“What road is this?”
“Bell’s Pass.”
She struggled to recall where that was but gave up after a moment or two.
“Are you getting warm?” Hunt asked just as she was starting to drift off again.
She got the feeling he was interrupting her sleep on purpose, keeping her awake. Maybe she was worse off than she first thought.
“Am I sick?” She turned her head to look at him.
“I don’t think so. I don’t know your story, Freya, but I’ll make sure you’re safe and warmed up. I’ll clean the cut on your head. I’ll call someone to come get you.”
“I don’t have anyone to come for me.” She may not remember everything, but she knew that much with a strong conviction that echoed in her voice.
Hunt didn’t respond. Ahead, the road turned sharply, and he slowed for it. The crunch of tires on snow had a flash of a memory surging into her mind. Just as she was about to reach for it, it slipped from her grasp. The image floated away.
It was so frustrating not to know what happened to her or how she came to be lying in the snow on an unknown road. Had she been attacked? While the small town in Alaska was relatively safe, crime happened everywhere.
“Almost there.” Hunt’s voice roused her again. She lifted her gaze to the windshield. When they turned into an opening between the pines, the shapes in the darkness formed into a cabin.
Next time she opened her eyes, she was lying on a bed with Hunt looking down at her. His eyes were the color of oak.
“Freya, wake up. I need you to keep talking to me for a little while. I don’t know how long you were in the snow before I found you.”
She was shaking, maybe not on the outside but her insides felt like someone was using a jackhammer on her. She twisted onto her side, curling her knees to her chest. “So cold.”
“Dammit.” Hunt’s curse, low under his breath, had her alarmed that she really wasn’t okay.
She couldn’t even show how alarmed she felt. Surely that was bad.
But that was a concern for another time. Right now,
she needed to sleep.
He pulled a blanket off her and then unzipped her jacket. “I’m going to take off your clothes. You can’t get warm if your clothes are even a little bit damp, and yours are.”
She stared at his face. His features were pleasant, his jaw angled and shadowed by a trim beard with a reddish-brown cast. She liked his eyes best of all, though.
He maneuvered her so he could remove her jacket. Then he gripped the bottom of her sweater. When he pulled it up and over her head, she felt her hair crackle with static electricity.
Her hair was always unruly in cold weather. Living in Alaska meant it was always a mess. She reached up to smooth a lock from her face, but Hunt was faster. His warm, rough fingers stroked over her cheek.
She moaned at the feel of his warm hands on her freezing skin.
“You’re so warm,” she said.
His gaze flashed away from her midsection and up to her eyes. “I’ll get you warm, I promise.” In a swift move, he had her pants unbuttoned and slid them down her hips and off her feet. She had no recollection of him removing her boots, but she found she was barefoot.
“I’m wrapping you up now. I’ve got the fire going, and the cabin will heat up soon.”
A whistle sounded from someplace in the cabin.
“Is that a teapot?” She ran her tongue over her chapped lips.
“It is. You like tea?”
“Love it.”
“Good. I’ll bring you some to drink and warm you from the inside.”
He piled blankets on her again, tucking them around her toes and up to her neck. All of a sudden, her body seemed to catch on to the fact that it should shiver to warm her up.
She started shaking, teeth chattering. Hunt stared down at her with his masculine brows drawn low, then he rushed out of the room. When he returned carrying a mug, their eyes locked.
“I’m…shaking…so…bad,” she bit off before clenching her jaw to stop her teeth from clacking.
“Hell. Yes, you are. Can you sit up to drink some tea?” He contemplated her. “No, you can’t even take a sip in this state.” His jaw firmed and next thing she knew, he was ripping off his shirt.
She barely caught a glimpse of his muscled chest before he climbed into the bed behind her.
Her first thought was how big he was. Her second that he was blissfully warm.
Wrapping his arm around her middle, he tugged her against him, molding his body against hers from head to foot. He tucked her head under his chin and trapped her icy feet between his thick calves.
“Shhh. Try to breathe normally. Focus on taking a breath in. A breath out. That’s it, Freya. You’re gonna be okay.”
Chapter Three
Hunt gritted his teeth as another body-racking shiver hit Freya.
This wasn’t the first time he’d stripped a victim and used his own body heat to warm them. But never one whose ass fit so perfect against his groin.
The round globes tensed against him. He thought about his balls. Not how good they felt tucked close to her ass, but about them freezing off. It was the only way he’d make it through these next few minutes.
“Hunt?” Her teeth gnashed on another core-deep shiver.
“Yes?”
“Can I flip over? My front is so cold.”
His eyes closed momentarily on her request. Then he brought himself back into medic-mode. “Of course.” He helped her flip over, pinning her chilled front to his front, her arms crushed between them.
Tucking her head beneath his chin, he planted his hands on her spine, fingers stretched to give her the most warmth possible.
Aries looked over the edge of the bed at him.
“Can I ask the dog to lie at your feet? He’ll warm you up in no time.”
Freya hesitated, then she nodded, cheek rubbing against his chest. Biting back a groan, Hunt called Aries onto the bed. The dog knew just what to do, circling once before lying at her feet.
“Let’s talk about warm things,” he suggested. “I’ll start. A crackling fire.”
“H-hot cocoa.” She shivered, curling closer.
His body was very aware of her. Her shape, her scent, the feel of her skin warming under his touch. What he’d seen of her undressed scared him, though. She was so pale, nearly blue under what he perceived to be a naturally pale complexion.
Thank god he’d left her bra and panties in place.
He continued with their game. “A warm knit scarf.”
“Chicken soup.”
“I have some. As soon as you’re able to sit up, I’ll fix it for you. Hot cocoa too.”
Her fingers were still ice. “Here.” He trapped one hand against his chest. “Breathe in.”
She did, and he found himself following his own instructions. That was how he caught a whiff of her shampoo. Apples.
“Breathe out. That’s it. What else is warm? A sunny beach.”
She groaned. “That sounds so much nicer than Alaska right now.”
He chuckled, feeling her hair catch on his short beard. “Tell me about it. You’d think a man who works in snow and ice all the time would choose a resort in Cabo for his vacation, but no. Here I am.”