Micah stood up greeting her with a smile. His smile faltered when he noticed her expression. His hand reached towards her face and he used his thumb to rub the crease between her eyes. “Your face is much too beautiful to look so pensive.”

She stood looking at him as he slid his fingers slowly down the side of her face leaving a trail of heat behind. She shuddered and her tummy tightened.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine. Did you need something?”

“Yes. Aunt Helen is out of bandages and I was wondering if you had some.”

“I think I do. I can come over and clean and rewrap her knees if you want.”

“That would be nice. I’m sure she would appreciate a softer touch than what I could offer.”

Cordelia grabbed the bandages and they walked to Helen’s. The silence between them grew, but it wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable.

Micah lightly bumped her and gave her that heart-stopping smile again. “I heard things about you.”

“You did? What all did you hear?” 

“I heard there were werewolves near the village last night. I also heard they were chasing you. Is there any truth behind those stories?”

She sighed, “It’s all true. Well, at least those two statements are true. I’m not sure about what else you may have heard.” 

“I heard you were out of the village and they chased. I also heard they chased you and you ran to Cade’s home.”

“True and true. I couldn’t sleep so I went out running. I went to Cade’s home because it was the closest house to the entrance of the village with weapons. I wasn’t running to him specifically. Anything else?”

He was silent for a moment and then said, “You outran three werewolves and…” he stopped talking.

“What? What else did you hear?”

“I heard you were the little red riding hood?”

The last part was said very softly and he made it a question.

It was Cordelia’s turn to be quiet. They had stopped walking about ten feet from Helen’s house. She wasn’t comfortable with him knowing that that was her nickname. She wasn’t even comfortable talking about her position in the Red Hoods.

“It’s true then, all of it is true. I had heard that she had red hair, but I had also heard that she was as big as a tree and the meanest thing alive,” he said, giving a harsh laugh. “I knew you were part of the Red Hoods and I wondered if it was you when I saw your hair, but you’re not as big as a tree and you do not seem that mean to me.”

He wouldn’t even look at her now.

She took a deep breath, “Helen didn’t tell you or your mother anything about me? I mean really? Even after meeting me last night, she didn’t tell you who I was or what I did?” Her voice was harsh and disbelieving.

“Remember I had a falling out with my mother and I hadn’t seen her in years before she died, so no, I didn’t know. I asked Aunt Helen about you this morning, but she told me it was your story to tell; not hers.”

He took a couple of steps closer to her and continued, “Then I walk through the village and I hear everyone talking about you. They are saying that the Bishop was upset with you for being foolish. I asked a few people and they were more than willing to talk about you.” Micah gave a harsh laugh, “They said you may be the youngest captain ever in the Red Hoods, but you are the most ruthless, the most thorough, and that you would never do anything that stupid. You would never go for a run without a weapon.”

Cordelia was pacing, then swung around to face Micah. “How dare they talk about me? How dare they share tales that they have no business sharing? Yes, Micah, I am the Red Riding Hood! Yes, I am the youngest captain ever in the Red Hoods history and you know what? I enjoy killing the monsters, but most importantly, yes, I messed up!”

She turned, taking two steps away before turning back, snapping at him, “I’m sorry I was a tiny bit distracted last night. I was kissed by two guys in less than fifteen minutes of each other. I went for a run; I forgot to bring a weapon. I made a mistake and the Bishop is mad at me!”

His voice was calmer and less accusatory, “Cordelia, you’re allowed to make mistakes. You’re only human.”

“No. Not me. I am not allowed to make mistakes.”

“That’s a lot of pressure to put on your shoulders.”

“It is all I know.” 

“Cordelia, are you really as ruthless as they say you are?”

She threw her hands up in the air, so exasperated with this conversation. ‘Why is this so important to him?’

“I have a question for you. What else have you heard about me?” she said avoiding his questions.

His expression changed minutely, but she noticed it.

“I know that I kissed you, but who was the other one? It was your friend Cade, wasn’t it? I could tell last night that he liked you. For my part in this, I am sorry.”

“Thank you for your apology, but I would rather not talk about it anymore,” she said, picking up the bandages she had dropped.

“Alright,” he said and walked to the house.

Cordelia cleaned and bandaged Helen’s leg while she rambled on like she always did, but today Cordelia didn’t pay any attention to her. All of her focus was on Micah sitting in a chair across the room watching her. 

When she was done with Helen she told her she had to go but would check on her later. When she turned to Micah he stood, but she held her hand up and told him the bandages were on the counter. With a curt nod, they both said goodbye.

***

Cordelia went back to see Bishop Lucius because she wanted to make sure he was alright with the team doing nightly patrols. There shouldn’t be a problem, they had done them before. This was more of a show of respect and penance.  

