Page 31 of Winter's Scorching Kisses
He watched her in silence with those obsidian eyes, and she wondered what he might be thinking.
Adorra tried a shot in the dark. “You truly don’t have to worry about me attempting an escape. You claim to have my sister and have proven with a couple of stories that you at least spoke with her. I wouldn’t just abandon my sister when she’s a captive of ice giants.”
He frowned slightly as he sighed. “We haven’t harmed her.”
“I have no proof of that.”
“Perhaps you should learn to trust me.”
“That might be a little hard.” She scoffed. “I’m still tied up like a goose, and you did kidnap me.” Adorra rotated her body, so her hands were between them. “Untieing my wrists might be the first step in me learning to trust you.”
Mathar’s eyes narrowed in the dark that surrounded them, before he withdrew a long sharp knife out of a sheath on the side of his waist and held it up in the air, the metal glinting at her in the rising moonlight.
Adorra’s eyes widened, as she backed up. “What are you doing with that?”
He stormed towards her the knife still raised in the air and a fire burning bright in those dark eyes.
She froze on the spot and squeezed her eyes shut.
The fur was ripped off her shoulders, and then he grabbed one of her wrists, and she heard a short tearing sound. Her hands fell limp at her sides, and her eyes shot open as she looked down at her hands. They were free!
“You released me?” Adorra glanced up at him, slightly confused that he would suddenly begin to trust her not to do something ‘stupid’.
Mathar pointed the tip of the dagger in her face, and she went crosseyed. “You betray my trust, and there will be consequences. Your sister wants you brought back alive, and I will do that by any means necessary. If you do anything, not only will you be trussed up like a goose, but I’ll gag you and tie you to the rump of my horse.”
Adorra brought her hands up in front of her and rubbed her wrists where the ropes had rubbed her skin raw.
Mathar glanced down at her wrists, and for a second she saw something flash in his dark eyes. Something like regret that he’d caused her pain.
He turned away from her without another word. He may regret causing her pain, but he wasn’t about to give her an apology like he should.
Reaching down, she rushed to pull the fur back over her shoulders. The fur was cold from sitting out, but in no time it gathered the warmth from her body and buffered her from the cold air.
Mathar set up the tent in record time, and she watched on, fascinated by what was happening. As a lady, she’d never slept in a tent before and had definitely never seen one set up. It looked easy, or at least Mathar made it seem that way.
Once he finished, he came to stand beside her. “I assume you would enjoy a fire?”
“Yes,” Adorra whispered reverently. “A fire sounds more than just delightful.” Her body trembled in delight at the very idea of a raging fire to warm her back up. Night was creeping up on them, and it was only getting colder.
As Mathar bundled up some logs to create a fire, she continued to massage her wrists, wishing they felt a little better, but she was sure that by the morning they would feel much better and no longer be sore. At least, she didn’t have the rope still tied around them. Her arms tingled slightly as the blood rushed back into them.
Once Mathar got some dry wood set up and got it lit, the fire quickly ate up the kindling, and then began to swallow the larger logs with greed.
Adorra approached the fire like a moth to the flame. She was helpless to resist. She then sat down on the ground, her legs going out to the side, the skirts of her dress covering her legs. She kept the fur firmly wrapped around her, as the heat of the fire radiated out and chased away the cold night air.
Mathar plopped down beside her with a huff.
“Thank you.”
“For?”
“For starting a fire. I’m sure you must be used to the cold, as you’ve lived up here since you were born.” Adorra glanced over at him and watched the light of the fire flicker over his sharp facial features reflecting off his silver hair and the scuff on his face.
“As I said before. Jasmine wanted you brought to her alive, and you aren’t built for this weather. I figured a fire would drive away the cold and prevent you from catching a chill and your death.”
Adorra shrugged. “It’s still nice of you even if it is something you’ve been ordered to do.” Although she was positive the orders had come from someone else other than her sister. There was no way they’d taken her sister and then elevated her to a position of power. Mathar was taking orders from an ice giant. That much she was sure of because it was the only thing that made sense.
Mathar snorted. “If you keep annoying me, I can always put the fire out.”
