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It’s faint through the steel, but it’s my name.
“Here!” My voice comes out cracked and too quiet. I put my whole body against the door and hit it with both palms. “I’m in here! The release doesn’t work!”
“Stand back from the door.” Merek’s voice, right on the other side. “All the way back. Now.”
I stumble back against the shelving.
The outside handle rattles once. There's a click, and the door swings open.
Merek fills the doorway, his horns nearly brushing the frame. His eyes find me, and whatever he sees on my face makes his expression go hard.
“Jesus, Tara.” He steps inside, and the heat rolling off him cuts through the freezing air. “Why didn't you use the emergency release?”
“I tried.” My teeth are chattering so hard I can barely get the words out. “It doesn't work.”
His gaze snaps to the red knob beside the door. He reaches over and presses it. The plunger slides inward without catching anything.
He tries it again.
This time, his jaw tightens.
Then he turns back to me.
“How long have you been in here?”
The heat of him hits me like opening an oven.
“I don’t know.” I have to force the words out between shivers.. “Twenty minutes? I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine.” He’s already reaching for me. “Can you walk?”
“Of course I can walk.” I take a step. My feet don’t do what I tell them, and I stumble.
He catches me before I can fall, one hand under my elbow and the other around my waist, and the heat of his palms through my shirt is so sudden and so good that I almost cry.
“I’ve got you,” he says, much more quietly. “Come on. Let’s get you out of here.”
Merek carries me into a small office off the kitchen and sits down in the desk chair with me on his lap.
Before I can protest, he wraps both arms around me, pulling me against his chest. Heat pours off him, soaking through my thin vest and slacks. I whimper and then pretend it never happened.
“Better?” he asks.
“Are you kidding? You're a freaking furnace.”
“Then stop squirming and let me warm you up.”
I settle against him, tucking my frozen hands against his chest. His arms tighten around me, and he shifts one enormous hand over mine, pressing them flat against him.
Oh, God. That feels good.
My shivering hasn't stopped, but it's beginning to ease, and I'm suddenly very aware that I'm sitting on the lap of an enormous, ridiculously attractive demon with my face against his neck. I don’t care, I just tuck my nose tighter against his heat.
He smells like woodsmoke.
“Kit!” he calls toward the corridor. “Bring me a hoodie and some hot tea. And get William. Tell him to bring the first-aid bag.”
His hand moves slowly over my back as he speaks, keeping me tucked against him.
