Page 31 of Trolling For Love

“Really? It feels like I just fell asleep. You can put me down,” I said but he kept walking. “Gunnar?”

“I like carrying you,” he said with a shrug.

“Well, I’m not going to complain,” I said and thought about what we’d need to do today to be ready for work tomorrow. “Hey, how do you feel about staying in my cabin?”

“Tonight?”

“No, for the season. There’s no rule about it, and we work well together. The crew knows I don’t favor you and I’ve already talked to Frank, he doesn’t care.”

“Sleep in a comfortable bed with my mate every night? How could I say no to that?” he said and laughed when I slapped his chest. “The more time I spend with you the more time I want to spend with you. Of course I’ll move in.”

“No more hiding,” I said and guided his lips to mine.

“No more hiding.”

He let me down at the edge of the camp and we both walked to his tent. He didn’t have a lot of things, so I helped him gather what he had, and we walked to my cabin. Most of the men would stay in town and come back early in the morning so we still had the camp to ourselves except for Dwayne and a few of the guys that always came back early.

“Let me make some room for you in the closet,” I said as entered the cabin. I set my backpack down at the door and turned the lights on as I walked through to the bedroom.

“Are you sure? I do not need anything special. It’s enough to spend my nights with you,” Gunnar said.

“You deserve everything good,” I said, and helped him put his things away. We’d just finished when there was a knock at the door. “That’s odd. No one ever knocks at my door.”

“Let me,” Gunnar said and moved in front of me to open the door. “Bo?” I peeked around him and was surprised to see a creature with a skeletal face and antlers with some kind of plant growing from them. I gasped and both of them looked at me.

“Sorry, Flynn, I know you haven’t seen me in my real form before.” It was Bo’s voice only different. “You know I’m leshy.The tribe that helped you today are my family. They wanted me to thank you. Vince Drummond has been terrorizing them for years and they’re happy to know he was destroyed.”

Gunnar bowed his head while I still tried to wrap my mind around the fact this was Bo from town. “I’m sorry. My family had no idea he was doing something so horrible,” I said, wanting everyone to know none of us were involved.

“We know. He had a few locals that were helping him, but he was the main one,” Bo said in his strange leshy voice. “What of his weapon? The blade.”

“I put it where no one, human or monster, will ever find it,” Gunnar said.

“You’re sure?”

“Yes. It would be impossible to find. The trees will keep my secret.”

“Very well. If there is ever anything any of the leshy can do for you, you need only ask. That goes for you too, Flynn.”

“Thank you. I’m just glad it’s over,” I said and wrapped my arms around Gunnar’s arm and leaned my head against him.

“Good night then,” Bo said and walked away changing to a wolf as he moved toward the forest.

“Wow, that’s pretty cool,” I said.

“The leshy are unique, they can change to nearly any form, but they are peaceful,” Gunnar said.

“As long as none of them are looking for you for spare parts, I’m happy to know any of them,” I said and thought about how all this could have ended. “I could have lost you. The whole time I was waiting for you I worried it would be Vince that walked back through the portal instead of you.”

“I would fight anything for you. Even Einar,” Gunnar said.

“Can I meet him sometime?” I asked as he closed the door and the two of us stepped into the kitchen.

“If you really want to, but I’ll warn you. He’s very intimidating.” I opened the refrigerator and took out some leftovers to heat up.

“More intimidating than you?” I asked and Gunnar took the cold lasagna from me and took a big bite. “Want me to heat that?”

“No, it’s delicious. And yes, he’s twice as big as me and just terrifying.” Gunnar laughed at his own words. Very amused by himself.

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