Frostbitten (3 page)

“How isolating.” He sat across from her, his brow furrowed in concern.

“I don’t know any other way. This is my life.” She stared at his face as he sipped his coffee. He was perfectly chiseled with strong cheekbones and skin bronzed from the glare of the sun off the nearly permanent snow.

The racket of the storm interrupted the silence, whistling between the imperfect logs of the cabin.

Zephyr leaned on his elbows. “This blizzard is going to be a doozy. We’re stuck here for the foreseeable future. And…you’re my mate.”

He said the last part as though it were somehow caused or affected by the storm.

“How can you be sure?” she asked. Granted, she couldn’t deny the magnetism she felt toward him. It was obvious to her too. But, why? Her body reacted to every move he made, every noise he uttered, every smile he shared. Wetness pooled between her legs, making her squirm.

For the first time in her life, she felt a longing to have sex. She knew about mating. Her mother had left out nothing educating her, but she hadn’t been prepared for this overwhelming wave of lust that consumed her body and left her trembling with need.

Her nipples pebbled and her breasts felt heavy under her sweater. She longed for him to touch her and she narrowed her gaze on his lips once more.

Her knees bounced under the table. Even when she squeezed them with her palms, she couldn’t stop the buzz of unfinished business consuming her frame.

“Adonia,” Zephyr began, his voice lower, gravelly, sexy as hell. “When mates meet, they just know. I’m as certain as I am that the sky is blue and the sun will set. My body is aligning itself with yours more every second. It’s only with great restraint that I’m still sitting a foot from you trying to keep from mauling you prematurely. You can’t deny you recognize the signs.”

She licked her dry lips again and Zephyr closed his eyes on another moan. Ah, so that was what drove him to distraction.

“I wish I could say I wouldn’t claim you before we returned to civilization, but I’m gathering that isn’t in the plans. I’m betting this storm is an intentional means to an end.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…” He stood and circled the table until he was right next to her. He squatted beside her, not touching her, but leaving only inches separating them. “We’re not getting out of here without being mated. Have you ever seen weather like this so early in the year?”

She shook her head, knowing that part was at least true.

“So, the moment I finally find you, a storm picks up out of nowhere and traps us inside your tiny cabin.” He took her hand and squeezed it, rubbing his finger across her knuckles. He lifted it to his cheek and rubbed against the back of her hand with his rough shadow.

Adonia jumped up and jerked her fingers from his grasp. She sucked oxygen into her lungs as though she’d been running in wolf form for hours. She backed up, her gaze darting around the room. There was no escape. The small cabin was one room. Except for the small bathroom in one corner, she was trapped. And she could hardly wait out the storm inside that cubicle. There was barely room to turn around and no place to sit or stretch out.

“I can’t breathe.” She bumped into the edge of the queen-sized bed, the cabin’s only bed. Her legs buckled and she plopped down on the mattress. She heaved the cabin’s thin air, but it only made things worse. The entire space was permeated with the scent of Zephyr now.

He stood from his squatted position but didn’t approach her. “I know. Under normal circumstances, mates are drawn to each other with no warning and no means of escape, but this small cabin gives new meaning to being trapped.” He looked out the cabin’s only window. “The snow is really falling now. I’m betting we won’t be able to open the door soon. When did you last eat?”

“I shifted and ran this morning. I hunted. And I have plenty of supplies here for human food. Not forever, but for a while.”
There. That’s it. Keep your mind on simple tasks, like eating. Maybe that will prevent…
Oh, who was she kidding?

Zephyr opened the cabinets and peered into each one, assessing the supplies. “We should be fine.” He crossed to the fireplace and added a log. “What possessed you to chop so much wood this morning?”

“It was nice out. I felt propelled to prepare for winter. And as I worked, I could smell the snow coming in. I couldn’t stop myself.”

He turned toward her and smiled again. He knew stuff. Lots of stuff. Far more than Adonia. For as much as her mother had prepared her for life, she had still led a very sheltered existence. Until now…

Zephyr stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He itched to take her in his arms, but she needed more time. Perhaps if he talked, he could calm her by telling her about himself. He padded toward her and circled to the other side of the bed. He needed to stretch out and there was no other place to relax. It was going to be a long wooing. Now was a good time to start.

Adonia jumped to stand when he lay down on the other side of the bed. “Don’t worry. I’m just getting comfortable.”

