“Nearly,” she agreed.“Which is why we both need to get warm.”Sitting down beside him, she began to undo her own boots.He watched as she removed her socks and then pants as well, leaving her standing in the tiny room with only her brief panties on.The purely male part of him took note of the fact they were black lace.As well as her nicely shaped legs and athletic calves.But the rest of him was still wondering how he was going to get warm without any dry clothes to put on.
“I’m going to stoke up the fire, really get it blazing,” she said without preamble, as if standing half naked in a rundown cabin in the middle of a Swedish wilderness was an everyday occurrence.“Can you spread out the blanket so that we can lie on it on the bench?But leave enough room to wrap around both of us.”
“Both of us?”he asked stupidly.
“Shared body heat is the best way to get warm,” she added matter-of-factly.
Aha, the plan was beginning to dawn on him.He did as she had asked, making a little bed for the two of them on the bench.It wasn’t very wide, but they both should be able to fit side-by-side.“What now?”he asked.
“Take the jacket off, we’ll use it as an extra cover over both of us.Then you lie down and get comfy.I’ll be with you in a second.”He lay down, the silver material icy to the touch and watched as she finished her task of hanging up his wet clothing as best she could near the now-raging fire to try and get them dry.He wished she would hurry up, because he was beginning to shiver again.At last she walked over and stood beside the bench, staring down at him.Was that hesitation he saw in her eyes?Whatever it was, she drew in a deep breath as if reaching a decision, then lifted her own sweater and thermal shirt over her head, revealing a matching lacy bra.The all-male part of him woke up a little more at the sight.She was bloody gorgeous.Better even than he’d imagined.But he didn’t have long to take in all that glorious skin, as she crawled in beside him, draping her jacket over the top of their bodies, then wrapping the silver blanket around them both, tucking it in over their feet, and pulling it up over the heads as she lay down, so they were cocooned together.Her skin was icy to the touch, much the same as his.But her breath was warm on his cheek as she settled her head against his shoulder.
Well now, this was much better.He had to say he was almost enjoying himself.He wasn’t any warmer yet, but there was something special about having her body draped against his.Something intimate, and deeply satisfying.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
AURORA WAS EXQUISITELY aware of each and every spot along her body that was touching his.They were like two frozen icicles swathed together, but that didn’t stop her nerves jangling.She wasn’t even sure this body-heat thing was going to work because she’d never been in a situation exactly like this before.But it was part of her police training; survival in extreme conditions.And this was what they’d told her to do.The only thing they hadn’t mentioned was that being skin to skin with someone—especially someone you were highly attracted—to could be an excruciating experience.Even though his skin was cold, she remained acutely aware of his lithe body, of the muscles in his arm as he wrapped it around her waist, of the firmness of his pecs where her cheek rested, the curling hairs tickling her cheek.
He’d been shaking like a leaf when she’d first nestled in next to him, but now the shaking had almost ceased, and he’d gone as still as a statue, almost as if he was holding himself completely motionless.Was that for her sake?Or had he just lapsed into a hypothermic coma?
“You okay?”she asked, suddenly worried.
“Yep, never better,” he replied.But his words were clipped, as if he were keeping them tightly controlled.
“Are you getting any warmer?”
“Nope.What about you?”
“Not really,” she admitted.She was beginning to doubt the wisdom of her training, but before she could say anything more, he seemed to lose some of his stiffness.
“Maybe we need to get closer then,” he said, wrapping his arms tighter around her middle and snuggling right in against her.And she did the same, until they were almost melded together, and she couldn’t tell where she ended and he started anymore.“How about now?”he asked once they were settled, but she could barely form a reply.His chin was resting on top of her head, as she nestled into the hollow next to his collarbone.
“Umm, better, I think,” she said at last.And that was an understatement.She wasn’t sure her insides were any warmer, but her skin was certainly tingling from the feeling of him against her, sending shots of heat up and down her limbs.They lay in awkward silence, Aurora suddenly unsure what to say, or even whether to speak, worried it might break the spell.The only sound was the crackle of the fire as it took hold.A very peaceful sound, if Aurora had to say so.At least Jiro seemed like he was going to be fine after his dunk in the freezing water.And she needed him to be okay.Because he had scared the shit out of her when he’d disappeared through the ice.The sight had transported her back eight years in the blink of an eye, to the lake near where her family had lived on the outskirts of Malmö.When her mother had died.
