Page 27 of Because You Loved Me

Husband.

The word caused a visceral reaction in her body and served as a perfect reminder of exactly what it was she was doing.

“Noa?”

“Sorry, what?” She focused on Asher, who had a flicker of a flame started in the hearth.

“Come sit on the couch here and warm up.”

“Right.” She nodded and tried to do as she was told, but with the first step she took, she stumbled; her ankle turned on the high heel and she almost fell to the floor. But somehow, Asher was right there to catch her. Again.

“Whoa.” His arm wrapped around her waist, and she had to resist the urge to lean into his warmth.

“I’m fine.” She tried to take another step and faltered again.

“I get it, Noa. You’re stubborn.” Once more, he swept her up in his arms.

It was starting to become a habit, and she was not used to being rescued in any way by any man. To her surprise, she didn’t hate it.

Asher set her down gently on the couch before pulling it closer to the fireplace. The fire had begun to catch, and the warmth she felt from it was immediate. He grabbed a wool blanket from somewhere and dropped it over her lap before sliding onto the couch next to her.

Without a word, he lifted her feet into his lap and, with gentle hands, undid the tiny clasps of her shoes. “Holy shit, woman. Your feet are ice cubes.”

“I don’t actually feel them anymore.”

He shot her a look of concern. “Why didn’t you say something?”

It didn’t feel like a question that needed an answer, so Noa simply watched as Asher wrapped his big hands around her feet. It wasn’t long before she started to feel the warmth from him seep into her frozen toes, followed by painful tingling.

“Dammit, woman. You could have gotten frostbite.” His words were sharp. But his eyes were full of worry. “What were you thinking?”

* * *

Asher expected her to fire back with another quick retort. He was very quickly getting the impression that she was the type of woman who wouldn’t back down easily. That was evident from the fact that he had to haul her out of the snow and into the truck before she froze to death just to prove her point.

Stubborn. She was also very stubborn.

And dammit if both of those traits didn’t make her look even hotter in his eyes. Asher had spent his entire adult life actively avoiding anything that would even vaguely resemble a relationship, so it had never been important to consider a woman’s qualities beyond the incredibly superficial. Until very recently.

“I was thinking that I would rather lose a toe, or ten, than get married today.”

He sat back, her feet still in his hands, and assessed his runaway bride. “You’re going to have to help me out,” he said after a moment. “I brought you here because the alternative was that you freeze to death. But I still deserve some answers about the crime I just became complicit in.”

She tilted her head and rolled her eyes a little. “Crime? Driving me out to…wherever the hell we are is hardly a crime.” She glanced around the small room and back at Asher. “Where are we, exactly?”

Noa had provided an interesting and somewhat entertaining, if not frustrating distraction, and Asher hadn’t had much time to actually check out his new home. He took a moment to scan the small, sparsely furnished room.

There wasn’t much to it. The cabin looked old but well made. It had obviously been cared for, judging by the condition of the fireplace and chimney. As well as the well-stocked wood supply stacked neatly beside it.

The couch was old but clean. Just like the rest of the room.

Hisroom.

Asher finished his quick survey of the room and looked at Noa with a grin and a shrug. “This is my house.”

“You don’t sound so sure.”

“It’s a long story.”

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