She walked in and John wasn’t at his normal spot. Cordelia wandered around looking for him, but after a few minutes, she assumed he had gone home sick with the flu. With a deep steadying breath, she climbed the stairs and knocked on the Bishop’s door. 

To her complete surprise, Cade answered the door. She gave him a questioning look and he whispered, “I was filling him in on what we found.”

“Who is it, Cade?”

Cade stood aside and she walked inside.

“Cordelia, what a pleasant surprise, come in,” the Bishop said standing up. “Cade was just filling me in on what they found.” She nodded at him but didn’t respond. “And I can tell by your lack of questions that Cade has already filled you in.” He gave Cade a look that said how unhappy he was, that he wasn’t the first to know.

“Yes sir, he did. I waited for him at his cabin to find out,” she said, trying to take the heat off of Cade.

“What can I do for you?”

“I would like your permission to run patrols for the next few nights to make sure they are gone. We can break up into pairs and patrol throughout the night. It was my carelessness that brought them here and I would like a chance to make sure nothing bad happens because of it.”

The Bishop watched her for a long time and Cordelia was sure he was going to tell her, no, but he smiled at her. “Of course Cordelia, that sounds like a good idea. I appreciate you admitting your fault. Let your team know that patrols start tonight.”

She bowed her head, “Thank you, sir.”

“You both may go now.”

They both nodded and walked out. Neither one spoke until they were out of the church. 

“Everyone knows about tonight and should be resting. I’m headed home to do the same unless you need anything?” Cade asked.

She told him no and headed home to get a nap before tonight.

 ***

They met at the well and she told the team that they would split into pairs. That left one man out. Esther agreed to take the first shift by herself because the likelihood of them coming back right at dark was slim.

Cordelia took the third shift and paired herself with Anthony because she didn’t want to be alone with Cade.

Matthew and Klaus woke her shortly after midnight to trade-off. She and Anthony wandered around the town for hours and didn’t hear a thing. She was glad when their shift was over, so she could go back to bed. She told Cade to come to her cabin when his shift was over to tell her if he found anything.

It felt like she had just fallen asleep when Cade came knocking on her door. She was clad only in her nightgown when she opened the door to let him in. Cordelia was sleepy enough that she didn’t care. “Did you find anything?”

He shook his head no. “Nothing, it was so quiet out there, almost too quiet. Hopefully, that means all the werewolves are gone.”

“Hopefully, but I still want to keep on patrolling just in case. Cade, you look dead on your feet. Go home and get some sleep.”

Cordelia walked him out and told him bye. She stood on her porch watching him walk away.

‘What is happening to me? I’m happy with my life, aren’t I?’ She sighed and looked towards Helen’s. Micah was standing on Helen’s porch watching her. There was an instant ache and her butterflies were back. She had the urge to go to him. To go to him and throw herself into his arms just to feel his lips on hers again.

He raised his hand and waved. She couldn’t help but smile and wave back. She turned and went back inside before she walked across the field wearing nothing but her nightgown.

She did her morning prayers and exercises, but couldn’t get Micah off her mind. She wanted to see him, but couldn’t explain why. She was comparing Cade and Micah when there was a knock on her door. Her heart rate picked up and she knew it was Micah.

“Micah, hi. What brings you over?” She stepped out on the porch and closed her door, not letting him come inside.

“Well, I have a few things actually. I’m sorry about yesterday. I shouldn’t have pressed for information.” 

“It’s okay, I shouldn’t be so sensitive. I just don’t like knowing they gossip.”

“I can understand.” 

“So next thing?” 

“Aunt Helen wanted me to invite you over for lunch, and I was wondering if you were still up to show me around? We have some time to kill before lunch.”

Her stomach flipped with excitement. “Yes to both,” she said, unable to control her smile.

“Good,” he said with a grin. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

When he came back, they walked around the village enjoying each other’s company. They kept the conversation light and he asked questions about the village and she asked about him. After their second pass through town, they walked to the lake behind Cordelia and Helen’s houses. It was far enough into the woods that you couldn’t see either one.

Cordelia sat on one of the logs, but Micah walked to the lake’s edge and looked out at it. 

“Cordelia, are you sure there is nothing going on between you and Cade? I saw him leaving your cabin this morning. If there is, I understand and I will back off.”

She walked over to him and touched his arm. “Micah, we are friends. There was something between us when we were kids, but there is nothing between us now. Cade didn’t sleepover. His patrol had just ended and he came by to tell me about it. That’s all.”

“Okay.”

Micah picked up a rock and skipped it across the lake. Cordelia tried and it fell in the lake with a plop. He skipped another one so she tried it again. When it made an even louder plop than the first one he coughed to hide his laugh.

“I am so bad at this,” she laughed.

“Let me show you,” he offered, coming up behind her. “The first thing you have to do is find a rock that is sort of flat and then you flick your wrist.”

