The sudden silence was jarring.
The roar of the storm faded to a muffled hiss beyond thick logs, leaving only the creak of wood, the soft patter of snow on the roof, and the sound of their ragged, uneven, breathing that was loud in the small space.
Mallory leaned her hands on her knees and sucked in air. Her whole body shook from cold, adrenaline, and the delayed realization of how close they’d come to being stranded in the open.
Get a grip, she told herself. Panic won’t help. It never had.
The shelter was simple: a stone firepit in the center, neatly stacked wood along one wall, and a narrow bench built into the logs. The place smelled faintly of smoke and pine resin, old and comforting, and evidence that others had survived storms like this.
She brushed snow from her coat and hair, sending icy clumps to the floor. “That was…” She let out a breathless laugh that sounded thin even to her own ears. “Intense.”
Jakob shook himself off like a wolf shedding water. Snow scattered from his shoulders and damp curls clung to his forehead. He looked different in the dim light, wilder somehow. Like the storm had stripped away whatever polished appearance he normally wore.
The realization made her pulse skip.
Mallory realized she was staring and forced her gaze away. Heat crept into her cheeks that had nothing to do with the cold.This is not the time, she reminded herself firmly. Fear had a way of confusing things. Heightening them. Making emotions feel bigger than they really were.
“I’ll start a fire,” Jakob said as he broke into her thoughts.
Grateful for something practical to focus on, Mallory watched him kneel by the pit. His movements were efficient and practiced. His hands were steady as he struck flint and sparks leapt bright in the dimness. Flames caught quickly and licked up through the kindling before they threw golden light across the wooden walls.
Warmth began to bloom and loosened the knot between her shoulders.
Mallory inched closer to the fire and held her hands out. She rubbed them together as feeling slowly returned to her fingers in sharp, prickling waves. She closed her eyes for a second and breathed in the smoke and pine.
She didn’t notice Jakob watching her at first. She felt it instead. A presence at her back. Heat that wasn’t coming from the flames.
Her spine stiffened but not with fear, exactly, but awareness that was too sharp and way too intimate.
He stepped closer, his boots quiet on the packed earth floor. “Hold still,” he murmured.
Her breath caught.
Every sensible part of her brain told her to step away, to put space between them. Proximity plus adrenaline was a dangerous mix. But her body didn’t listen.
Jakob lifted a hand and brushed a clump of snow from her hair, both slowly and carefully as if she might spook. His fingertips grazed her scalp which sent a shiver straight down her spine.
Mallory swallowed.It’s nothing, she told herself.Just snow.
Then he brushed another.
And another.
The world seemed to shrink until there was only the soft drag of his fingers, the warmth of his so close to her back, and the crackle of the fire. Her heart thudded so loudly she was sure he could hear it.
This wasn’t nothing. When he swept the last bit of snow away, his hand lingered just a moment too long.
Like in her dream, Mallory leaned into it without meaning to and her head nuzzled slightly toward his touch like it was the most natural thing in the world.
The realization hit her a split second too late. Jakob sucked in a sharp breath and jerked back as if burned.
Mortification flooded her.Idiot.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered and hugged her arms around herself as if that could contain the embarrassment, or the disappointment. “I didn’t mean to…” Shame choked off her ability to speak.
“You didn’t do anything wrong.” His voice was strained, thick, like he was forcing the words past something tight in his chest. “I just…I shouldn’t…”
He turned away and paced once as he ran a hand through his damp hair. He looked almost tortured with his rigid shoulders and clenched jaw, like he was holding himself back from something powerful and dangerous.
