Page 72 of Abdominal Snowman

“If we can just get around this bend,” Soren yelled into the wind.

He darted to the side in a jerk of a movement, jarring her against his arms, and then his feet were pounding against the packed snow as he ran. It was only when everything stopped moving that Sage raised her head to take in their surroundings.

They were in a copse of trees back in the middle of the path they’d taken. His breath was still raking out of his chest raggedly as Soren walked them out to the edge of the mountainside, and from their vantage, they could see the overlook as it stuck out over the town. Powdery snow was still falling over its edge, until it was completely covered. When it finally stilled, the deadly snow glistened in the sunlight. The air was eerily silent in the aftermath, and Sage didn’t realize she was gripping onto Soren’s fur as tightly as she was.

Easing her grip, she lifted her head to look up at Soren.

“That was...”

“Fuckin’ scary, yeah,” he finished for her. His gaze tore back to the avalanche, little balls of ice and snow skittering the top of the mound. They both were silent in the aftermath of could-haves.

“Well, damn. I must be a good kisser to cause an avalanche.” Sage laughed in a small attempt to lighten the tension, but it was strained. Felt more like she was trying to convince herself.

A fang appeared as Soren curled his lips up, his brilliant blue eyes shining down at her.

“It looked more like sluff, but it could have been bad.”

“Speak English, please,” she requested, distracting herself with new information.

“Sluff is like, the powdery snow you see snowboarders disturb. Like… the wake from a surfer?” he offered, pulling his shoulders up by his ears in a shrug.

She grinned, endeared by his attempt at helping her understand. “That makes sense.”

“So, sometimes it’s nothing. All it would take is one branch to break off and disturb the new layer, we just happened to be in the wrong spot at the wrong time. It can take you down if you get stuck in its path.”

Her heartbeat had slowed, but she still felt… something. Not fear. She knew Soren had saved her and would do it again.

He saved me.

The thought made her almost steady pulse skip a beat, and the longer their gazes clashed, the weirder she felt.

Maybe it was gratitude?

She didn’t know.

What she did know was that he was warm. Soren protected her. He’d picked her up like nothing and raced through the snow to save her, protecting her from what could’ve been.

His breath was steady and his gaze heavy.

The air between them thickened, but it wasn’t because of the severity of what had just happened.

Sage stared up at him. “You’re taller this way.”

She hadn’t ever seen his abominable form this close before, the memory of waking up next to him foggier than she remembered.

His skin was pale, but he was warm to the touch. Claws lay against her skin from his fingertips, but they didn’t dig into her skin or hurt.

And the shirt was ripped, shreds of it moving with the breeze and teasing her with a glimpse of what was underneath.

He mistook her lingering gaze, and Soren tensed. “Sorry, I can shift back now. I know it’s a little… weird.”

Sage grabbed his shoulders when he moved as if he was going to put her down and held on. “No!” Her cheeks flamed as he froze. “It’s fine. You don’t have to, uhm, change. It’s okay.”

When he lifted his gaze to hers again, he was more serious than she’d ever seen him. Well, he was serious like the first night she’d been in his cabin.

“Are you sure, Sunshine?” he asked. There was something of a growl on the edge of the question, and it made her spine tingle.

Maybe that was her brain sensing danger, wanting her to run, but she didn’t want to listen.