Be My Wild

Linden 2

"Witch?" I ask looking at the man before me. I'm not going to lie he startled me when I woke up. His hair and beard look like they are made of moss and vines his skin dark and rich like the earth with what looks like ram horns protruding from his forehead. He's big and broad and wearing a leather loincloth. He has the kind of muscle you get from hard work, I could eat him with a spoon. The Jay started talking, telling me that the man has been sitting there all night long making sure I was okay. That had thrown me for a loop when the crows started talking. I guess 'witch' makes sense. Talking birds, sexy tree man, apparently a shield, sounds like magic to me.

I take a deep breath and let it out. The man is watching me like I might run. But I feel safe here, I'm not running again. I nod.

"Ok, so I'm a witch then. What can I call you?" I ask. Remembering I still don't know his name.

"Names have power." He says hesitantly. I tilt my head and smile. He looks confused now.

"Didn't ask you your name. I asked what I could call you. You can make something up if you want." I supply. I know I came here to hide, maybe he did too. He smiles gently and chuckles. It's a low deep sound that stirs up feelings down where I haven't felt much lately.

"I am Leshy." He said.

"Hello Leshy, I'm Linden." I smile.

"Hello Linden." He says looking into my eyes. I see a heat I've never seen before in his gaze. Then he shakes himself out of it. I'm sad to see it go. "How long have you been here?" He asks.

"About four years now almost exactly..." I say thinking, "I wonder if my birthday has passed. I'm twenty this year."

"Twenty? Well that explains last night then. Witches usually fall into their powers at twenty years old. Happy birthday." He offers. I try to smile but I don't think I manage. The last time I celebrated my birthday I was twelve with my dad. But Leshy was being so sweet.

"Thank you. I'm sorry about the shield." I say hoping he'll leave the birthday topic alone.

"Never apologize for protecting your own." He says with a smile. "Your wolf told me what you did for him last year and I am betting you are the reason I haven't been needed over her the past few years."

"I wasn't apologizing for protecting my animals i was apologizing for thinking you were a threat."

"I meant to ask you what you do remember of last night, lyubov moya. " He asks not taking his eyes off me.

"I'm not really sure. I wasn't feeling well then it started raining, so I went inside to rest but when I woke up I felt worse. I felt weak and dizzy and my stomach was bothering me. The animals were going crazy in here. I kept passing out. And then... I felt a ....tug? And all of a sudden I needed to be outside. It felt like I didn't have a choice." I said remembering last night. His gaze on me is intense. "Then I saw you but I couldn't make out any details but your shape looked human. And I panicked. I think that's when I made the shield. I saw your eyes glow, so I knew you were safe. I let I guess the magic down and passed out again."

"If you thought i was human why did you throw up your power?" Concern filling his gaze.

"I'm not going back." I say firmly holding his gaze.

"What did they do to you?" He says reaching for my face caressing a hand down my cheek. I lean into him. He's so warm and sweet.

"Don't worry it won't be happening again." I say with finality. He cradles my face in his hands and lowers his mouth to mine stopping just a breath away.

"No it won't. Not while I'm here." Those words feel so sweet I can't help but meet his lips with mine. His lips are soft and warm a groan sounding from them. His beard is soft like moss rubbing against my face as we kiss. I reach my hands up around the back of his neck. I have to be closer to him. I have to... I bite at his lower lip, and he opens to let me in. I moan and that seems to unleash what he's been holding back. He pushes into me with his kiss. Passion building until I realize I'm on my back on the floor with him above me.