“It’s snow in Hell, not fire,” he muttered as he set the logs near the back door. He leaned into the storm to pull the door closed.
“It’s not that bad,” she told him.
He didn’t look at all amused when his gaze swung to her. Snow slid off his jacket to plop on the floor. “I’d rather wrestle naked with an alligator then go back out there.”
She tried not to laugh at the picture his words conjured. “That would be extremely uncomfortable for your twig and berries.”
“You’re not kidding. Those things look rough and pointy. Also, I can assure you, it’s definitely not a twig; it’s more like a tree,” he told her with a wink.
She recalled his obvious erection last night; the man was not exaggerating. Elyse shifted her gaze to the window over the sink. “Did you hear a crash?”
“A tree fell in the woods.”
“Oh. Is it still snowing, or is the wind blowing it around?”
“It’s still snowing. There’s about three feet out there now and more coming. Do you need anything while I’m outside?”
“You’re going back out there?”
When he grinned at her, she almost sat down to fan herself.
“If you want to stay warm, we need more wood,” he said.
She could think of a much better way to stay warm that involved a different type of wood, but she bit her tongue. Turning away, he opened the door again, cursed when snow blew in his face, and descended the stairs. He closed the door and vanished into the storm. She had no idea how they were going to get out of here, or how long they would be stuck here for, but the last time she saw the woodpile outside, there hadn’t been much wood.
The door opened again, and Saxon trudged in with another bundle of wood in his arms. Snow swirled in behind him before he dumped the wood and closed the door. “Ihatewinter.”
“You’re living in the wrong part of the country then. Although, Florida might not be so good on your sensitive skin,” she teased.
He glanced at her before removing his jacket and hanging it on a hook near the door. He bent to untie his boots. “The sun doesn’t bother me.”
“What? How is that possible? My guards tried to hide it, but I noticed they stayed mostly in the shadows and only came out during the day when it was necessary. The other vamps they brought here only came at night, so I assumed the legend about vampires being unable to tolerate sunlight was real.”
“It is for Savages.” He set one of his boots on the floor before turning to the other. “But vampires who don’t kill innocents aren’t affected by the sun. The more a vampire kills, the stronger they become, but they also become weaker. The more a Savage kills, the less they can tolerate the sun until they can’t go in it at all. Your guards probably hadn’t killed enough to be completely intolerant of the sun, but they were on their way.”
“It’s all so crazy.”
“That’s the vampire world. So, what other vamps did they bring here?”
“Huh?” she asked.
“You said,the other vamps they brought here only came at night.What other vamps?”
She stared at him as she tried to figure out what he was talking about, and then it hit her. If she could, she’d kick herself in the ass as she tried to come up with a response. “Sometimes other vamps would stop by.”
“Why?”
Saxon rested his hand on the wall as Elyse shrugged, but she couldn’t hide the anxiety or fear shimmering in her eyes.
“To hang out with their buddies, I guess.” It was the worst excuse in the world, but she had no idea what else to say.
“They were brought here to hang out with theirbuddies?”
“What can I say?” she asked with what she hoped was a playful smile while inside, turmoil rolled through her. “Savages are social folk.”
“Uh-huh,” he said.
Those two words made it clear he wasn’t buying what she was trying to sell him.
