Erik rises to his feet, keeping me close and supporting my legs to remain wrapped around his hips. “Asha?—”
“Take me to the fire,” I say. “Don’t let me go.”
Heat bursts to life in his eyes, a desire purer than I ever thought I’d experience.
Instead of carrying me to the cabin, he turns swiftly toward the forge, every step taking us closer to the warmth of the fire that smolders in the bowl beside the anvil.
A single lump of crimson coal rests inside the bowl, its glow gentle now that its fire has died down. The volatile substance will issue a constant heat.
I’m not sure if it will overcome the freezing air, but as soon as Erik steps into the forge, I’m surrounded by warmth.
It’s a small building with an open front but with walls on all other three sides, along with a ceiling.
Somehow, the warmth stays in.
His fur coat hangs on a nearby hook, and he snatches it off the wall, dropping it onto the top of the anvil before setting me down on the fur in a sitting position.
I’m already tugging at his pants and then my own, lost in the desire filling my body. His hands slip beneath my shirt and up across my back and breasts, stroking me through the material before he descends lower. I lift my hips off the anvil so he can drag my long pants off before returning to me.
His mouth burns kisses across my pelvis before he buries his head between my legs, his tongue stroking me, making me moan with need.
I take hold of his shoulders, pulling him back up to me. “I want more.”
He fills me and then I’m lost to the rhythm.
I refuse to close my eyes as I take every overwhelming, soul-consuming thrust, my mind and body bursting with pleasure until my breathing is ragged and my moans are coming hard and fast.
His lips crash against mine, his growl thrumming through me and pushing me over the edge.
I cry out as the orgasm breaks across me, taking him with me into a release so complete that my arms and legs feel formless, my world breaking apart and coming back together in his arms.
Erik draws me to the floor, our bodies still connected, somehow pulling the coat down first and lowering himself onto it while I rest down on top of him.
That’s how we stay for a long moment, where I once again settle my head to his chest and try to fight my fear that his heart will stop beating.
It thumps in my ear, a strong rhythm.
Please, let it never stop.
He speaks first, his voice quiet. “How did you bring me back?”
I lift myself upward, smoothing the dark hair away from his forehead and cheeks. “What do you remember?”
His expression is solemn. Far too solemn. “I remember you calling me ‘Vandawolf.’”
He’d asked me never to call him that name again.
I’d screamed it in my grief before he died in my arms.
He strokes my back, as if it doesn’t matter. “I chose to leave you. Iwasthe Vandawolf at that moment. It was always easier for me to make painful decisions if I put aside my own heart and thought like a wolf.”
He falls silent for a long moment. Then, “I never expected to survive any of this. When my father died, I counted my days. When my brother died, I actively wished for death to come for me. When I sent you away from the city, Iplannedto die. I knew the humans wanted to self-govern, as they should. I was ready to die.”
His eyes seek mine. “You pulled me back from the darkness then. You kept me alive. And again, now in the snow. The darkness swallowed me, but you reached in and wrenched me back out again.”
I try to find the ability to breathe. Even speaking feels impossible while my heart is pounding so hard in my chest.
I’m not sure how I can explain to him how I woke him when I don’t really know myself.
