Page 73 of Abdominal Snowman

At that moment, Soren adjusted her in his arms, and she looped her arms around the back of his neck. It brought their faces closer, their puffs of breath fogging her vision.

With a chuckle, she pulled back a bit, and when the fog cleared, Sage’s breath caught.

He still looked like Soren. He hadn’t grown a snout, or ten more teeth or a hunchback. He was taller, thicker, clearly made of pure muscle. But it was still his gaze, still his voice. Still his touch.

Though…

She let her gaze wander over the expanse of his chest, and Soren stayed quiet, letting her study him. Or maybe he was afraid if he made a sound, it might spook her.

Sage had news for him.

She wasn’t scared at all. At least not anymore.

The sunlight cut through the trees and sparkled off the glittering ground, and where it cast streaks on them, it gleamed on Soren’s skin, against his…

Without thinking, Sage unhooked her hand and lowered it to his chest. The thicker fur catching the light there was iridescent. It looked so soft.

Her gloves were getting in the way and she huffed. More of it covered his arms. Exactly like human arm hair, but thicker, longer, and way softer. It probably kept him a hell of a lot warmer too.

It sure had kept her warm that night he’d found her and nursed her back to health with his body heat.

Sage imagined that fur covering her, pushing into her, his fangs nipping her soft skin.

Her cheeks flushed at the invasive thought, and she lifted her gaze, only to find Soren’s blue eyes boring into hers. Her breath caught, and she parted her lips, his eyes falling to watch the action.

“I’m sure,” she said softly, staring up at her big beast. Sage wasn’t certain what she was even agreeing to anymore, and she didn’t care. Maybe it was wrong of her. Maybe she was a total weirdo.

But she couldn’t find it in her to care. Soren was pretty fucking hot as an abominable.

His arms tightened around her, and she lifted her hand to clutch the back of his neck. They moved in sync, her stretching up to meet his impossibly tall figure, him pulling her close to erase the distance between them.

When he’d smiled, she’d seen the hint of fang, but it hadn’t scared her then, and it didn’t scare her now. His mouth was larger than hers, but it worked. It fucking worked. Their lips slotted together, and she felt his fangs scrape over her lip, across her tongue. Shivers danced over her skin.

He adjusted her against him, grinding into her as he held her up with his hands beneath her ass. The warmth of him against her was a relief, even through her layers of clothes. She could feel every finger as Soren supported her weight, and the talon that tipped each one didn’t bother her.

Even settled so close against him, she still had to tilt her head up at him.

Breaking apart with a gasp, Sage tightened her hold on Soren as he backed them into an alcove between a tree and the harsh chill of a nearby boulder.

Soren framed her, hands palmed on either side of her shoulders, his hips pressed into hers to hold her against the tree. His form blocked the snow and the sun from her vision, surrounding her, protecting. She took in the icy scent of him, pine and snow mixing together in a heady cocktail.

Soren lifted a clawed finger, brought it to the front of Sage’s jacket, and ever so gently hooked his claw into the zipper and pulled downward. She held her breath.

“We can’t have this getting ripped,” he said in a low voice, before hooking his claw into the neck of her long-sleeved shirt. “This, however, this is in the way.”

Her heart pounded so loudly she feared he would hear it, and she gasped as he dragged the claw down quickly, her shirt ripping away like tissue paper with a tug of his sharp talon.

The icy chill of the air raised goosebumps along Sage’s skin, and she reveled in the delicious feeling. She dug her gloved fingers into Soren’s shoulders in anticipation.

“Soren...” Sage breathed, her breaths fogging the air.

His eyes flicked to hers. “Please tell me this is okay?” he asked softly. “This monster is feeling a lot of things.” Soren’s lips quirked up, but his eyes never left hers, a single question swirling in their icy depths.

In answer, Sage tugged her gloves off one at a time and listened to them crunch as they hit the snow.

She watched Soren’s eyes brighten in response, though he didn’t move.

“This is more than okay,” she whispered, tightening her hands over his broad shoulders.