He pressed himself against her back and held her hand. Then he pulled it back and flicked it forward. The rock skipped twice.

“Oh!” she squealed.

“One more time,” he said softly into her hair.

The feel of his body pressed against hers was amazing. Her skin felt hot wherever his body touched and made things deep inside her tingle. Micah placed his other hand on her hip as they leaned back, and it caused her breath to catch.

She didn’t see what happened to the rock because she turned to face him and when their eyes met she seemed to lose all coherent thought. There was only the heat in his green eyes. His arm wrapped around her and his free hand lightly brushed her face. She sighed and leaned into his body, sliding her hands around his waist.

Micah pulled her head back by her hair and leaned down to kiss her; just a soft brush of the lips at first. It was enough to make a soft noise escape her lips. That seemed to encourage him because he held her tighter and the kiss became stronger.

Cordelia’s hands moved up his body feeling the hard muscles under his shirt. He was so warm under her touch. 

He grabbed her by the back of her thighs and lifted her so she could wrap her legs around him. It startled her enough that she made a little yip. His mouth was on her neck so his soft chuckle sent shivers down her spine.

Micah softly bit the bottom of her neck causing her to moan again and Cordelia wrapped her fingers in his soft, thick hair. He was biting up her neck and across her jawline, making his way back to her mouth. The biting excited her in a way that she had never felt before. He growled and pressed his body harder against her.

Cordelia felt his weight on her as he laid them down on the ground. She wrapped herself tightly around him, kissing him deeply.

“God, Cordelia,” he moaned against her mouth.

Her eyes were squeezed shut and she trembled at the feel of him settling between her legs. She might have said no, but the look in his eyes drove to kiss him, encouraging him to continue. 

She didn’t want him to stop. She needed to feel him but wanted him to be gentle. “Micah, I’ve never done this.”

He paused for a moment and whispered, “I will be gentle.” 

Micah had been true to his word. He was gentle and brought her places she only dreamed possible. 

Neither one of them moved. Cordelia wasn’t sure if she could, even if her life depended on it. They were both sweaty and breathing hard. All of her bones felt as if they had turned into liquid. 

As their breathing slowed, Micah lifted his head and kissed her. This time it was slow and sweet.

“Are you alright? Did I hurt you?” he asked.

She thought about that for a moment. ‘Was I alright?’

A rush of emotions and realizations hit her at once. She had just had sex for the first time with a man she’d known less than three days. Not to mention it was sex before marriage, outside for the whole world to see. ‘Oh Lord, what have I done?’ Panic must have shown on her face because he rolled off her, grabbed her arms, and lifted her into a sitting position.

“Cordelia, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?” his voice sounded concerned, and his eyes were scanning her body checking for any visible signs.

“No, I’m not hurt. I’m just realizing what I’ve done. I was not raised to do this. I don’t even know your last name.” Her voice had grown high and panicked sounding.

He kissed her forehead and said, “Harper.”

“What?” she asked, looking up at him.

“My last name; you said you didn’t know it. My last name is Harper. What we did was natural. For two people that have an attraction to each other as we do. The attraction is strong, Cordelia. I wanted you from the moment I saw you. You felt it too, I know you did.”

It was true, she had felt it so she nodded in agreement. 

She smiled at him to let him know she had worked out her issues for now. He bent down and kissed her. It was warm and she felt her nerves tingle again. Cordelia leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body against him.

Micah laughed into her mouth, gave her one more peck, and then leaned back. “You cannot kiss me like that, or I might take you again.” 

Cordelia blushed, embarrassed by her boldness. He laughed again, then stood up and walked to the lake to clean himself up.

She watched his partially naked body walk to the lake. Everything about him was muscular, but not bulky. He had narrow hips and his legs were long and lean. There was a grace to the way he walked. More graceful than any man she had ever known.

He turned at the water’s edge and grinned at her. He must have known she was watching him so he blushed harder before standing up and walked to the water too.

It was freezing, and they were shaking by the time they were done. She couldn’t get her bottoms on fast enough because Micah kept playfully kissing and touching her. That made it very difficult to get dressed, but as she giggled, she thought that it was nice to finally have someone that she could be this intimate with. Someone she didn’t have to be tough with. 

Micah had his hands on either side of her face, smiling warmly at her. “We had better go to Aunt Helen’s house for lunch before she sends an army out looking for us.”

Cordelia groaned, “I forgot about lunch with Helen. How will I be able to sit at the table with her after what we have done? She’ll know.”

He laughed. “You’re being dramatic Cordelia, she will not know. There is no sign on either one of us stating what we have done. No one will ever know unless we decide to tell them,” he said, kissing her again.

Nodding her head, she said, “You’re right.”

And they left the lake for Helen’s house.