But then the hands left her arms and the comforting presence disappeared. She could only tuck tighter and pull the furs closer as her shoulders began to shake once more.
The movement around her faded in and out of her awareness as the aching in her entire body took over every other sensation. Her feet and legs seemed to have disappeared. When she told them to move, they did nothing she asked.
“Charlotte.” The voice sounded near her ear again, warm breath tickling her nose.
She worked hard to answer, to open her eyes and respond. But that took so ... much ... effort.
“We have to get the wet clothing off you. Do you have something else to wear?”
She blinked, and this time managed to open her eyes and make his words penetrate her mind. Clothes. Wet. What was wet?
He was moving her furs, shifting them off her lap. When she made her eyes open, she could see him unfastening her moccasins, but couldn’t feel anything he did. He was speaking aloud, though his words barely registered.
“I think you have buckskin leggings underneath these furs around your legs. Thank the Almighty. We can just take off the furs for now. The underlayer seems more dry than wet.”
At last, he pulled her knees back up, the movement nearlytoppling her backward. Her legs wouldn’t bend when she told them to. He wrapped an arm around her back and covered her legs and feet in layer after layer of furs.
“There. I’ll add more wood to the fire, and the water should be almost warm. Once you drink that, you’ll start to feel better.”
The occasional sounds of his movements broke through the haze in her mind, but she didn’t try to decipher what he was doing.
Finally, his hand rested on her shoulder. “Can you drink this warm water?”
Before she could bring his words into enough meaning to know how to respond, something hard touched her lips. A cup.
She parted her mouth and accepted the liquid he poured in. The warmth kept coming, and she finally shook her head.
No more. She could manage nothing else right now. Every part of her was so exhausted, she didn’t have the strength to sit up.
The hand on her shoulder slid around her back, drawing her closer, giving her something solid to lay against. Finally, she could begin to relax. To give in to the yawning exhaustion that wouldn’t be refused.
12
Damien held Charlotte in his arms long after he should have laid her down to sleep. She’d stopped shivering a while ago, so he was fairly certain she wasn’t still suffering from the cold. She was simply exhausted.
Every part of him wanted to protect her, to give her a safe place to rest. As much as he told himself that was the only reason he sat with his arms wrapped around her, her head resting against his chest, she’d become more to him than he was ready to admit.
Such a delicate little thing in the midst of this harsh mountain wilderness. Yet time and again, she displayed a strength few women possessed. That strength might drive him to distraction at times, but he couldn’t help brushing his finger down her temple now. Finally allowing himself to watch her.
Her beauty made his chest ache. That nearly porcelain skin, paler now than usual. The long lashes fanning over her cheeks.
Those lashes rose, and he stilled, barely daring to breathe. She stared forward at first, her own breathing lightened, asthough she was trying to determine where she was before she reacted.
Then her head pulled away from his chest, and she lifted her gaze to his face. Wide eyes, full of worry and questions.
He needed to set her at ease. She’d been so benumbed by the cold, she might not even remember leaning against him to sleep. “Are you feeling better?”
She blinked, then her eyes returned to their rounded look, though the worry had gone. “I...” She pulled the furs tighter around her shoulders. She didn’t seem to know how to answer.
He reached for a cup of water he’d kept warm by the fire. “Drink a little more of this. It’ll heat you from the inside.”
When he held it out, she removed a hand from the furs to take the mug and sip. That ability was an improvement from before.
“Do you remember what happened?”
This time when she looked at him, the real Charlotte showed in her eyes. An expression a little haggard, but also wry. “I fell through. Glad the water wasn’t deep.”
Did she realize she’d strayed from the path he told her to take, and that was why the ice hadn’t held? A self-righteous part of him wanted to tell her, but she looked so fragile curled among the hides with her face so pale. There would be no benefit to making his point. He needed to focus on helping her recover.
