Cupping my large palms into the stream, I scoop up the water, bringing it to Meadow’s mouth. “Drink,” I rasp and she contracts, before pulling her hair into a short ponytail and that simple, feminine gesture, causes me to go so hard, it feels like I’m about to rip the seam of my denims.
And Meadow does nothing to suppress it, bending down and she laps at the water with her pink tongue. I stare as if pierced by her, feeling something primal moving in me. This feels better than I thought, caring for her this way. It feels like I was meant to do this, keep her by my side, provide her with comfort and protect her from anything trying to harm her.
“More?” I ask, but she shakes her head, straightening and the sunlight catches the auburn shades in her hair. Beautiful.Fuckingbeautiful.
Since she doesn’t want anymore, I drink myself and I get so turned on, knowing that I’m touching what her lips recently touched that I’m starting to feel like a rowdy teenager. Hell...she is not going to have an easy time with me.
In a way, I pity her but my need for her is stronger.
“I should get you back, before the dark falls,” I say and she stands up, suddenly alarmed.
“Where are you going?”
“Hunting,” I reply and she does a motion as if trying to grab my shirt, but then she regrets it, letting her hands fall by her side.
“Take me with you,” she pleads. “I’m scared of being in that cabin alone. The sounds here are so strange and...and I’m not used to this.”
It would be easier for me to give in, but I need to toughen her up. If I baby her all the time, she’ll never learn. She needs to learn to depend on herself, especially if anything should happen to me. Then I need to know she’ll be able to deal with it and get herself to safety.
“You don’t want to come with me,” I say and her eyes fill with disappointment. “Hunting isn’t pretty and you’ll be better off in the cabin. More comfortable too.”
“Because the man hunts and the woman stays at home,” Meadow says with a pucker to her mouth and a flashing of her eyes but I don’t cave.
“Out here,” I drawl, adding, “yes.”
“Ugh...” Groaning, she stomps ahead of me and I’m proud of her for remembering the exact way back to the cabin despite of the thorny nature of the woods and this time she doesn’t need my help with walking, already knowing where to set her foot and where to avoid it.
If she truly was mine, I’d grab her to my chest at a moment like this and rain praise over her. But I have a feeling that if I did that right now, it could unnerve her. She’s still a little cautious around me and besides, she’s having a culture shock. I shouldn’t overwhelm her.
Leaving her at the cabin, I tell her to stay inside and not go out under any circumstances. I promise I won’t go far, just as far as I need to get a prey and she shrugs, while petting her dog.
“Okay, I’ll just hang around here then, maybe watch some romcom’s and hey...I forgot to ask you what the WIFI password is?”
Scowling at her, I catch the hint of a smile on her face before I close the door. Lingering for a short while, I tense when I hear her say,
“He’s not as bad as we thought is he, Persy?”
Talking to her dog about me? And I shake my head but my lips still curl to the side.
****
By the time I’m back, it’s already dusk and an unfamiliar but welcomed energy brims through my body at the sight of Meadow’s face in the window. She runs out of the door, together with that crazy dog of hers who immediately starts yapping and wagging her tail.
“You should stay inside,” I caution her and she stops in her tracks. “I need to skin the turkey and I don’t think you want to watch but I could be wrong.”
“No...you’re right.” She frowns. “I didn’t know turkeys ran around here.”
“What did you think?” I smirk. “That they just magically appear in the grocery store?”
“Did not!” she says with fiery eyes and I laugh silently when the door slams behind her. She’s a little tigress. But I already knew that and wouldn’t have her any other way.
Once I’m done with cleaning the meat and setting up a fire, from logs I found in my shed, I call for Meadow to come out and it’s apparent that she’s been bored because she’s done all kinds of intricate braids all over her head. But I don’t mind because they make her look like a little warrior.
“We’re not eating in the kitchen?” she says with wide eyes and I nod.
“Trust me, it’s warm enough. Go sit by the fire and see for yourself.”
Accompanied by the dog, she sits down on a large log that functions as a bench and she lets out a sigh. “I wish we could make s’mores but dinner looks good too.”