“Are you hurt, baby?” I scan what I can see of her.
“N-n-no, I’m just s-s-stuck.” There’s a scrape on her cheek. Her lips are blue, her teeth chattering relentlessly. “I tried to g-get a-a t-tree, but—”
“Don’t worry about the tree.” I tug her hat lower onto her head, protecting her ears. “I’m gonna get you out of there.” Ducking, I get in her face, forcing her to focus on me. “Right now, okay?”
“Y-y-yes.”
I hate to move her, especially if she has serious injuries, but I don’t have much choice. She’s been out here too long.
Carefully, I shove the tree off her completely.
Her chest rises and falls with labored breaths.
I loop my arms beneath hers. “Hang on to me.” I haul her toward me, wrenching her free of the firm hold the crater of snow has on her.
Coughing and gasping, she clings to me. She’s soaked to the fucking bone, the damp and cold from her clothes sinking through mine.
I give a whistle, trusting Zelda to follow, then cradle Bellamy in my arms. Holding her to my chest, I push through the snowtoward the snowmobile. I want to check her over right here and now, but it’s too cold. I have to be logical. It’s the only thing getting me from A to B without losing it.
Get Bell back to the cabin. Get her warm. Keep her safe. Fall apart later.
Her dark head lolls against my chest as I race back to the cabin. Uncontrolled shivers rack her body. I can’t tell if she’s conscious. Her breaths are ragged, but at least she’s breathing.
The snow falls harder. I break through the trees and come to a stop in front of the cabin.
Inside, I set her in a chair, lay her back, then get to work lighting the fire.
Once it’s going, all my attention is on Bellamy. “You need to get warm.” I pull her to her feet, unzip her thick parka and toss it unceremoniously on the floor. She shivers uncontrollably, her skin sickly pale.
“I’m-s-so-I’m sorry, H-H-Hank. I just wanted a tree.” Hands clutched to her chest, she lists to the side like she’ll fall over any second.
I grasp her upper arms, keep her upright. “I don’t care about a fuckin’ tree.”
I could have lost you, Bell. I could have lost everything that matters.
Her teeth chatter. “C-cold…”
“I know. Fuck, I know.” Making a decision, I reach for her wet clothes, suctioned-cupped to her body. “I’m gonna get you naked, sugar,” I warn.
She nods, eyes glazed. When her shirt lands with a plop on the floor, I go for her boots and pants. When she’s stripped down to her panties and bra, I grab the thermal blanket from the back of the couch and drape it over her slender shoulders, yanking it closed. Still, she shakes.
I swear, enraged by the stubborn chill that won’t leave her bones.
Fuck. Too cold. She’s still too cold. She needs more warmth.
“You need body heat,” I grit out.
Bellamy’s eyes go wide. “Y-yours?”
“Yes.”
Her weak nod is all the permission I need.
I strip down, adding my jeans and shirt to the pile on the floor. She stares at me, opens the blanket. I step into her, my fingertips pressing her shoulder blades, pressing her against me. Her skin’s still cold, but I hitch a breath as her perfect body settles around mine.
“Hank,” she whispers against my collarbone, her breath the only thing warm about her. Her slender body quakes as I mold mine to hers. The snowflakes in her hair melt against my skin. The swell of her breasts presses into my chest with every inhale.
I kiss her mess of chestnut hair. Inhale the scent of pine and crisp, clean snow. “You’re okay, baby. You’ll be okay.”
