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“Now what?” I quietly ask Bradoc.
He steps around me and places his hand on my shoulder while addressing the crowd. “I have claimed you,” he says to me when he’s finished speaking to his people. “You were not chosen by the others because I had already made my intentions known. As alpha hunter and leader of the most recent raid, I was given first pick. I told the others you were mine.”
My belly does a weird flip at the possessiveness in his tone. “Why? When you could have had a troll wife?”
“I promised you that I would repay you for healing me,” he says. “My wound has already improved. You saved my life, so I returned the favor.”
I nod, feeling strangely disappointed. He chose me out of obligation, not because he likes me or thinks I’m interesting or something. I shake my head, mentally berating myself. What a ridiculous thing to be upset about.
“Come,” Bradoc says, leading me off the platform. “We must make preparations.”
“Where are we going?”
“My cabin,” he says.
Interesting. I have to admit, I’m curious about Bradoc’s home. Despite myself, I’m curious about him in general, and seeing where he lives might tell me more about him.
The interior of the cabin is simple and stark, with rustic furnishings: some rough-hewn seating carved from fallen trees, a pallet stuffed with feathers to serve as a bed, some hides in front of a basic fireplace, and a large metal tub in one corner.
Steam rises from the water in it, which is interesting, because I don’t spy any plumbing. Bradoc must have somehow heated the water elsewhere and filled the tub by hand.
Flowers and fragrant herbs float on the surface, and I have to admit, it looks pretty inviting. I’ve always loved swimming and bathing, and after not having had a proper shower in several days—swimming in a mountain pool notwithstanding—I’m eager to climb in.
“I must bathe you,” Bradoc says, and I turn to him in surprise.
“What?”
“It is part of the wedding ritual. The husband bathes, adorns, and dresses his wife for the wedding ceremony.”
“Uh, what exactly does that entail?” I ask.
“I wash you from head to toe, until your skin and hair are soft and clean. Then I paint my tribe’s symbols on your body, to show that you have joined with us. After that, I dress you in traditional Kalzak wedding garb. I will weave flowers into your hair, and then, when you are properly prepared, we will undertake our ceremony.”
Huh. Okay. That seems like a lot of veryintimatepreparation. “And what about me? Do I…prepare you in some way?”
He shrugs. “It is not tradition, but if you wish to bathe and dress me, and help me with the traditional hairstyle, I will not object.”
“And when do we start?”
“Now,” he says. “First, I will help you undress.”
Whoa. Hold up. I mean yes, I’ve seen him naked and he saw more of me than I bargained for, but it doesn’t mean I’m cool with just dropping trou right here and now. “I’m not too sure about all this,” I say. “Can’t we skip all these traditions? I’ll just pop on whatever clothes you want and we can go from there?”
“No,” Bradoc says firmly. “I will do all I can to make you comfortable, but we will honor the wedding traditions of my tribe. It would be disgraceful for me to do otherwise. I would lose my position among my people.”
Well, heavens forfend, we can’t have that. I remind myself yet again that I can always run away when I get the chance and pretend this wedding fiasco never happened. In the meantime, it’s best that I play along. Which I guess means getting naked.
“All right,” I say, taking a deep, steadying breath. “Let’s begin.”
He steps in front of me, meeting my gaze and placing his hands on my shoulders. In a low voice, he says something in his language, then gently slides his big palms down my bare arms, over my wrists, and across the backs of my hands. I suppress a little shiver at the sensation.
Without breaking eye contact, and moving with exquisite slowness, he kneels down and carefully unlaces each of my boots, drawing them and my socks off with almost delicate care, caressing my feet in the process. Then he undoes the button on my pants, sliding them, along with my undies, down just as carefully, lifting my left leg and then my right to pull them off without upsetting my balance.
“I have chosen well,” he murmurs.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
He smiles, revealing his even teeth and small tusks. “You are beautiful. I have never paid much attention to human women before, but you are small and dainty. You have good proportions. Lovely.”
