Page 77 of Peregrine's Call
“Lie down.” Tav put the cloak over her. “You need to stay warm. Trust me. Even if you don’t feel it, the cold is affecting you more than you realize.”
“You need your cloak.”
“I’ll be near the fire,” he said, forestalling her attempt to give the cloak back. “Someone needs to keep watch.”
“Tell Govannon to do it.”
Tav’s smile flashed in the glow of the fire. “If he returns from his hunt, he can relieve me.”
The addition of Tav’s cloak helped. The thick wool stopped the wind’s assault, and the heavy weight of it kept her from shivering. More than that, it carried the faint but unmistakable scent of Tav himself in the fibers, and Robin felt almost as if he were holding her, a thought that warmed her to a remarkable degree.
“It’s better with the cloak,” she whispered out loud.
“Good.” He put two fingers to his mouth, then laid them on her cheek. A subtle kiss.
“Tav?” she asked in a small voice.
“Yes?” His eyes caught hers.
“Thank you for…everything. I know I’ve been difficult to deal with.” From the moment he’d found out that she’d chosen to follow him.
“We’ve had a difficult night,” he said gently, as if she only meant that night. “It’s no surprise you’re suffering the effects of hard travel. Anyone would.”
“You don’t.”
“I do. I’m just better at hiding them because I’ve had more practice. Now go to sleep, Robin. I’ll stay awake.”
Then he stood up and walked out to the fire, his form silhouetted against the light from the flames. All she could see was the outline of him—a warrior in every regard.
And he said he’d stay awake.
That, more than anything, allowed Robin’s eyes to slide shut. She cuddled into the wrapped cloak and blanket like a little animal burrowing in for the winter. She could sleep if Octavian was awake, keeping danger from her. It was a comfort to know that she did not have to fear anything or anyone sneaking up on her. Tav would never let it happen.
The early bird call woke her, and Robin blinked, realizing that not only had she slept, she’d actually slept well. She looked around in the dawn light, seeing Tav sitting before a low fire. Pierce was a little ways away from her, close to the rock wall, his prone form mostly hidden by blankets. What she first took for a fur collar turned out to be Govannon, draped across his neck.
She got to her feet, keeping the blankets wrapped around her as she walked toward the fire.
Tav turned at her approach, but didn’t get up.
“Did you sleep at all?” she whispered when she reached him.
“I dozed from time to time. It was a quiet night.”
“Thank God.”
“Yes,” he agreed, meaning it.
Robin extended one arm and wrapped Tav in her blanket, bringing her body next to his. “You had to be cold.”
He inhaled, turning his head to hers. “We shouldn’t do this,” he murmured, even as his lips brushed her cheek.
“I’m just getting you warm,” she said with a smile. “What’s wrong with that?”
His smile grew in response to hers, and Robin suddenly felt very warm. His hands skimmed her body under the layers of fabric, and he made a sound that a starving man might make when given a single bite of food.
“Robin,” he breathed, “you don’t know how much I wish we were alone right now.”
“I know exactly how much,” she assured him.
