Honour Bound by M.A. Grant

Author:M.A. Grant
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Escape Publishing

Chapter 15

‘Close your mouth, Jenks,’ James mumbled around his mouthful of stew.

‘No.’

Alex grinned and shook his head. Since the festivities had begun in earnest, Jenks had remained wide-eyed and slack-jawed at every courtesy the Dunni clan had extended. The fact that all the women were clothed in flowing dresses and skirts that showed their curvy figures probably didn’t hurt either.

‘Don’t be rude,’ Mad Dog said, gratefully accepting another hunk of bread from a grandmotherly woman who patted his cheek before she left.

‘I’m not being rude,’ Jenks protested. ‘My staring is a sign of respect for their—’

A young woman walked by them, giggling to her friend. Her tan skin peeked through the slits of the dress.

Jenks shook his head.

‘What’s that?’ Tane teased.

‘Shut up, Preacher.’ Jenks looked skyward with a groan. ‘Oh, by the gods, I’ve missed women.’

‘How about you, sir?’ James asked. ‘Have any of them caught your eye?’

‘I wouldn’t tell you if one had,’ Alex said and took another bite of his stew. A bellyful of warm stew, a crackling fire nearby, good company, and the relaxation that only came when all your enemies were dead and your squad safe … Yes, tonight was a night to celebrate.

Their light banter was interrupted by the arrival of Badb. Her bone headdress rested on clay-caked hair. The fur of the wolf pelt collar at her neck moved gently in the evening breeze. She smiled at them, a sight so jarring with her fierce, woad-painted cheeks that Alex wasn’t sure whether smiling back was the correct reaction. She sat beside him after the team’s murmured greetings and thanks, and watched her people conversing.

‘You fought well,’ she finally said without looking at him.

‘As did you and your people.’

They both watched as the women moved away from the men, chatting excitedly and gesturing at the fire.

‘What are they doing?’ Alex asked, growing more curious as one of the women began undoing a strip of decorative cloth around her waist.

Badb ignored him, a wide smile gracing her face. A shiver of awareness crept over his skin. Badb held out her arms. ‘Natalia!’

Alex glanced up and tried to regain function of his brain. Talia, dressed in blue cloth that matched her earlier war paint, greeted Badb by bending to hug her. The movement exposed nearly the full length of her leg though the skirt’s slit. Alex tried to drag his eyes away, but Talia and Badb weren’t paying attention to him. They were talking rapidly in Lailian, which gave him a few more stolen moment to admire an elegantly curved figure he’d never known Talia to possess.

But then there was a change to Talia’s voice, a softness he hadn’t heard before. He dragged his eyes from her body, only to find she was watching him with an expression that called to the same hunger he felt—

Badb must have noticed his stunned silence because she returned to the Republic’s tongue long enough to ask Talia, ‘Are you dancing tonight?’

‘Aunty, you know there’s no point.’

Badb tsked and made a shooing gesture with her hands.

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