Page 37 of The Heart of Winter

If words had colors, his would be the shade of arctic snow. He turned back to stare out at the rain-slicked parking lot.

Gosh, so much hostility, I could swim in it.

Okay. I stepped back into the line.

Stood there for a moment.

And Winter kept waiting.

And the rain kept falling.

His whole body was wound tight with nerves. It was way too obvious he was in a hurry. I was pretty sure he struggled to ask for my help, after fuckingsnitchingon me to my father!

When it was my turn, I picked up the folder and tucked it into my bag. I intended to give it to Lorens in the morning.

On my way out, I sent Winter one last, calm glance. Our eyes met again. His long, white lashes flickered. There was something in his energy… I slowed down. Stopped by the glass.

What should I do? Ignore this? I could feel it, he was in a desperate situation.

It was even overshadowing his irritation at my constant presence. His hostility had slightly diminished.

We stood side by side, staring at the rain-drenched parking lot.

His Uber wasn’t coming. He kept checking his phone. Over his shoulder, I caught a glimpse of the app’s red notification. I couldn’t read it, but I could guess what it meant: his ride had been canceledagain.

"There’s a big conference at the hotel next door," I murmured. "Ubers are booked up."

Winter clenched his jaw. Surely he was holding back an unpleasant response. But after a few moments, something must have dawned on him. He didn’t have time for this. Finally, he turned to me, his pale silver-gray eyes locking onto my face.

"I accept the ride," he said, like the words were broken glass in his throat. Like it physically hurt him to say it.

A lot. It must’ve cost hima lot.

"But where I need to go is pretty far. It'll take at least half an hour," he warned.

"No problem. I’ve got nothing better to do. The drawing can wait."

His eyes landed on my chest. And here it was. A new scene:

An elf prince was leaning toward the ear of a haughty human king who looked like a twin of my father, whispering something, his face full of anger.

I was on my knees, bowed low, my back stripped bare, streaked with long, raw, angry welts left by the whip, vivid beneath the torchlight.

Winter’s eyes bored into the picture with searing intensity, though his face seemed overall fairly calm. It was a somehow odd contrast.

After analyzing it for a few seconds, he straightened up, and his eyes locked with mine. I was almost sure he was gonna comment on the scene, but he didn't!

On a certain level, his body was radiating some tense, disgruntled energy, but he only let out a sharp exhale and bit out, "Fine. Let’s go."

We moved in sync, sprinting across the parking lot as the rain pounded down. Winter kept pace effortlessly—hell, if we were racing, I wasn’t sure I’d win.

I unlocked my car remotely, and we both slid inside at the same time.

"Jeez, it’s pouring out there," I muttered. "Alright, where to?"

Winter’s face was dotted with a few translucent raindrops; two slid down from his brows and shimmered on his white lashes. He tapped something on his phone, then turned the screen toward me, showing a GPS map.

"Here," he said shortly.

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