Emma looked at him in surprise and then smiled at him. “That is so sweet! Thank you! Maybe we could find some warmer water so I could get a real bath?”
He grinned at her. “I will see what I can discover.”
He helped her to her feet then and leapt up the bank with her.
She was tempted to hug him, but she didn’t know how he might feel about it and she was soaked and had already dripped all over him. Instead, she thanked him again and hurried away.
“You ride with me today,” he called after her.
She pivoted to smile at him and then resumed her rush to find something dry. She wasn’t quick enough. The bitch had already told them to take the tent down and pack it up. Thankfully, she’d tossed Emma’s small bundle of belongings into the dirt. Emma rushed to the loose bundle to make sure everything was there, stowed the bar of soap and dragged out a gown. Then she had to find a place in the woods to change.
By the time she got back pretty much everyone was mounted.
Kadin was assisting Valee in climbing into thespeti—torture box as Emma thought of it—on the beast with Nye. She was tempted to dash over and demand that Valee hand the baby over, but she quelled it. He’d grown used to Valee. He clearly didn’t like her any more than Emma did, but he put up with her when he had to and she saw Valee had bribed him with his morning bottle.
Dismissing her, trying to dismiss her pique, she looked around for Hauk and saw he was mounted and already moving toward her. Reaching down, he caught her hand and helped her to climb up on the beast and then helped her get situated.
She looked around when she’d settled and saw that most of the party had already formed up. Kadin looked at her, flicked a look at Hauk and then turned his attention to the warriors at the back.
Emma felt a little snubbed that he didn’t smile at her, but it did occur to her that she’d noticed they weren’t prone to smiling in greeting like she was used to.
So—he didn’t frown. Maybe she was reading too much into it?
She recalled what Hauk had said down by the stream and wondered if there was any possibility that he was at least interested in her, but she couldn’t think of anything he’d said or done that seemed to support that. Granted he had always been courteous and polite and protective of her, but she’d thought that was just his personality.
Like Gaelen and Hauk were.
They were well mannered, kind people.
Of course she had wanted it to be at least a little more than that, especially when they were forced to ‘breed’. It made her feel better to think they at least felt attracted to her if they were going to bethatintimate.
Well, and she liked them and that was part of the reason she wanted to think they liked her. It honestly hadn’t occurred to her to think, or hope, they would feel anything stronger than that. She couldn’t possibly be more different from the women they were used to.
Of course ditto for her.
They were different from every man she’d ever known in so many ways it didn’t bear counting.
Oddly enough, though, she thought that was why she liked them so much—because they were night from day different from the men she’d known. They were so gallant, and respectful, and well mannered. They never made nasty, disgusting remarks around her or did anything nasty and disgusting. They were neat and clean and had always gone out of their way to protect her when they didn’t even know her. That was hero quality in her book, not just brave.
She was attracted to them on a pure physical level, too.
She honestly thought any woman would have to be off her rocker not to see how strong and manly and well built and purely handsome the three of them were—alien or not.
She damned sure hadn’t run into many men that were built as well as they were—strong and hard muscled without them being bodybuilding nuts more interested in their own beautiful selves than any woman.
In fact, just about the only men she’d ever known that were really interested in taking care of themselves were more interested in other men than women. The rest of them just wanted to ‘be themselves’ and be wanted.
And, unfortunately, they still managed to catch a woman most of the time because women were so desperate for a man they’d put up with all sorts of shit just to have a little help and company.
It was shame nothing could come of her having a crush on any of them, but she was no royal person and she was pretty sure they were expected to marry other royal people.
Just supposing they actually married or had a custom similar to that.
Besides the fact that she’d been used as a breed mare and they all knew she’d screwed Kadin and Gaelen. Men were so territorial they would never have a woman like that and she thought it was probably the same here.
And she was pretty sure, now, that it had ‘took’.
One anyway.
And she had no clue of which one.
Which was another thing ….
No point in thinking about it. None. If that idiot Valee thought the guys had a thing for her—well, she might be right, but only in the sense that they were probably interested in screwing her and she wasn’t convinced there was even that much interest.
On their part.
For her part, she was very interested. She’d never, ever, had a lover that even began to compare to any one of them in any way.
Well, she hadn’t slept with Hauk, but he was the best kisser she’d ever met in her life.
Except for Gaelen and Kadin who were close enough it was hard to grade them—Like on a scale
