"Fuck," he breathed, the word barely audible.
I couldn't have agreed more. This was catastrophically bad timing. Apparently, my bad luck was returning.
He was off me in an instant, moving with a speed that left me blinking at the ceiling. The loss of his warmth hit me like a physical blow, and I scrambled to pull the furs back up around myself in case whoever it was barged in.
"A moment," Kai called steadily toward the door. He grabbed one of the bags on the far side of the room and ripped a blue cloth bundle out of it. Then he tossed the bundle at me and started rummaging through the bag.
It landed in my lap. I blinked, looking at the pile in front of me until reality caught up. Clothes.
Yeah, I didn’t need anyone else seeing me this way. I unfolded the bundle with fumbling fingers, still trying to get my heart rate under control. The soft, muted blue fabric remindedme of a winter sky just before dusk. Not surprisingly, it looked like the sort of thing I’d seen folks wear to the Renaissance Fair, but of a much higher quality. I tugged what I assumed was an undershirt over my head first, grateful at how soft it was against my skin. Even if it was tight around my breasts and hips in a way that left little to the imagination and wasn’t especially flattering. Next, I tugged on a long-sleeved shirt with a rounded neck. It was looser but still a bit snug at my breasts, with sleeves that had to be shoved up to keep them from covering my hands.
The pants were another story. They were loose through the legs, which was comfortable enough, but when I tugged them over my hips and backside, I realized they were decidedly tight across my ass. The kind of tight that made me very aware of exactly how much fabric was stretched across exactly which curves and whose hands I wouldn’t mind having on me. The garment had ties instead of a zipper, though, so it was easy enough to fasten at my waist.
As I twisted and tried to find some give, I caught Kai checking out my butt.
“Take a picture. It’ll last longer.” I pulled the pants up a little higher and adjusted the ties as I fixed him with a coy look.
He pressed his lips in a tight line and dropped his gaze back to the caribou, which was still near the trough. “That won’t be necessary. You’ll need these.” He tossed a pair of soft leather boots to me. While the soles were rigid, the legs were floppy. The insides were lined with soft gray fur, and a pair of gray wool socks had been stuffed inside one.
He avoided looking in my direction again. “They’ll be big for you. We can stuff rags in the toes to make them fit better.”
I smirked as I sat on the bed and pulled on socks. “Oh, I’m sure you know all about stuffing things.”
His spine went ramrod straight. Probably not the only thing that did. I bit back my own smile, knowing I probably shouldn’tbe poking him like this. Instead, he should’ve been poking me, but humor was all I had left.
My socks from yesterday were now dry, thanks to the firepit, so I balled them up and shoved them into the toes.
Kai moved around the cabin, stuffing supplies into bags, checking straps, saddling the caribou, doing everything in his power to avoid looking at me or speaking to me.
I startled. Wait. Was he going to avoid me? When I acted cold like that, the guy I was with was toast, and I wanted to get away from him, pronto.
What an asswipe.
But then I caught him sneaking another glance as I stood to test the boots, his gaze dropping to where those pants clung before snapping away. I gritted my teeth. Nope, I didn’t play games unless I was the one in charge.
As I finished, he guided the caribou toward the door.
When he opened it, a rush of cold wind sliced through, and I sucked in a breath. Harsh white light spilled across the floor. Bulky, dark shapes crowded the doorway, wearing fur hats rimed with frost, scarves pulled high, and coats thick enough to blunt the wind that shoved in behind them. The smell of cold iron and wet wool rolled in with their boots.
Kai brought the caribou forward and stepped through the doorway without acknowledging me again. As he went outside, he spoke to someone, but I couldn’t make out the words. Two soldiers entered and started shifting the wood and spreading out the coals in the firepit. I adjusted my boots once more and wiggled my toes against the balled-up socks. They weren’t the most comfortable of shoes, but I was already grateful for the warmth.
Kai returned to the doorway and gestured for me to come out. Though I wasn’t particularly fond of obeying anyone’sorders, I did want to leave this place. The cold set my teeth on edge even from here, but I forced myself forward.
As soon as I stepped out, I was engulfed in bright white light. Though the sun above was watery and pale yellow, it reflected off the miles and miles of snowy terrain. Eight more warriors clad in fur coats had arrived on their massive caribou, and three other saddled caribou stood close by to rescue us. Yes, they’d arrived just in time to keep my absolutely incredible massage from reaching a very happy ending.
I sucked in a breath and hissed it out through my teeth. At least the cold was distracting me from all that. My nose went numb almost instantly, and the ache in my ribs and hips flared as if the bruises had been waiting for permission.
“You’ll need these,” Kai said, and held out a gray scarf and hood. His fingers brushed my jaw as he tucked the scarf around my neck and over my nose. His knuckles grazed my cheekbone and lingered just long enough to register heat through the cold. He then pulled the hood down to cover my ears, and his thumbs pressed briefly at my temples to seat it.
Every place he touched buzzed.
“Thank you.” My voice was muffled under the wool. He seemed to care for me right now, but I hated hot and cold actions. He needed to make a fucking decision. He was the king, for holy sakes.
His eyes flicked to my mouth, then away. “You will be of no good to our court if you die.”
Wow. Who said romance was dead? Clearly, they hadn't met King Grouchy of Hot and Cold. Benefiting his court was the only reason for me to be alive, but at least that reminded me where I stood with him.
Maybe he wanted to keep face in front of his men, but still…I wasn’t fond of it, especially after how intense that massage session had gotten. That definitely hadn’t been just a normalphysical encounter, and I refused to be anyone’s secret or side piece. He’d have another thought coming to him if he believed that.
