I lifted it. It was all kinds of uncomfortable.
Batu circled behind me to position and brace my elbows. His body heat was a pleasant contrast to the chilly night, and I shifted closer. Any qualms I had about personal space were mostly gone with him after all he'd done when I was fevered and our nights together, but I had to admit - I kind of wanted him close, too.
I aimed and let the arrow loose. To my delight, it hit the bottom center of the target. "I'm doing it!"
Batu chuckled. He bent for another arrow and handed it to me before returning his hands to my elbows.
"Do you think I'll be as good as you one day?" I asked and focused on notching the arrow.
He was quiet.
"Batu?" I looked up at him over my shoulder. "Is silence your way of saying no?"
His gaze was on the target, and there was a trace of a smile on his features. "Do you prefer I lie to make you happy or tell the truth?"
I gave an exasperated sigh.
"Which one?" He nudged me with his hips since his hands were supporting my arms.
"Truth," I grumbled.
"You are better served learning a different skill."
I released the arrow. It landed beside the other. "At least I'm consistently bad."
He dropped his hands, and I turned to face him. There were moments when I found myself breathlessly intrigued by the exotically different man before me, and this was one of them. The starlight and darkness of night rendered his masculine features mysterious. His muscular frame was relaxed, his dark eyes on me as I watched him. His shaved head was shadowed from several days of growth.
He was attractive in a similar fashion to his world: raw, untamed and unnerving with relentless intensity. If Batu was a fire, this place was an oven. I didn't know where this sudden tension between us originated or why I hadn't noticed it before. It was not out of the picture to find him sexually attractive or to want something more, if I was stuck here. I had gone into my marriage with Taylor with too little care. I never planned on getting hitched again, but a lifetime without sex wasn't on the table, either.
Just … it was Batu, my guardian. If things went sour, we were stuck together until one of us was killed off. It didn't seem smart to dip my toe in the pool, yet the connection between us was too intense to deny it existed.
Unease stirred as I thought again of Taylor and my promise to myself never to connect with anyone or anywhere again. I had all but ditched that at this point, resolved by the fact I was stuck in the thirteenth century. But I didn't quite feel ready for anything more than what I had with him, either. The lesson I learned in the Old West was far too powerful: people around me died. Batu was in a position of irrefutable danger as my guardian.