Page 31 of Grounded By Love
She made her way back to their camp, but her nerves were so on edge, she kept jumping out of her skin, at every sound. The snap of a twig almost made her faint in fright, but when she glanced in its direction she only saw a deer staring back at her.
When she finally took the first step into camp, a breath of relief escaped her lungs. Hurriedly, she ground up her plants to make two different pastes for Kaeldar.
As she entered the tent, her brows drew together. He didn't look any better.
“I'm sorry.” She whispered. “I know I was gone longer than I intended, but I ran into some unexpected issues.”
Claira knew he was unconscious and had no idea what she was talking about, but talking to him made her feel a little calmer. The rock giants had really shaken her up. She needed to get Kaeldar back up on his feet, before any rock giants stumbled upon their little camp.
She bent down next to Kaeldar and pulled off his shirt, which was extremely difficult, since he wasn't able to assist her with his muscled weight. She was tempted to cut it off with a dagger, but then he wouldn’t have another shirt.
Eventually, she got his shirt off and applied both of the pastes.
She startled, when Kaeldar mumbled something to her in his delirium.
“I'm sorry, what did you say?” But he was done with his mumbling, and she felt her heart sink. She wanted him to wake, so she could have his company again.
She’d have to do her best to make him comfortable, until the pastes had time to soak in. Grabbing some strips of cloth, she rushed back to the river. She wet the cloths and took a moment to wash her face with some of the refreshing water. She was growing exhausted and the shock of icy water helped to wake her up a little.
After Kaeldar recovered, she was going to sponge off all of the dirt and grime that was on her. She felt filthy, but she knew Kaeldar needed her to watch over him. She couldn’t spare any time to bath. She needed him alive, especially now that they were definitely in rock giant territory.
She walked back into the tent and wiped him down. Taking off all his clothing she covered him with a fur blanket to keep him warm. She didn’t want the sweat on his skin to chill him and worsen his fever.
She stayed up all day, and then all night to watch over Kaeldar. Every once in a while, she would make her way to the river to splash some icy water onto her face. She needed to be awake to pay attention to his every need. Claira wasn’t going to let Kaeldar take a turn for the worse.
She kept him drinking water throughout the night and kept applying the salves she made. When the next morning approached, Kaeldar's fever finally broke, and she was able to relax.
Claira drifted off to sleep, unable to keep her eyelids from closing, no matter how hard she tried. Now that he was out of danger, her body just wanted to rest.
Kaeldar woke feeling fatigued. Turning onto his side he found the human female, Claira, sleeping soundly beside him. She must’ve taken care of him again, and he had no idea how many days he’d been out. She was faithful, like no other.
Lightly, he used his thumb to caress her jaw line, and then pushed her fair hair away from her face. He took a lock of her golden hair between his thumb and forefinger and marveled at it. All rock giants had black hair. Every once in a while, a rock giant would be born with dark brown hair, but even that was rare.
Never would one of them have blonde hair. He was amazed by the many colors of hair the humans had. They had a surprising variety with hair and eye color.
He gently shook her shoulder, until she woke up. Rubbing her eyes, she smiled over at him.
“How are you feeling this morning?” Claira asked him, sounding worn out.
“I am doing well enough, thanks to you, I assume.” He gave her a smile. “How long was I out for?”
“About a day or so.”
“Am I well enough to get moving again?” He knew if he relapsed they would only be delayed longer, so if Claira demanded he stay and rest he was going to do it. It was about time he listened to her.
Claira sat up and rolled the fur cover down to get a look at his wound. She nibbled her lip, as she pressed her fingers around the wound judging his reactions to different levels of pressure. When he didn't even wince once, she smiled a little.
“It’s definitely looking a lot better than I hoped for. If you aren't having any pain, then I think you could travel without any major concerns. Just take things slowly, and this time, let me know when you have any discomfort.”
As he stood to get dressed, he caught Claira blushing as her eyes landed on his nakedness. She turned her head to the side to avert her gaze.
He was proud of his body. Kaeldar wouldn’t complain, if she wanted to eyeball him. He wouldn’t mind her appreciating the training he kept up on. The blush that crept up her cheeks was charming though.
He threw on his clothing. He may not mind, but he didn’t want to bother Claira too much, and he was ready to get moving. He’d have time to make her blush, once they were to a safer area.
He had them packed and ready to go in a matter of minutes. As he turned to see if she was prepared to leave, he found her kneeling by the river washing herself with a wet cloth.
He decided to let her take her time, since it was the least he could do. She probably hadn’t much time for herself, while taking care of him. If he’d let her take care of his wound earlier, he wouldn’t have put them both through this set back.
