Gray Skies

Chapter Thirty-Two: Tense Reunions

Chapter Thirty-Two: Tense Reunions

                “Gray, I need your help.”

                Gray Skies smiled when he heard Deniah call for him from within the barn. He had told her she would need help in reaching the oat sack up in the loft but she had argued that she would have no trouble at all and for him to go on about his own chores.

                He laid down the axe he’d been using to chop wood, rolled the tight muscles in his shoulders and entered the barn.  Deniah was standing there and looking quite disgusted with herself as she pointed up toward the oats which were just barely out of her reach, “Help.”

                Gray Skies chuckled quietly. He was above saying ‘I told you so’ but he had told her so. Without a word, Gray Skies grabbed the oat sack and hefted it down, laying it gently at her feet.

                “Do you also need me to open it?” he asked, fighting back a smile. He loved seeing that spark in her gray eyes whenever he riled up her prideful temper.

                “Gray, why do you tease me so?” she demanded as she pulled her own dagger from her skirt, “I can open a sack on my own.”

                “I tease you because it brings me pleasure,” Gray Skies admitted before laying a gentle kiss to her brow.

                She wrinkled her nose, “You are covered in sweat.”

                Gray Skies nodded as he stepped away from her. He was wearing only his buckskin leggings and he watched her eyes travel the length of his body. Instantly his blood fired and arousal stirred in his veins, “Yes, I have been chopping wood. You do not seem to mind overly much.”

                Deniah’s lip slipped into her mouth as she began to chew on it rapidly and then turned away from him, “There is quite a bit of work to be done today,” she reminded him.           

                Gray Skies shook his head, stepped closer and let his body brush against hers. He felt her tremble as he lowered his face and buried it in the side of her neck. Licking and nibbling, Gray Skies made his way to her ear, fully aware of the way she was gripping the wall for support as her knees weakened.

                “The work will be waiting,” he assured her.

                “Gray, please….” She whimpered and he froze. “I don’t feel well at all today. I’m so tired.”

                Instantly Gray Skies forgot about his own desire, stood straight and spun her around. He saw it then, the paleness in her cheeks and the circles around her gray eyes, “Are you ill, Fire Hair?”

                Deniah shook her head, “Just very tired.”

                “Then you will rest,” Gray Skies stated as he swooped her up into his arms and she squeaked with surprise.

                “What are you doing?!” she demanded. “I was working.”

                “And now you are resting. The work is nothing I cannot manage on my own. You need rest.” Especially if Gray Skies suspicions about her fatigue were correct.

                “Gray, honestly, you have to stop being so protective of me….”

                “That is not going to happen,” Gray Skies replied sternly as he carried her into the cabin. “You are my soul, my life, I am going to always be concerned with your health and well-being above anything else.”