feet first, making it look so
