Page 68 of Mattox
“We sort of hit your canned goods downstairs,” Caralas apologized.
Mattox chuckled. “Help yourself to whatever’s in the kitchen. Dad doesn’t want the main dining hall to open up until this invasion, or wait-out, or whatever the hell those Bloods intend to do is resolved. If the situation should change for the worse, I’ll be back to let you know.” Pivoting on his heel, he strode away, leaving the two of them.
Caralas gave her father a hard look, then went after Mattox. She caught up with him as he was heading out the front door.
“Where will you be?”
Mattox motioned with his head. “Out there somewhere. Wherever Dad needs me most.”
“I meant…later. Where were you going to sleep?”
“I usually sleep in the barracks, along with the other unmarried soldiers, but sections of it are too damaged. So we’re having to find other accommodations. Luckily, the townspeople are happy to open up their homes.” He stared into those chocolate brown depths, and deeper, where her emotions and true intent lay. When she reached out to place her hand on his chest, he felt its warmth all the way to his core. Placing his own hand over it, he watched as she stepped closer and lifted her mouth for him to kiss.
He didn’t care if Lorgon Edge saw them. All he knew was that this woman loved him with all the strength she possessed. If ever a man felt blessed…
He ended the kiss, brushing his lips across her cheek until he reached her ear. “Inside the main hall, upstairs over the kitchen, is a master bedroom. I’ll be sleeping there tonight if you wish to join me.”
He felt her smile before he leaned back to see it. She tilted her head, and the smile grew warmer.
“Your eyes are like opals. Careful, your love is showing.”
He watched her walk away and disappear into the kitchen. When she was no longer in sight, he exited the lodge and went to let his parents know where he’d be bedding down tonight, just in case they’d planned on using that bedroom in the main hall for themselves.
34
Bath
It was nearly midnight before the Bloods made a move. When they did, it was to disappear back into the trees with the same eerie and quiet sense of purpose they’d used when they’d first showed up. Regardless of their retreat, Yulen kept the compound on Level Red Alert.
It was after one a.m. when Yulen ordered shifts be resumed. “You go on and get some rest,” he told Mattox. “Come back at eight.”
“What about you and Mom?”
“We’ll be okay. Don’t worry about us. If something should happen, I’ll come get you.” The battle lord smiled. “A little birdie told me Caralas was seen heading over to the main hall earlier. Go to her, son.”
“Where will you be?”
“Over at Cole’s, since you so graciously kicked your mother and I out of the main hall bedroom.”
Mattox laughed, knowing his father was teasing him. The two men grasped arms, then bid each other goodnight.
As he walked over to the main hall, Mattox chanced a glance down at himself. He knew he was filthy, and probably smelled to high heaven. “It’s a wonder Cara is willing to get close to me, much less kiss me.” A check of the shuttered window above the side entrance verified his father’s claim. Light peeked between the slats, telling him someone was upstairs.
A twinge of pain zipped up his leg, and he touched the bandage around his thigh. It needed changing. “Hell, all of me needs changing. I’m not crawling into bed with her unless I have some kind of spit bath.” Inwardly, he hoped Caralas had taken one and left the tub full for him. Even if the water was ice cold, it would be better than nothing. And it wouldn’t be the first time he’d bathed in temperatures icy enough to make his dick bury itself all the way to its head inside his scrotum.
He was surprised to meet Jerusala coming down the steps leading up to the bedroom. The woman held an empty bucket and greeted him with a smile.
“Pleasant evening, sir.”
“What in the world are you doing up this time of night?” he jested.
“We’re taking turns in the kitchen providing coffee and warm mead to soldiers still on duty. Anything to help them stay awake.” She eyed him from top to bottom. “You look like you could use twenty winks yourself.”
“I’m heading upstairs to do just that.”
She lifted an eyebrow at him as he trudged up the steps but didn’t say anything more. He wasn’t surprised that she didn’t mention him being missing for the past few days. News like that was kept close to the vest, and not announced to the populace unless a body was found, or if the absence grew into a considerable length of time. Because by then people would start to notice the person missing. Neither did she mention the bandage. The sight of them were old hat.
He paused at the top of the staircase and stared at the door located at the very end of the walkway. He remembered his mother telling him that long ago that had been Madigan, his grandmother’s chambers. It was now Iain’s suite, since Liam and Madigan still lived in the back rooms adjacent to the clinic downstairs.
