Page 42 of Winter's Scorching Kisses
Its pink tongue flicked out to moisten its nose. And she had to wonder if it was hungry and looking for an easy meal because she was as easy as they came up here in the mountains.
The cat yawned exposing giant yellow canines, that stood out against the pink of its intimidating mouth. She felt her legs tremble, and even the cold of the day was quickly forgotten as she got a good glimpse of the cat’s mouth. It closed its mouth and then gave them one more glance before turning around and lumbering out of the area. It slowly disappeared into the forest, blending in easily with the snow around it because of its fluffy white fur.
Only then did Mathar let go of her mouth.
Adorra spun around. “What was that?”
“Here I thought I told you not to go too far.” He chastised her.
“I lost myself. This place,” she waved a hand around her at the forest, “is stunning.” She stuck her chin out, daring him to argue with her, knowing he couldn’t deny the beauty around them. Each branch looked like it’d been draped in fine sparkling jewels.
“Stunning as it might be,” he pointed a finger in her face, “you could have ended up being that mountain cat’s lunch.”
“I’ve never seen one before. It was so… large.”
“It’s a mountain cat and something that could easily kill you, which is why I warned you about straying too far.” His brows drew down over his obsidian eyes as he scowled at her. “Try not to get yourself killed, will you? My mission is to bring you alive, not half chewed and mangled.”
“You’re right.” Adorra sent him a wobbly smile because he was right. She had strayed, and she couldn’t deny it. “Next time though, just tell me why I shouldn’t wander off on my own.”
The scowl never left his face. “Or you could just obey my orders the first time around.” Then he spun around and headed back towards his horse.
Adorra was quick to follow after him. She didn’t want to be left behind when there was a massive mountain cat wandering around the forest. She wasn’t fond of the idea of becoming a snack.
She placed her feet in the wide footsteps he left behind him, hoping to get as little snow in her slippers as possible. Now that the threat of the mountain cat was over, she felt her toes freezing in her shoes. If she weren’t careful, she wouldn’t have any toes at all when they arrived at the ice giant castle!
As they came up beside the horse, she felt the need to explain her actions even further, “I just heard the sound of the stream, and when I saw it, I thought it was beautiful.”
“It could’ve been the last beautiful thing you saw.” Mathar scolded her as he bent next to his horse, lifting the hooves and checking them before they continued through the forest.
Adorra glared at his backside. “I was apologizing for my actions, the least you can do is take it.” She wasn’t accustomed to apologizing to many people, least of all an ice giant. He should take what he was getting from her and be happy.
He snorted. “I don’t have to do anything other than get you back to the castle alive.”
Adorra rolled her eyes. Fine then. Whatever made him happy.
Once he was done checking the dinner-plate sized hooves of his stallion, he mounted up on the saddle. “We need to get moving again.”
He offered her a hand. She stared at it for a second before slipping hers into his. Warmth encompassed her hand, and she basked in the joy. Then she slipped her other hand into his, and he swung her up on the saddle before him in a rustle of skirts.
“How are your feet doing?” Mathar asked, and when she glanced behind her, she found a trickle of worry in those dark depths.
“Freezing.” She said honestly.
“Here,” he reached behind him and drew out a couple of extra boots, “they won’t fit you, but they should keep your feet warmer than they are.”
“Thank you.”
He grunted in response.
Quickly, Adorra snatched the boots from him and slipped them over her slippered feet. They had to be a pair of his boots with the way her feet swam in them, but they were fur lined and a lot better at protecting her feet.
“Ready?”
She barely had time to nod, before he sent them flying through the forest with a flick of his reins.
