Page 2 of Ice Bound

The stranger lowered his hands, only the barest hint of a smile on his face. "I have made no threat to you, nor will I," he said, and there was mild confusion in his voice. As though he couldn't conceive of someone wanting to harm her.

She found his voice pleasing, almost musical. She examined him as openly as he had her. His midnight black hair fell freely around his shoulders, looking smooth and soft despite its dampness. His features were well-defined, his face shaved clean with apparent care. But it was his eyes that she kept finding herself drawn back to.

What could a man like him possibly think of a woman like her? She was plain, average, completely uninteresting. She had tightly curled brown hair and large brown eyes that looked too big on her face. Nothing to inspire interest, much less lust.

Slowly, she lowered the hatchet. "What is your name?"

He seemed to consider the question for much too long, and when he replied, there was an odd heaviness to his voice. "Neledrim."

"Neledrim," Anna found herself repeating. Her grip loosened on her weapon, andit dipped a little lower. The near hysterics she had suffered when she learned someone was approaching her home were all but gone now, replaced by a calm that seemed to radiate from the man before her. "You may stay until the storm breaks. I...I haven't got much, but if you are hungry, I was just sitting down to biscuits and tea."

"I will not impede upon your stores," he said, his eyes finding hers again, as though he was just as helpless but to look as she.

Anna forced her gaze away, finding his stare flustering. "You're welcome to sit," she said, gesturing past him to the chairs near the fire.

Neledrim removed his heavy cloak with such casual grace that Anna scarce saw him move. She gasped at the sight of the simple clothing now revealed: a long tunic in faded blue, a worn leather belt, and black trousers tucked into well-used leather boots.

"You have to be freezing!"

Old memories tried to rise up, but she forced them back down. She knew what exposure to such weather could do. She ushered Neledrim to a seat directly before the hearth, returned the axe to its normal place, and removed the blanket from her own shoulders to settle over the traveler's. She guessed it was a long unused maternal instinct that had her before him, tugging it down to make sure he was covered well enough.

Her fingers stiffened as she realized the nature of that thought. If that instinct had been stronger…

"Why were you out there? Inthat?"

She looked up, and for an instant she thought his features were tight, strained, as though he was in pain. The expression was gone so fast that she may have imagined it.

"There was no sign of a storm when I left the last place I sheltered."

She dropped her gaze again, smoothing the edges of the blanket down. When she realized she was lingering, she rose and stepped back, hands brushing down the front of her dress. Anna couldn't place the man's accent, and he looked unlike anyone she'd ever seen. Davis, her husband, had been handsome, with bright red hair and blue eyes, his body muscled by long days of work on the farm. Neledrim was a contrast of dark and light, beautiful in a way that—

No. She wouldn't let her mind wander to such places. Neledrim was a stranger, and he would be on his way in a night or two. She'd be alone again soon.

"Terrible to have been caught out there tonight. But you're fortunate to have found my home. There isn't another for miles." She moved away, back to the half-spilled cup oftea that was already starting to cool.

"My name is Anna."

"We are well met, Anna," he replied, twisting in the chair to follow her movements. The way he pronounced her name, softening and drawing out the vowels, was endearing. "I hope I give you no reason to take up your little axe again."

She could feel a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. The animals had been her only partners in conversation for so long, she'd almost forgotten what it was like to have someone respond. "I...I can't allow you to sleep in here. With me," she said. "Take what time you need to warm up. There is a barn outside. It's clean and dry, and will keep you warm."

"It is more than I could ever have hoped for, Anna," he said, facing the hearth. "I did not know if I would find respite..."

Returning to the sitting area, she hung the kettle over the fire. "Are you sure you don't want a drink? Something to eat?"

"The blanket and the fire are enough for now," he replied, and Anna wondered for a moment if he'd subtly shifted forward in his chair to be nearer to her.

She turned her attention to the kettle. The shutters rattled in the wind, and the house had resumed its tired creaks and moans. Her eyes lifted to the window that had burst open earlier. Neledrim's gaze followed hers.

The wind quieted, retreating to a distant wail.

Anna poured her tea carefully and sat in her rocker, one hand gripping the worn arm, remembering the man who had shaped the chair so carefully.

"Where are you from?" she asked. She didn't want to think about Davis any more. It would always lead to thoughts of—

"A place very far away that no one has ever heard of," he replied, his tone indicating that there wasn’t much more to say about it.

Their gazes met again, and Anna's heart picked up speed. There was so much in his eyes, so much that she didn't understand. They seemed to swirl with color now that the firelight was flickering on his features, and there was a depth to them she'd never seen before. She had to look away, focusing on the tea as she sipped it.

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