“I’m sorry if I scared you today.I shouldn’t have run off like that,” he said into the stillness.She could hear the contrition in his voice and almost recoiled away from him in shock.How had he known what she’d been thinking?Something about his remorse made her want to tell the truth, however.Something about the intimacy of them trapped together trying to get warm made her want to open up.
“You did scare me,” she admitted.“Probably more than you’ll know.When I saw you fall… I panicked.I almost forgot all my training.I just wanted to rush over and save you.”She wasn’t telling him this to make him feel guilty about disobeying her, and she hoped he understood this.
“I know,” he whispered.“I put us both in horrible danger.”
“You did.But it wasn’t just that.I lost my mother in similar circumstances.And I was terrified I was going to lose you the same way.”
“Holy fuck, Aurora, I’m so sorry.”
“How could you have known?”she said, a touch brusquely, not really wanting his pity, more his understanding.And even if he had known, she doubted it would’ve stopped him from running in the heat of the moment.“But I wanted you to know, because those memories affected me too, affected the way I reacted.The eight-year anniversary of her passing is in a week, and she’s been on my mind, influencing my decision-making process, probably for the worse.So maybe we’re both a bit to blame for the debacle out on the ice.Maybe I should never have taken you that way.”Maybe she should’ve followed her gut instinct and gone around the lake instead of the logical course of straight across it.But then that would’ve led them straight into the arms of the sniper.
Eight years ago, she hadn’t seen her mother fall through the ice; she’d been too busy sulking by the edge of the lake because of something her father had said to her earlier that morning.She’d mentioned to him that the local community center was looking for volunteers, and she thought she might sign up now that she had turned eighteen.But he’d scoffed at the idea, asking her why she would want to work for free with a bunch of deadbeats and druggies who lived on the street.He was always dragging her down, telling her she wasn’t good enough.Then he’d forced them all to go ice fishing with him, said that they needed to do more thingsas a family.Yeah, right, they only ever didthings as a familythat he wanted to do.It was always his way or the highway.Astrid had managed to disappear a few minutes prior, sneaking back to the house so she could go on her phone with her friends.Karl was always more lenient with Astrid; she knew she wouldn’t get into real trouble for stealing away.
It was the sudden, strange silence that made Aurora look up from where she was sitting on a fallen log on the lake edge.Her father was standing like a statue, one hand on his fishing rod with the line still positioned over the hole he had drilled in the ice, the other raised halfway in the air, as if to make a point—he liked to talk with his hands and he was always making some point or other.But her mother was nowhere to be seen, and it took Aurora a few seconds to figure out why.When Aurora had last looked up, her mother had wandered away from where her father had set up the chairs in the middle for them all to sit and watch him fish, heading towards the opposite side of the lake.Karl always checked the ice first before they ventured out, and he gave them strict instructions to follow his footsteps, to make sure they stayed away from the thin patches.So, it was unusual for her mother to just wander off.
At first, Aurora had scanned the far bank, wondering if her mother had crossed to the other side and was now walking in the woodland.But she wouldn’t have had time to make that distance since Aurora had last glanced up.So, her disappearance didn’t make sense until she suddenly understood.
“Fader,” she had screamed.“Where is Mamma?”But her father didn’t move, didn’t react to her screaming.So she ran out onto the ice, completely ignoring his instructions to stay in his footsteps.It took her precious minutes to run to where her father still stood unmoving, even as she yelled at him to do something.What was he waiting for?
Right before she reached Karl, he slowly began to wind in his fishing reel, placing it tidily on one of the chairs just as she skidded to a halt beside him.
“Where is she?What has happened?You have to go and rescue her!”she yelled, tears streaming down her face.
“You stay here,” he ordered, face strangely devoid of all emotion.Then he began to walk—not run—in the direction she had last seen her mother go, his gait strangely robotic and awkward.Why wasn’t he hurrying?
