It came as no surprise that he was still being sarcastic even after her life and death encounter.
"The child" she let her words linger.
"Kayla is fine"
"No, not Kayla. I saw a child that looks like the younger me but she had different eyes"
He suddenly half-chuckled half-grinned and again, the joke was lost to her.
"You saw the little devil in you"
Could she ever predict this male? He seemed at odds with logic or rational. He always wanted to see the nerve aligning her jaw tick in an unpleasant way.
"This is not supposed to be one of your private musings, Salem"
"Okay, I will try to level with you. Tell me what you saw" All this while he tried to reign in his imagination that ran wild with not a single scenario of what he would've done had she really given in to the darkness. A lot of questions forming a puddle in his train of thoughts.
What would've happened if he got here a minute later? How would he have explained the whole thing to little Kayla?
He tried to rid his head of all negative thoughts as he heaved up a heavy sigh that was a mixture of relief and something else he faild to put a name on. He looked at her face and she shivered again, a reminder that she was only covered in his ragged cloak that did her no justice in shielding her against the cold gust of wind that came on intervals from the lake.
"We need to get you somewhere warm little damsel"
Only then did a few facts register in her mind. The big one in bold letters being that fact that he saw her naked, she blushed furiously and palmed her face. She combed through her brains trying to come out with a favourable situation where she could have taken some precautionary measure to cover herself before letting herself drown.
What did it matter now? He had seen her naked and yet here he was, acting all indifferent as if it was no big deal or was it? She hadn't even thought of covering her nakedness while she drowned helplessly while those hands rendered her immobile.
Those hands!
"Someone was holding my arms tightly so that I won't resurface and strangely enough, those hands . . . they felt very farmiliar that at first I thought it was you but-" her eyes became unfocused again as she tried to recall the events.
His gaze darkened dangerously at the mention of the farmiliar hands but for some reason, the information irked him more than it was meant to but honestly . . . whose hands were she farmiliar with?
He thought darkly before recalling that he had teased , taunted and proded her . . . only listening to what she was keen on telling but he had never asked directly about her personal life. Even his shamrless self wanted to give the female time to grieve, to heal and to regroup before trying to be a pest to her about personal issues.
She somehow managed to be evasive to him without alerting him to this fact . . . So they were similar in more ways than one . . . actually more than they would ever care to admit out loud. He didn't know if it he should find it disturbing or just down right uncanny.
He grinned subtly.
"You can tell me all about it once we're in a more comfortable place Hannah. Your health is important right now and another minute in this cold weather, you will end up catching a cold"
She seemed taken aback by his display of selflessness even though she knew it was a 'while stock lasts' offer that didn't happen on regular intervals. She allowed him to guide her to the house so she could get dressed while settling near the fire.
She thanked whatever divine intervention had told her to heat up the fire place before coming to the lake. She got inside while he waited outside until she finished dressing herself up which also came as a surprise after she had established that the male would taunt and tease her no matter the time or the weather. She must've given him a fright that he hadn't recovered from to not even peep at her naked body.
She removed his heavy cloak and put it in the chair next the fireplace and adorned her own clothes. She shivered lightly as her footing wavered so she decided she could sit down until she could stand steadily without feeling like she was about to pass out. She closed her eyes thinking about those bulky hands that were tender yet unyielding. The thought shot up the barriers in her head, enhancing their strength in the process. She was shaken . . . those hands belonged to a male and weren't males support to shield female's vulnerability? She remembered her papa tellimg her that exact same thing.
She heaved a deep sigh.
She knew she would know some day soon,the meaning of all that's happenend because now she was shaken to the core of her bones, drowning in questions that seemed endless and she was tired of not resting so she adjusted herself to sit more comfortably and dozed off.
He stood outside, thinking he was giving her time and privacy but as time went by, he realised that she was not coming out so he figured it won't hurt to check up on her especially after the ordeal she just went through. He didn't even mind dressing her up if she was struggling with the job.
He smiled coyly before pushing the door wide open only to see her red hair peeking in the seat situated near the fire. It looks like she is drawn to fire and everything else ceases to exist when she gets too close to it. So much for selflessness!
Why did he even wait outside . . . he couldnt tell what got him so chivalrous but he knew it was never going to happen in his lifetime. He came to stand near her and studied her features long and hard. She didn't appear to have ever been physical with a male before . . . at least that's what her actions suggests or did he get them mixed up? Was she holding back because she feels she will be commiting adultery by being physical eith him? Was she betrothed to someone else?
He knew he was letting himself get carried away and that it was none of his business but something unsettled him a great deal about someone else touching her intimately.
"I guess you forgot all about poor me standing in the cold" he grumbled.
She moved as if readjusting herself with her eyelids still closed shut.
"I'm sorry"
Was that a conscious or a subconscious thought because she was still in deep sleep as she said those words.
"You need to eat and so does Kayla. Go get her Hannah"
She grogily opened her eyes and only then did he notice black bags under her eyes. She must be really exhausted or just plain sleep deprived.
He sighed and went to get Kayla. Now was a good time to find out who the two little females were and getting Kayla in the conversation will make it a lot more easier and less awkward.
Smiled triumphantly and wondered if he was ready to just dive in blindly.