Page 27 of Winter's Scorching Kisses
There was no way she could return to the manor with his words ringing in her ears. They had Jasmine. Even if she doubted it, she couldn’t return back to her world, not with hope lingering in the air.
As Adorra stood there, the colder air of the mountains began to sink under the layers of her gown. Goosebumps rushed up her arms, prickling her skin, as the tiny hairs tried in vain to trap any warmth they could.
She wished she could rub her hands over her arms, but she wasn’t that lucky. They were still firmly tied behind her back. Gritting her teeth, she struggled against her restraints, the itchy fibers of the rope rubbing her skin raw.
With a sigh, she gave up. The giant had tied them well, and unless she happened upon a dagger or some other sharp edge, she was out of luck in escaping her bindings.
She just hoped Jasmine would be at the ice giant castle because Adorra was about to face an unknown future with this ice giant, and she needed her sister to be alive to make it all worth it. Otherwise, she would end up being the biggest fool in the world. Assuming she wasn’t already a fool. She believed the word of a giant.
It was like none of the stories she’d been told as a child had taught her anything.
Hope finally bloomed bright in her chest. She’d come to realize she might never see her sister again, and now there was finally the promise of seeing her sister hanging in the air. She just prayed it wasn’t a cruel game the ice giant was playing with her.
If Jasmine was at the ice giant castle, Adorra vowed to get them both back to human civilization. And if Jasmine were pregnant, then she would help her sister figure that out as well. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for her sister. They were two peas in a pod.
Rustling from the tent drew her attention, and she watched as the ice giant strode out of the tent, all the covers wrapped up in tight rolls in his arms. He tossed them onto the ground and turned his attention back to the tent itself.
He pulled the furs off the wooden rods of the tent, rolled that up and then carried them all over to his horse that was tied up to a nearby tree.
He was fast and efficient, and she was glad for that because she was eager to get on the move. The promise of seeing her sister still hung in the air, and she couldn’t wait to get a glimpse of Jasmine’s face again. She wanted nothing more than to see Jasmine was alive and well. After all the death in her life, she needed this glimmer of hope. She clung to it.
Adorra continued to watch the ice giant tuck everything away into the packs on his horse. It had to be the lighting of the sun, but from this angle, she would almost call him attractive. He had a sharp cut to his jawline, and as her eyes skimmed over it, she noticed there was a bit of silver scruff on his face. He hadn’t shaved in a few days, and it gave him a bit of a wild look that she was able to appreciate. His skin was tan despite being an ice giant who lived under the constant battering of snow, which gave her the impression that he had to be outdoors most of the time. His silver hair was cut short, and those onyx eyes looked a little less like the pits of hell.
As her eyes drifted down his monstrous frame, she eagerly eyed all his mind-blowing displays of muscle. The difference between him and Lord Gothar was stark. Edmund had been of a softer build, not as bad as some portly lords, but he’d enjoyed having other men do the heavy lifting for him. This ice giant was a warrior through and through, and she couldn’t help but appreciate what was right in front of her eyes.
Then Adorra’s eyes moved back up his body and as she looked over his face again. Her hazel eyes collided with his onyx eyes. A blush seared up her neck and crept across her cheeks. He’d caught her gawking at him!
Quickly, she turned away feeling completely mortified. She’d just been curious, but she was afraid of giving him any ideas. She might find him intriguing, but that was all. She wasn’t interested in anything more from an ice giant, and she definitely hadn’t meant to ogle him.
Glancing back over her shoulder, Adorra saw a smirk adorning his lips, and she frowned. All she wanted to do was strut over there and smack that smile off his face. Turning her entire body toward him, she scowled. “I’m not interested.”
“Your words say one thing, but I saw how your eyes were undressing me.” The ice giant had the audacity to chuckle.
“I was not!” Adorra blustered, struggling against the rope that bound her hands behind her back. She was itching to scratch that damn smile off his irritatingly cocky lips. She’d been studying, not undressing.
“You were undressing me stitch by stitch.” He argued.
Her mouth popped open, and she gaped at him like a fish out of water as she tried to come up with a response, but she couldn’t come up with a single suitable retort.
“I was only curious about you.” Adorra shrugged. “I’ve never seen an ice giant before, or any giant actually.”
All she knew about them came from stories. And so far, he looked nothing like the stories described. Where were the fangs and sharp claws? She glanced down at his hands. They looked exactly like hers, except thicker and manly. And as far as she’d seen, there were no fangs in that mouth.
“Very few humans have seen an ice giant.” He confirmed. “We don’t tend to stray from the safety of our mountains. Up there, we have very little to worry about.”
“Unless you’re kidnapping human women.” Adorra corrected him.
The smug smile on his lips slowly disappeared, and she began to smile. Good. She’d taken a stab at him like he deserved.
“We haven’t kidnapped anyone.” He growled at her.
“Excuse me?” She arched a delicate eyebrow. “I think by the fact that you stole me from my chamber and now have me tied up like a holiday goose means you kidnapped me.” She tugged her wrists against the rope hoping they would loosen up.
“At the request of your sister.”
“My sister asked you to tie me up like a holiday goose?” Adorra rolled her eyes. “Excuse me, if I doubt that.”
The ice giant frowned, and she could see the irritation building in his dark eyes. “All I was told was to bring you to her. Nothing about how I did it.”
