The tree branches overhead tinkle with the wind, and suddenly Jak’s wing extends over my head, blocking the snow that drops from the branches above us. The snow hits with a muffled sound and rolls off his wing before he withdraws it and gives it a slight flap to dispel any lingering snow before folding it against his back again. He looks down at me from his greater height, a thoughtful look replacing the one of contentment he wore just moments earlier.
“You are quiet,” he murmurs.
Heat climbs into my cheeks, and I shrug. I feel as awkward as a teenager with her first crush. Damn, I thought I outgrew this years ago. I peer up at the trees, their iced branches pale against the bright blue of a cold winter sky, as I carefully choose my words.
“I am just appreciating the moment,” I reply.
Jak’s white brows rise in surprise, but he tips his head and thinks about it for several heartbeats before nodding his agreement. “It is a beautiful Yule. The weather has cooperated for once.” His lips suddenly twist with amusement. “The winter storms in this realm seldom give us any peace. My siblings and I often traipsed through the worst weather hunting for winter berries.”
I chuckle at the mental image his words conjure, and I glance over at him curiously.
“Are you still close with any of your siblings?”
He freezes for a moment before his lips thin in a small grimace. “Frost demons are very territorial. While we freely travel from our territory to other realms to socialize with other demons, and even welcome other races we may encountercrossing through our own icy realm, we do not tolerate each other’s company very well after reaching maturity.”
“Oh,” I murmur. Though I am relieved to hear that they aren’t bound permanently in isolation here, the lack of lasting familial structure makes me feel sad for him. Conversely, I am also a little envious that he is spared from the constant drama I endure. “Don’t you ever get lonely?”
Okay, maybe I’m fishing a little now. I just need some indication that he also wants this to continue.
He doesn’t answer right away. What is worse is that his expression is now completely unreadable as he considers my question. He looks cool and remote, like a lonely prince walking alone within his kingdom, his pale blue eyes skimming over our surroundings in silence.
“I am not human,” he says at last, as if that explains everything.
My heart plummets. He is not human. It’s a gentle reminder that he doesn’t feel things the same way I do. Crap. I need to recover things fast before I embarrass myself further by breaking into tears in the middle of the woods. I force a laugh, and his eyes snap to me in surprise.
“Of course not,” I reply. “I don’t expect anything.”
His eyes slowly blink, but I am distracted by something glowing crimson just over his shoulder. Red berries. Magic, glowing red berries swirling with light hang from the evergreen bushes. The plant itself reminds me a little of juniper, but the berries themselves are out of this world. They remind me of tiny red lights on a Christmas tree. Happy, jolly, beckoning me to them with their cheerful glow.
“Jak... are those—” I whisper and he turns his head to peer in that same direction.
A satisfied smile curls his mouth, and his horns dip in a small arch as he nods. “Winter berries.”
My lips part and I gape at the berries in awe as I stumble through the snow toward them. I am conscious of Jak’s presence close behind me as he follows, but for some reason that awareness feels distant. All I feel is the beckoning warmth of those little berries. My throat tightens with a parched feeling as if I haven’t tasted a single dewy drop of moisture, and my tongue feels thick in my mouth like a piece of dried-up shoe leather. Whatever magic these berries hold, it seems that I am entirely susceptible to it as I stumble again and fall to my knees in front of the bushes. I scramble forward through the snow, reaching for them, desperate for the sweetness that they promise.
“Careful,” Jak cautions as he catches my wrist in one elegantly fashioned hand. I look at him in stark betrayal, but his smile is sweet as he returns my regard. “You will burn yourself. Here, watch how it is done.”
Burn myself? I eye him, mystified, as he suddenly removes a pouch from his belt. He holds it with one hand while his opposite hand reaches for the berries and pinches them off high on their stem, removing the entire cluster along with several leaves. He gives it only the briefest glance before placing the entire bunch into the pouch and reaching for the next cluster. My fingers itch to help him, but I hang back and watch in fascination as the berries glow brighter just before he pinches them. They flame like mini-infernos, and their glow doesn’t dim in the least until just before he drops them into the bag.
It looks simple enough. Nodding to myself, I remove my glove to reach for another thick cluster. I place my hand back on the stem and mimic the same snapping motion he used. The cold stem doesn’t even budge. I frown down at it and adjust my grip only to be pricked by a long, sharp thorn. Cursing, I yank my hand away and direct an affronted glower at the male chuckling beside me.
“Apologies, Shawna. I did not think. Allow me,” he murmurs.
His hand slides against mine as he grips the cluster and deftly snaps it off with his long fingers. I frown at them in frustration, and he makes a slightly choked sound as he stifles another chuckle. I peer at his hand and then down at my own, and my own lips twist wryly. His pale hands are not only significantly larger but clearly more powerful. I wouldn’t have imagined a slender stem to be so hard to break, but it’s a reminder that I’m in another world with its own rules. Rules that I will have to accept and live with if I remain. I try not to be embarrassed at how obviously useless I am at the moment.
“I guess I’m not going to be of much help,” I reply with a wry smile.
Jak gives me a sympathetic look, his own lips curving into a small smile in reply. “It does not matter. If I had been thinking clearer, I would have given you tools to bring with you.” His eyes drop to my hand, and he suddenly takes my hand in his and lifts it so that he can examine it. He hisses softly between his teeth, and I peer down at it curiously. To my surprise, my fingers are coated in blood that has steadily dripped from a tiny wound where I pricked myself. With the cold air numbing my bare hand, I hadn’t even noticed that I was bleeding.
“What the... how did that happen?” I squawk in dismay as I grip my injured finger tightly to apply pressure. “I swear there wasn’t anything more than a tiny red mark when I let go of the stupid thing.”
Jak clicks his tongue and nods. “It is a small wound and the cold air constricted the blood vessels just long enough that it evaded your notice. It is not serious, but with your thin, soft human skin, you should be careful. Many plants in these woods are similarly barbed, and several of them are quite toxic.”
“Perfect,” I mutter. “Useless and injury-prone.”
His lips tip in amusement, and I forget to breathe entirely when he brings my finger up to his face so that his mouth canclose around it, his tongue stroking sinuously along the fingertip as he gently sucks upon it. The warmth of his mouth is not intense. Actually, it is a bit on the cool side. But for some reason that triggers a quiver of excitement deep within my belly. After the marathon sex last night, I wouldn’t have imagined that I would be quite so sensitive today after getting all of that sexual tension out of my system. But it appears that such feelings return quickly when it comes to Jakfros. What’s more, I feel like something hot has kindled deep within me and is now lunging upward in response, filling my veins with liquid fire.
It is a miracle that I’m not collapsing into a moaning pile of mush melting through the snow.
