Page 41 of Winter's Scorching Kisses
She believed him. He was a military man through and through, she could sense that, and he had a mission to get them to the ice giant castle as soon as he could.
Mathar dismounted from behind her and landed in the powdery snow, sending it flying with the sudden movement of his legs. Then he reached up and wrapped his hands around her waist, and drew her off the back of the horse. As she slid off the horse, she rushed to place her hands on his chest to keep distance between their bodies.
His warm skin felt good under his fur shirt, and she wished she could cuddle up to the warmth like she had this morning. It was so darn cold up here that she wanted to cuddle an ice giant! It was both laughable and alarming.
Once her slippered feet landed in the soft snow, she pushed her hands against his chest, breaking their contact. Reaching up, she wrapped the fur around her shoulders nice and tight.
“Thank you.”
“Do whatever you need but don’t go far,” Mathar warned her, seeming unaffected by their touch while her heart was thundering away under her ribcage.
Adorra nodded before rushing off through the deep snow. Her feet were freezing in her soft slippers, which weren’t meant for this environment. She wanted to get back to the horse as soon as she possibly could.
Mathar called out behind her, “Not too far!”
She rolled her eyes as she scowled at the area around her. He was such a pain. As she rounded a thick-trunked tree, her foot caught on something under the snow. She let out a small squeak as she saw the snow rising up to meet her face.
Closing her eyes, she braced herself for the cold embrace of snow, but nothing could prepare her for the shock of her life. She landed, “Oomph!”
It was freezing cold!
Pushing herself up on her arms, Adorra looked around and found she was out of sight of Mathar. Good. She was fairly certain he would’ve laughed at her, and she really didn’t need that embarrassment.
Throwing herself back onto her feet, she brushed off the snow quickly. First, she didn’t need the snow melting on her clothing and chilling her, and second, she didn’t want evidence of her fall on her when she returned to Mathar.
Once she was finished brushing the flakes of white fluff off her dress, she took a moment to gaze around at the snowy terrain. It was like nothing she’d seen before. It was beautiful, and the fresh snow was pristine. She loved the contrast between the green pine trees and the snowy crystals that clung to the branches. It made her long for the holidays, a time for family, friends, and a lot of good food.
If only she had family. Mathar had given her some hope, but until she saw Jasmine alive with her own eyes, she was going to be careful how excited her heart got.
Slowly, her feet began to shuffle her way through the snow-covered forest. She was sure she wasn’t going too far, but she wanted a look around. Wrapping the fur tight around her body, she continued. This was the first time in her life that’d she’d been up in the mountains. Her whole life had been spent all the way down on the plains. This was so new and fascinating.
The distant sound of a trickling stream pulled Adorra even further into the winter wonderland that surrounded her. She followed the sound until she broke out of the trees to find a small stream. Thin ice had formed around the banks of the stream, and she took it all in. After everything that had happened, it was a bit of peacefulness that she was thankful for now that her life had been turned on its head. It made life seem not so bad and slightly more magical.
She heaved a sigh and felt a little tenseness ease off her shoulders.
A hand wrapped around her mouth and pulled her back, stifling the scream that tried to rip out of her throat.
“What did I tell you about going too far?” A familiar voice growled in her ear in a harsh whisper.
Adorra quickly relaxed her body even though her heart was racing for its life. It wasn’t a stranger. It was just Mathar scaring her witless.
She wanted to answer him, but he kept his hand firmly clamped down around her mouth, careful not to block her nose. She looked over at him from the corner of her eyes and cast him a couple of raised eyebrows. She wanted to ask him why he wasn’t letting go of her mouth, but his hand was preventing her from using her words.
Raising a hand, Mathar pointed a finger across the stream in a silent gesture.
Adorra turned her head to face forward. Her eyes scanned the area around, but she didn’t see what he was looking at. She shrugged her shoulders.
Mathar’s hand moved directly in front of her face, and she followed his finger until her eyes bulged at the sight across the small stream.
A large furry animal stood in the forest, effortlessly blending in with the environment around them, and she had to wonder how long it’d been there. And how she hadn’t noticed it!
It was huge. It was just as massive as the stallion Mathar rode. She felt herself tremble, and if Mathar’s hand hadn’t been on her mouth, she would’ve let out a whimper. The creature was like nothing she’d ever seen before. It was clearly at the top of the food chain up here.
Her heart thundered away under her chest.
It looked like a cat, but it was huge. She felt her heart putter in her chest as the beast turned its golden irises towards both of them. It blinked. And then just stared at them like it was processing what they were. A long tail twitched behind it as it continued to eye them in return.
Adorra just prayed it didn’t think they were prey. Or if it did decide they were prey that Mathar would save her.
