Chapter 156: Penny
Ashet launches all me, his
mis les trisse, the slight male
is pane, coiled danger in i
the sharp inhala, the way his
body Topod, staty
1 sit up, brart still hammering, my mind trying tir catch up to the midden ruth of eternaline. His dades erstel
Then I hear i
The bond of wind. The crak of the cabin walls. The sharp, stinging hies of tre
It’s not a person. It’s not danger.
It’s a Mirand.
Hoogh the cracks.
1 pinh the blanket off and stumble to his side, my socked feet slipping against the wooden flour as I reach for his arm. He doesn’t move, entire focus the doct, his chest heaving with the remnants of whatever primal instinct just took over,
I peek around him, my breath catching in my throat. The soose out side is no longer gently falling: It’s a wall of white, a living, moving mass, spiraling and wirling like an angry ocean, the wind shrieking as it whips past the trees,
Then, without waming, the wind slams into the cabin, and the door bursts open again, icy air blasting through the gap
as she sprays into my face, cold and biting. I stagger hack, the freezing air cutting into my skin, making my wet clothes cling to me like
Asher curses, showing the door closed with his full weight, stow swirling around him feet. He grabs the heavy clothing cabinet next to the wall and drags it “in front of the door, muscles bulging, jaw clenched.
I stand there, shivering my teeth chattering, my mind spinning
“Is that that a blizzard?” I whisper, my voice shaky, my arms wrapping around myself.
“Yeah,” he grunts, pashing the cabinet lighter against the door, making sure no more snow can get through. “A big one.”
stare at the sweling snow outside, “Will the Tabin hold TMa
wind howling like a thousand angry voices, the tree branches bending under the force of it. My heart skips a beat,
, intense, even in the faint light.
He shows the cabinet one last time, then steps back, breathing hard. He looks at me, his dark eyes sharp,
“Yeah, it’ll hold.” He glances back at the door, then at me. “But we’re not making it to the lodge in this weather
“You can’t make it there?” I ask, still shivering, my teeth chattering.
He huffs a quiet,
humorless laugh, the corner of his mouth tilting up. “No. We can’t make it there.”
His tone is clear–he means I can’t make it. He probably could. Probably has, through worse.
He turns to the fireplace, his broad shoulders blocking most of the light as he bends down, trying to stole the embers back to life. But the snow that blasted through the door soaked the firewood, and he munters a low curse as he struggles to get the flame to catch.
“Damnat.” He shakes his head, bossing a soaked log aside and digging through the pile or something drier.
I’m still standing there, shivering, my fingers icy, my whole body trembling-
“Tuck, Penny,” he says suddenly, glancer his shoulder at me. “You’re soaked”
1/2
Chapter 156: Penny
For a second, my brain stutters. 1 free, my breath catching, and my face Bates hot despite the end.
“Wh–what?”
He steps closer, his eyes taking
me, and it’s only then that
clothes. My socks, my shit, my pants all stated from the
blasted through the door, clingine lo me, icy and wet and making me shiver even harder.
the paths ane of his bendies from the bag fry his bed, the black one he wore the other day, and shoes
*You need to change before you freere.”
I try to turn on the light, but nothing works. I sigh, clutching the fabric in my chest, but when I tum to head to the tiny matheson, my shoulder humps the wall. I try to correct my path, but then my the catchies on the edge of the bed frame, and I stumble, muttering a small, breathless “Ow” 301)
“Shit,” Asher mutters, striding over to me, his hand on my shoulders. He night, his grip firm, his eyes dark as they search my face. “Come here”
He turns me back to face him, his fingers already at the hem of my soaked shirt. He hesitates, his hands warm against my key skin, his breath cachin
“Just… just hold still.” His voice is a bit tougher mass, a hit lower, the heat from his body raduting against mine.
I try to stay still, my heart racing, my pulse pounding in my ears as he slowly pulls my socked shirt up, over my ribs, my arms, my head. The air is on cold it makes my skin prickle, goosebumps racing across my chest and stomach.
I hear him breathe out hard, his hands dropping the shirt to the side before reaching for my waistband.
My whole body tenses, my breath catching, but I lift my leg so he can slip my soaked pants down, his rough fingers brushing my bare legs, under his touch despite the cold.
He pulls the hoodie over my head, his big, calloused hands sliding the sleeves over my arms, his fingers grazing my sides as hetups it down to my hips. fabric warm and soft against my chilled skin.
His hands linger on my waist for a second, his breath coming hard, his jaw tight, his eyes flicking up to meet mine.
“Go get in bed,” he murmurs, his voice a low, gravelly rumble. “Warm up.”
I don’t argue. I just back up slowly, my bare feet tingling on the cold floor, my mind still spinning from the feeling of his ha he’s still looking at me, his eyes dark, intense, his chest hearing.
body, from the way
Ecrawl into the bed, palling the covers up to my chin, and watch as he turns back to the fire, the muscles in his back tense, his jaw clenched, his breath coming fast.
He’s not just trying to fix the fire
He’s trying to fix his control.
And… so am L
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