Page 24 of Baby It's Cold Outside

“Don’t panic.” Hot breath stirred her hair as a hand settled on her hip and gave her a reassuring rub. “I’m not going anywhere. But you have to let go of my arm before you crack the bone.”

Her fingers flexed, feeling the muscle, the sinew, the soft hairs against her palms for the first time, and she heard a grunt of pain.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered frantically, starting to shake, trying to make her mind engage and her fingers release their death grip. “I’m sorry. But I can’t let go.”

“Here, how about if I hold you?” He shifted again, and the hand on her hip moved to wrap around her waist. “I’m not going anywhere.” The tone was gently persuasive, but she could hear the tension beneath and knew her nails were digging into his arm.

She sucked in another tortured breath and got a lungful of his scent: sandalwood soap and the musty hint of sweat. His big body surrounded her, his arm and her hands trapped between them where she clung on to him.

Her teeth chattered as the quaking terror charged through her body.

“When you let go, put your arms around my neck,” he soothed. “Then you’ll know where I am, okay?”

She nodded, and the top of her head butted his chin.

He grunted again, but didn’t say anything.

“S-s-sorry,” she said on a rattle of teeth.

“Let go, Katherine. Now.” The demand snapped out, and her fingers released instinctively. Fear shot through her, but he folded both arms round her waist, drawing her close as she flung her arms around his neck.

Her whole body shook, the tremors raw and uncontrollable. She squeezed her eyes shut, moisture seeping out of the corners. The only sound was the rat-a-tat-tat of her teeth, echoing like machine gun fire in the still dark.

A slow breath gushed out against the top of her head. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.” Large hands stroked the slope of her back, sure, certain, safe.

Her fingers clutched at his nape as she pressed her cheek against his collarbone and felt him swallow against her ear. The frantic punch of her pulse finally began to slow a little, as did the pitch and roll in the pit of her belly.

“The store’s got a backup generator,” he said, the gruff, matter-of-fact tone more soothing than any lullaby as his hands continued to stroke. “It’ll kick in any minute.”

“T-thank you,” she stammered, her teeth still refusing to cooperate.

She flattened herself against the hard planes of his chest, trying to push closer. To take more of the comfort he offered and stop the shaking.

“Try humming.”

“S-s-sorry?”

“It’ll stop your teeth from chattering.”

“O-okay. What s-should I h-hum?” she asked, only to recoil when he laughed.

What was wrong with her? Had she regressed into childhood and lost the ability to make the simplest of decisions?

“How about ‘Santa Claus Is Coming to Town’?” he suggested, cutting neatly through her panic attack. “I’ll sing, you hum along.”

The seasonal song came out in a husky baritone, not particularly strong, but pitch-perfect. She couldn’t say the same for her humming.

His large hands bracketed her hips to hold her steady while they stood together in the inky blackness, and he chanted the silly lyrics while she hummed tunelessly along. A wave of strong emotion washed over her as her teeth finally lost the stuttering chatter: partly relief that the horr

or had begun to retreat into the black hole it had lurched out of, but mostly bone-deep gratitude, that Ryder Sinclair with his big hands and rough baritone had managed to catch her before she’d tumbled down the black hole after it.

Santa was making his list and checking it twice for the second time before the emergency lights finally flickered on with an electric hum.

Kate blinked a couple of times, but as soon as the broad expanse of Ryder’s chest became visible in the pearly glow, she dropped her arms and took a small step back, utterly self-conscious.

Ryder kept his hands curled loosely around her waist, halting her retreat as he peered at her, the intensely blue gaze shadowed with concern. “You okay?”

She nodded, sure the blush burning up her neck was probably vermilion.

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