Page 12 of Polar Destiny
"Isla, what are youdoing?"
Isla? Yes, that's me. I'm Isla. And I'm hugging. Hugging is nice. I laugh, it comes out as a giggle. That sounds nice. I do it again. And again. My voice is an instrument makingmusic.
"Would you stopgiggling?"
"She's going crazy. We've made hercrazy."
"Isla, snap out ofit!"
My pillow moves and my hands are pressed back against my body. Something holds my wrists. I want to hug the pillow again, but it's fighting me. I try to turn around to snuggle against my heater, but somehow it’s grown arms that are keeping me inplace.
"Isla, open youreyes."
I'm not sure I can do that. Is there an instruction manualsomewhere?
I struggle against the pillow. I don't want to open my eyes; I want to be warm. It's not letting me move, so I open my eyes to see why that is. Blue sapphires are looking at me. My pillow has gems. Hownice.
"Isla, that's good, well done," the pillowsays.
Oh no. The pillow isn't a pillow. I'm not hugging a lifeless object. I'm hugging a Viking. Torben. Afraid of what I might see, my gaze wanders down from his face to his chest to... Yes. He's naked again. I shy back, against another body. Please kill me now. Not another nakedman.
This recurring nakedness is getting too much. Do these men never wear clothes? And how can they be comfortable lying skin on skin with - oh no. Skin. My skin. A lot of it. Torben is still holding my hands, so I explore by mentally working myself through my body. My feet can feel the furs on top of me - us - and my legs are sandwiched between warm skin. I disentangle myself from Torben, who I'm clinging to like a monkey. My legs squeezing his. My naked skin on his hot, I mean warm, body. I notice something poking into my belly. Please tell me this isn't - seeing Torben's anatomy earlier today did not prepare me for feelingit. Not at all. I look down, but the blankets are hiding the view. Not that I want to see it. Torben follows my glance and a slight tinge of rose pink appears on hischeeks.
"Ràn, take my place," he groans and rolls away from me. Ràn is standing above us, looking down with a semblance of a grin. Wow, his lips can actually curve in that direction. He's not wearing a shirt - again - but when he starts taking off his trousers I protest. "Leave them on...please."
A snort comes from behind me. I finally see who my radiator is. Finn. "Hello, honey," he whispers into my hair. His breath flutters against my cheek, summoning goose bumps on my skin. Now that Torben is no longer holding me, I roll on my other side to look at Finn. I lift the blanket and look, not preparing for the consequences. A gorgeous chest is smiling at me, with defined abs that aren't too muscly, just perfect. And below... phew, he's wearing boxers. I've never been so grateful to see fabric. I let the blanket drop again. Better not do any further inspection. A large body slides into our group snuggle from behind me. Ràn. He's still wearing his jeans. I enjoy the rough feeling of them on my legs, even though they're colder than Torben's skin was. My body is still shivering a little, but the ice inside has almost melted. A big arm slides around myboobs.
"Ràn!" I shout, turning around, my elbow flying into his chest.Oops.
He feels around - squeezing my right breast in the process, but I'm trying not to think about that - and then settles on my belly. What atroll.
"Sorry," he grumble-whispers in the quietest voice he seems to be able to do. I'm sure that everyone in the room heard him. Yes, they did. Finn starts snortingagain.
"Shut up, all of you," I complain.Boys.
At least it's warm. I focus on the warmth, ignoring the fact that it comes from lying in between two half-naked men. I snuggle into the warmness, my exhausted mind slowing down a little. Half-asleep, I grab onto something to cuddlewith.
And then I finallysleep.
* * *
When I wake up,the first thing I do is feel around me for men. I'm in luck, this time I'm alone under the fur-covered blanket. Good. I know many girls would think the opposite, but I've had enough of guys for a while, thank you verymuch.
I yawn and stretch, looking around the room. I'm alone with the fire, reduced to a few flames dancing on glowing redcoals.
"Hello? Anyonehere?"
A shattering sound comes from the kitchen, then the door opens, a grinning Finn behindit.
"Hey sleepy-honey!"
"Sleepy-honey?Really?"
"Well, you're sweet as honey, and your eyes are still half closed, so I think it's an accurate description." He shoots me a cheeky grin. I shake my head in denial. What have I got myselfinto?
"Torben!" He shouts towards the kitchen. I hear a muffled shout back; it sounds like its coming from the attic. A thump comes from the other room, then Torben steps into the room - fully clothed,luckily.
"The others are on the way. We're going to have achat."
