Page 27 of Sweet Giant

“You’re welcome.” I shook my head with disbelief. “How did you make it all the way to the other cabin and back here without getting turned around? I couldn’t see anything beyond the front porch when I stepped outside.”

“Easy,” he said. “I simply followed the stream, taking the same path as we did yesterday when we came upon the cabin.” He took a long sip of tea. “The stream has finally frozen over. Finding fish will be difficult now, but I believe I’ve gathered enough supplies from the other cabin to get us by. Probably enough to last us two moon cycles, though I doubt we’ll be snowed in for that long. Once there is a reprieve in the weather, we will leave this place and travel to my tribe’s communal cavern, where it will be safest for you, and where there is plenty of food to last us until spring.”

“Wait…what? I don’t want to go to your cavern. I want to stay right here. I thought… well, I didn’t think you would try to make me leave the cabin. You said you’d be able to detect if someone were approaching, so therefore it’s safe enough.” Safe enough? Was it really? Mountain’s face flashed in my mind, and I suppressed a shiver.

Mastorr fidgeted as his gaze danced around the room. My questioning appeared to make him uncomfortable. I’d struck a nerve. Well, good. He couldn’t force me to leave.

“I have decided that we are leaving the cabin as soon as it’s safe for you to travel. At present, it’s too cold and windy out for a human, but in a few days, I expect we’ll have warmer temperatures and you’ll be able to make the journey in comfort.”

“You can’t make me come with you, Mastorr.” I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him.

He set the mug aside and approached me, though his movements were slow, his expression filled with tenderness. He wasn’t rushing at me and using his size to intimidate me like Mountain always did. But that didn’t make what Mastorr was planning okay.

“If the evil man returns alone, I will have no difficulty killing him. Even if he brings weapons, I shouldn’t have any trouble ending his life. But what if he returns with comrades? What if he shows up with a small army of humans and tries to take you from me? You said yourself that you didn’t know for certain whether he would return, and I cannot fathom the thought of any harm coming to you, sweet one.” He attempted to place his hand upon my shoulder, but I ducked away at the last second, my fury building all over again.

I raced upstairs and locked the bedroom door behind me.

Chapter22

LIV

I paced the floor.How had I gotten to this point in life? Where so many things happened that were beyond my control?

Mountain had ruled my life for the last four years, and just when I’d thought I was free, a big Sasquatch named Mastorr just had to show up and lay claim to me.

If not for Mastorr, you’d probably be dead, a voice whispered in the back of my mind.Or you’d be back in Seattle, healing rebels while Mountain lorded over you and ran you into exhaustion.

I ceased pacing and sank down on the bed.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs, and I saw a shadow on the floorboards beneath the door. Mastorr was standing on the other side, though he didn’t call out. He didn’t knock either.

I sensed his sadness and confusion as if it were my own, and the urge to run into his arms almost had me tearing down the door to get to him. Inhaling a series of deep breaths, I tried to calm my racing thoughts and the strange, intense urges that kept rising from deep within.

I felt rotten for raising my voice at Mastorr and getting frustrated with him. Mountain used to scream at me, and I knew how much that hurt. Sure, I hadn’t screamed or cursed, but still…

I always thought if I left Mountain, I would spend the remainder of my life alone. That I wouldn’t dare trust anyone enough to enter another relationship. Now a relationship was being thrust upon me. Mastorr was courting me, and yes, even though I’d repeatedly insisted that I would never agree to mate with him, it felt like we were already involved. Dating. In the beginning of a relationship where everything was brand-new and fun and sexually charged.

Given the delicious tension between us, I could only imagine how explosive the mating would be if I surrendered and invited him to claim me.

Okay, let’s think rationally here…

He’d promised not to force himself upon me, and I believed him. He’d also promised to keep me safe. Again, I believed him.

He was also sweet, gentle, and incredibly handsome, and my pulse skittered whenever our eyes met. I flushed as I recalled the time he’d bent over to give me a good view of his ass cheeks and his balls. Some of his actions had certainly shocked me, but he hadn’t harmed me, and he’d never treated me with cruelty.

The hallway floor creaked, reminding me that he was lingering outside my bedroom, and I found myself heading for the door and flinging it open. I couldn’t help it. Even if I thought him a bit highhanded fortellingme that we were leaving the cabin soon, I couldn’t stand the thought of any discord between us.

He was seated on the floor, but his head shot up and his eyes widened, and he quickly got to his feet. His expression was so regretful that I had a difficult time remembering why the idea of leaving the cabin upset me so much.

“I’m sorry I spoke to you so harshly, Mastorr.” My tongue felt thick in my mouth. “When it comes to you, I find myself increasingly conflicted. I’m drawn to you, but I also have this idea in my head about how my life would go after I left my husband. I had a plan, and that plan didn’t involve becoming anyone’s lifemate. Forever is a scary word, and if you take me back to your tribe’s cavern, I worry that I’ll be stuck. I worry that I’ll become a prisoner all over again.”

Understanding dawned in his eyes, and he slowly reached for my hands.

I allowed him to touch me, and I glanced down and marveled at the size of his hands compared to mine. So large, but he was so gentle. I couldn’t imagine him hurting me, but I used to think that about Mountain too—during the start of our relationship.

I prayed I would never make the same mistake again. I prayed I wasn’t letting my intense attraction to Mastorr cloud my judgment.

“You don’t need to apologize, sweet one. I surprised you with the news that I would be taking you to my tribe’s cavern soon, whether you wished it or not. I understand why this might upset you, but the idea of any harm coming to you rips me up inside. I am ashamed that I don’t know enough about the human world to know whether the evil man poses a continued threat to you, but I cannot take the risk.”

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