Page 134 of The Heart of Winter

In the fading firelight, I could barely make out his face. He hesitated, as if he couldn’t find the words to answer. Slowly, I raised my hands and brushed my fingers against his cheeks. I saw him shiver slightly, looking for a moment like he wanted to pull away. Did my touch overwhelm him? Annoy him? So I whispered instead, "Thank you… for what happened between us. My first time was pretty good, considering the circumstances. Very memorable."

Winter seemed even more flustered now. I could feel his hesitation, it was almost palpable. And then, suddenly, he did something I didn’t expect. He tilted his head up, and I felt his soft, warm lips graze mine. A light, fleeting kiss, but it sent a wave of something through me, something blissful. I wanted more, but he pulled away decisively and tugged at my hand.

"Come on, I’ll help you get in."

We walked to the edge of the stream. Winter led me to a different spot, where a flat stone sat just below the water’s surface. He helped me lower myself down in a somewhat awkward way; my ass landed on the rock, while my injured leg remained on the shore.

"Wow, this is actually pretty comfortable! I think I can get up on my own. This stone is like a seat."

"I’ll leave you to it."

Winter leaned down and tossed a few more sticks onto the fire. The inside of the cave flickered with growing shadows, as his shapely figure emerged from the darkness.

Then he gathered both blankets—rinsing the second one again—picked up our underwear, and left the cave without a word. I noticed he turned right, heading back up the volcano’s slope to dry everything.

I was alone.

At first, a wave of melancholy washed over me. Well, I wasn’t a virgin anymore. So, I guess I didn’t die one, after all. That had been a real concern of mine, however funny that might seem. But… had I really pushed death that far away? It still felt like it was lurking just around the corner.

I sat there for a while, and soon, irritation began to creep in. Was this how my days were going to look now? Going back and forth between the mattress and rinsing off in a hot stream?

And then there was this… unbearable pressure in my lower abdomen, the constant state of arousal I tried not to think about all the time. My heats never lasted long, but even two days could be hectic. And this one hadn’t even reached its peak yet.

Sitting in the water, I let my thoughts drift.

What were my parents thinking right now? How were they dealing with losing a son? My chest tightened at the thought of my dad. I knew this would devastate him. With his sensitivity and nervousness, he would be in a terrible state now. He wasn’t a very extroverted person, but I could always feel his quiet love. My father, on the other hand… I wasn’t sure if he’d react the same way. For him, this was probably more of a professional failure. The son meant to inherit his company… gone. Had he ever seen me as anything other than an asset? Had he ever really seen me as just his child? I wasn’t sure I even wanted to know the answer.

Then I thought about my brother. He had always been so focused on himself… I doubted it would take him long to move on from mourning. Maybe he was even glad. He would be the sole heir.

Finally, I thought of Blue.

Possibly he was the one, along with my dad, who’d actually miss me. Perhaps he was hating himself right now because his enemies had made their move and a member of his family died.

One thing was certain, none of them had spent today in a good mood. No matter how deep their feelings for me ran, a situation like this could crush even the most imperfect family. The brutality of disasters like this… There were hundreds of people on board, all lost because of some mafia bastard’s madness.

Fucking Anzo Ferro. It had to be mafia revenge against him. May the earth swallow him whole in prison! And his goddamn adopted son, Rocco, who was definitely the mastermind behind the vengeful attack. So many innocent people at the bottom of the ocean, all because of his blood feud…

For a moment, I thought about Winter’s family. I only knew Skye. I had never met any of his other brothers. They didn’t seem particularly close; Winter, the only beta, appeared to be a bit isolated from his alpha brothers, but what did I know? Just like with my own family, a tragedy like this had to have hit them hard.

Finally, my eyes landed on the cans of peanuts. Two were already empty, four remained, along with two packs of pretzels and some small energy bars.

I was hungry. I wanted something more substantial than dry snacks washed down with mineral water, but there was nothing else here, just bare rock and us, left to fight against an indifferent world.

***

I must have dozed off, because when I woke up, I felt Winter's warm, hard body beside me. A wave of heat surged through my lower abdomen, and a strong contraction in my core hit hard. I turned toward him, blindly groping in the darkness that had now become complete, the fire was gone.

"Winter," I whispered breathlessly, "help me."

His arms immediately wrapped around me, and I felt his lips on mine. Then he rolled on top of me, his weight on my chest surprisingly pleasant, dizzying. I spread my legs to make room for him, not waiting, and he sank into me—ah…! It gave me such a deep, satisfying pleasure to feel his hardness stretch me, widen me, push relentlessly into me.

I held him tightly, and we rocked in the darkness, my body trembling, climaxing once, then twice, then a third time, with the typical ease and effortlessness of a heat, riding the sweet waves of ecstasy. This time, Winter's mouth was on me, leaving kisses on my lips and neck. He seemed quite interested in my second gland, mouthing over it for a while.

"Greedy much?" I chuckled, but he only responded with an amused grunt.

Afterward, I didn't even get up, but I felt Winter wiping my lower abdomen with something that seemed to be his washed socks. Then he pulled a blanket over us, and we both fell back asleep.

But it wasn't over yet, the heat was just getting started!

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