The urge to kiss the top of her head and nuzzle closer rose within me, but I pressed it down. Our position was intimate as it was, and she didn’t need to be thinking about that…even if I couldn’t stop. “There are spells that help with the warmth. It will never freeze in here, but given your state, even that was too cold. The spells help the fire heat faster and last longer. You’re safe here. Now, another sip.”
She grimaced, and her nose wrinkled. “Ugh.”
“It could be worse. If the yeti had bitten you, we’d be following far more unpleasant healing methods.” I studied herface, noting that the skin no longer looked as waxy. The cuts and scrapes were showing signs of healing, though that windburn needed time.
“Yeti?” She swallowed again, shaking her head. Her tongue darted to her lips. “You have yetis?” Her eyelids lowered as exhaustion warred with confusion.
I forgot she wasn’t from here. “Before you fell off, a large creature spooked your caribou. You remember it?”
“That random glowing blue thing?” Her eyebrow cocked.
“Yes. That was a mother yeti defending her cubs. Their fur glows blue when they want to become more threatening. The bright light can blind and stun some beasts, especially when they’re used to the dark.”
“It certainly gave me a headache,” she grumbled. Her eyelids closed, and her cheek pressed against my chest.
I set the back of my hand on her neck and tested her pulse. It was steadier. “Are you in pain?”
“It’s better.” She yawned. “Thank you.”
“You’ll be all healed very soon.” I lifted the medicine flask away, corked it, and set it aside, then wiped her mouth and neck with a corner of the blanket. “You can sleep now.”
No matter what type of fae she was, the tonic should work fast, warming her from within and stabilizing her body's core temperature while restoring blood flow as she slept.
I pulled the furs folded at the foot of the bed up and over us both, layering the heavy pelts until we were cocooned in warmth and shadow. The firelight flickered against the ceiling, casting dancing shapes across the rough-hewn beams. Her shivering continued, but it did not seem so severe. The medicine was starting to do its work, and she wasn’t showing signs of complications. “You’re safe now, Hannah. Just rest.”
I tucked my chin over the crown of her head and savored the warmth, willing it to soothe and comfort her. My mate wassleeping, and the fire burned as the storm howled outside this safe place. I kept my body wrapped around her, gently rubbing her arms and soothing her blood into circulation.
It was impossible not to notice how beautiful she was. Every line and curve of her. She was a pain in the ass, but her gorgeous breasts could make a paladin or a monk weep. I had to keep myself under control because we would remain in this place until the storm and the danger passed. But perhaps it was fitting that here, in a place stripped down to the essentials, she and I would get to know one another as we were. Or at least as much of ourselves as we could reveal for now.
Yes, that was enough. Enough that, as angry as I was to have found my mate at such a dreadful time, part of me was also glad to have found her at all. She existed, and…terrifying as that was to recognize, I wouldn’t trade her for anything.
I stroked her damp hair back from her face. I just had to figure out a way to transition?—
Fuck. Fuck!
Something was very wrong.
CHAPTER 18
Kai
It was me.Iwas wrong.
I was the king, for Fate’s sake! I should be able to control my emotions…
I tensed, despite Hannah being in my arms. I’d burned through the lorn leaf I’d taken mere hours ago. How was that even possible?
It had to be because ofher.
Now, here I was, full of emotions that weren’t numbed and a raging dick with a mind of its own. My decisions would be compromised until I could take more of the vital herb.
Guilt weighed on me. I tried to think about blood, guts, and strategy, but I couldn’t focus because I was enjoying holding her. And that was the problem. My kingdom had just been attacked. I needed to be planning, anticipating threats, and forming solutions. Innocents died when their leaders became emotional, even if it was for a good reason. And I was holding one of the best reasons ever.
With the heat of her skin against mine, the softness of her curves pressed to my chest, and her scent threading through the smoke, I couldn’t focus on anything buther. My dick hardened to the point I feared it might explode.
I gritted my teeth and shifted my hips back to put distance between the evidence of my arousal and her body. The last thing I wanted her to do was wake up with it poking her bruised stomach.
She murmured something unintelligible and pressed closer. Her fingers curled against my ribs as if she were anchoring herself to me, and a low groan escaped my throat before I could stop it.
