with obvious patience. "Having two beautiful women suddenly rescue him and then pamper him must be a fantasy come true. Any other male would react the same way ."
I know. That didn't mean that I liked it.
" They're both sensible women—”
"They sure aren't acting that way," I grumbled under my breath.
Night gave me a severe look and continued as if I hadn't interrupted. "— and I'm sure that they're not going to let it get out of hand. Besides, it's only for another two days or so. Then he'll be sent to the nearest safe house. "
That was actually a cheerful thought. Surely I could put up with this ridiculous behavior for another two days. I had some control of myself, after all. "Yes, you're right."
"I usually am."
"Don't push it," I advised him dryly. "Do you need anything?"
"No, I'm quite comfortable. I'll miss sleeping with you, though."
"I won't," I teased him, already edging out of the stall. "You snore something awful."
He took a playful nip at me, which I ducked. Grinning, I ran for safety before he could catch me.
"Brat. "
"Good night, Night!" I caroled back with an impish smile.
" May your bed have many crawling visitors. "
I snickered at that. "You too, my four-legged friend."
~*~
Two days, can, under the wrong circumstances, seem like an eternity .
"—that's so sweet of you to say, Keen."
Hearing Reschkeenen's given name out of Aletha's mouth, I winced. Keen had wasted no time in giving both women the right to call him by his given name. A privilege, I noted, that he had not extended to the rest of us.
"But it's really true, Aletha. I've never seen a soldier as beautiful as you are—”
Hearing that sly flattery behind me, I had to restrain the urge to turn around, grab the kid by the throat, and start shaking. If that flattery had been sincere, fine. But it wasn't, and hearing him gushing along these lines for a whole day was driving me up the wall.
And despite what Night might think, it wasn't because I was jealous. It was just disturbing to listen to. I know this for a fact, because I wasn't the only one reacting like this. Shield was right there with me. So was Eagle.
Hazard thought it was hilarious, but his amused expression was turning slowly darker with every passing mile. I was betting that he'd join us in being irritated soon.
The only people that could accept this calmly, so far, were Xiaolang and Night. Night, because he thought the drama around him was highly entertaining. I wasn't sure what Xiaolang thought of the situation. So far, he was just watching everyone with a thoughtful look, like his mind was a thousand miles away.
Actually, that might have been the case. Xiaolang spent a lot of time thinking. He was constantly tweaking or re-evaluating his plans, and often studying the map of Chahir he carried around.
Of course, right now he was probably wondering who it was safe to send Keen off with. The original plan had been to send Shield and Aletha off to deliver Keen to a nearby safe house, but Shield was ready to strangle Keen at this point. It was only because of the boy's age that he wasn't already "missing."
I didn't envy Xiaolang trying to make that decision. No one he sent would really be safe, except Aletha and Chatta. And even they might be tired of the boy's antics in another day or so.
"Might" being the key word. I hadn't seen any signs of that yet.
Eagle came up to ride beside me, doubtless to avoid being near Keen any longer. He looked rather…well, murderously frustrated. "I hope the next person we rescue is a girl."
Actually, I'm not sure if the situation would change all that much if we had rescued a girl instead of a boy. There were some pretty good looking men in this group. The roles would be switched, certainly, but history was bound to repeat itself.
I didn't feel it was wise to point that out to Eagle at that moment; maybe later, when he's had a chance to cool down. So instead I uttered a neutral, "Hmmm."
"Garth, I hope you don't mind my
I know. That didn't mean that I liked it.
" They're both sensible women—”
"They sure aren't acting that way," I grumbled under my breath.
Night gave me a severe look and continued as if I hadn't interrupted. "— and I'm sure that they're not going to let it get out of hand. Besides, it's only for another two days or so. Then he'll be sent to the nearest safe house. "
That was actually a cheerful thought. Surely I could put up with this ridiculous behavior for another two days. I had some control of myself, after all. "Yes, you're right."
"I usually am."
"Don't push it," I advised him dryly. "Do you need anything?"
"No, I'm quite comfortable. I'll miss sleeping with you, though."
"I won't," I teased him, already edging out of the stall. "You snore something awful."
He took a playful nip at me, which I ducked. Grinning, I ran for safety before he could catch me.
"Brat. "
"Good night, Night!" I caroled back with an impish smile.
" May your bed have many crawling visitors. "
I snickered at that. "You too, my four-legged friend."
~*~
Two days, can, under the wrong circumstances, seem like an eternity .
"—that's so sweet of you to say, Keen."
Hearing Reschkeenen's given name out of Aletha's mouth, I winced. Keen had wasted no time in giving both women the right to call him by his given name. A privilege, I noted, that he had not extended to the rest of us.
"But it's really true, Aletha. I've never seen a soldier as beautiful as you are—”
Hearing that sly flattery behind me, I had to restrain the urge to turn around, grab the kid by the throat, and start shaking. If that flattery had been sincere, fine. But it wasn't, and hearing him gushing along these lines for a whole day was driving me up the wall.
And despite what Night might think, it wasn't because I was jealous. It was just disturbing to listen to. I know this for a fact, because I wasn't the only one reacting like this. Shield was right there with me. So was Eagle.
Hazard thought it was hilarious, but his amused expression was turning slowly darker with every passing mile. I was betting that he'd join us in being irritated soon.
The only people that could accept this calmly, so far, were Xiaolang and Night. Night, because he thought the drama around him was highly entertaining. I wasn't sure what Xiaolang thought of the situation. So far, he was just watching everyone with a thoughtful look, like his mind was a thousand miles away.
Actually, that might have been the case. Xiaolang spent a lot of time thinking. He was constantly tweaking or re-evaluating his plans, and often studying the map of Chahir he carried around.
Of course, right now he was probably wondering who it was safe to send Keen off with. The original plan had been to send Shield and Aletha off to deliver Keen to a nearby safe house, but Shield was ready to strangle Keen at this point. It was only because of the boy's age that he wasn't already "missing."
I didn't envy Xiaolang trying to make that decision. No one he sent would really be safe, except Aletha and Chatta. And even they might be tired of the boy's antics in another day or so.
"Might" being the key word. I hadn't seen any signs of that yet.
Eagle came up to ride beside me, doubtless to avoid being near Keen any longer. He looked rather…well, murderously frustrated. "I hope the next person we rescue is a girl."
Actually, I'm not sure if the situation would change all that much if we had rescued a girl instead of a boy. There were some pretty good looking men in this group. The roles would be switched, certainly, but history was bound to repeat itself.
I didn't feel it was wise to point that out to Eagle at that moment; maybe later, when he's had a chance to cool down. So instead I uttered a neutral, "Hmmm."
"Garth, I hope you don't mind my
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