He watched her fiddle with her fingers, wringing her hands together in front of her. Her glorious long blonde curls hung loose all around her face. They stretched farther down her back than he’d initially realized watching her from the precipice to the west of her cabin. He wanted to drag his fingers through the tresses, and he would. Later.

“I’ve heard of your pack. It’s the only other group of snow wolves living in Siberia. We aren’t native to this part of the world, you know.”

She nodded, but remained rooted to the spot where she stood. Leeriness filled her eyes. He would earn her trust before he laid a single finger on her.

“I believe your pack came from Greenland over a century ago. Did you know that?”

She nodded again.

He continued. Talking was the only way he could convince her to open up to him. “My family came from Canada soon after yours, according to most records, although your pack lives isolated and farther east of here. My family lives largely in the city to the west, venturing north to hunt and run.”

“Why do you work for my father?” She tipped her head to one side. “My mother isn’t fond of him.”

He could tell that was an understatement, and he couldn’t blame her for feeling the way she did. “Your father is a lady’s man. That’s for sure. But he isn’t a bad person. He’s had many women and now has children scattered all over the planet.” He smiled, but it did nothing to soften the look on her face. Her eyes weren’t trusting.

“He seduced my mother.”

“Yes, I’m sure he did. I’ve seen him do it many times. Sometimes he uses his innate power of persuasion to his favor, especially when a sexy female is in his presence. But, he means no real harm. He just enjoys the pleasures of the flesh.”

When she narrowed her eyes, he coughed into his chest before continuing. “He likes to have sex.”

Her innocence was precious and he vowed not to make her feel as her mother had felt all these years. He would not take her until she pleaded with him to do so. If this mating wasn’t completely her idea, she might feel coerced and resentful.

“Anyway, when he discovers a child of his, he always makes good.”

“I’m not going.” She crossed her arms over her chest and hugged herself. “If you’ve come all this way to convince me to return with you, you’ve wasted your time. This is my home. I like it here.”

Zephyr let her words settle in the air for a few moments. He knew several things she did not. One, she would return with him when all was said and done. Two, he would never force her to do anything she didn’t want to do. She was a strong woman with a deep sense of pride and he would sooner die than destroy that aspect of her personality. And three, he would never separate from her. If he had to stay with her in this cabin for forty years, so be it.

“Your father is only concerned with your wellbeing. I promise you he is a good and decent man.”

“A man who seduced my mother and caused her exile.” She spat the words, leaning forward.

“Yes. He did. But on the flip side, he was not aware of this. Until some members of your pack showed up in town blabbing about your existence, he had no knowledge of you. You have to give the man credit for sending me to
find
you as soon as he was enlightened.” He carefully chose the word “find” and not “retrieve.” She wasn’t willing to consider the possibility of a relationship with Jack yet.

She gave no response, but her body language remained closed off. She even crossed her legs, and he watched her squeeze her thighs together. It did nothing to keep him from scenting her arousal, but he presumed it alleviated some of the pressure that would be building in her pussy.

Zephyr had never been mated before, of course, but he’d heard the tales from all his friends and family. A woman’s body could not withstand the drive to mate any more than a man’s.

He’d been with many women, as any young red-blooded wolf shifter his age, but no sexual experience had ever compared to the way he felt right this moment.

His cock had remained hard since he’d first sniffed her scent blowing toward him in the wind. How long had it been? Two, three, four hours? He’d lost track of almost anything except wooing the woman before him with placating words. He didn’t mean to insult her. He just needed to keep talking until she understood him better.

He was glad he’d taken up residence on the mattress. He leaned on his side, his head propped on his palm. His heart pounded inside his chest, and every breath he took was filled with the scent of Adonia.

“Your family brings you nice shampoo,” he blurted, biting his lip afterward at how stupid he must sound. “I can smell your hair from here. It’s floral, or maybe strawberry.” He continued speaking, unable to stop the flow of ridiculous admissions. “I like it.”
I want to bury my face in it.

Adonia stepped back. In fact, she glared at him and then crossed the room to stand by the fire. Her backside was no less appealing. Her jeans were tight and fit her perfectly, even though she’d never been to a store to select them herself. She was slight for a woman living in the wild. He knew her to be strong, but no one would guess that from her stature. Under the bulky white sweater, he expected to find a petite frame.

He smoothed his fingers across the quilt on her bed. Also white, it was covered with intricate stitch work he had no doubt either she, or her mother, or both, had done by hand.

“You love white.”

She turned toward him, but didn’t respond.

“Your coat, gloves, sweater, quilt… All white.”

“It’s easier to clean out here and I blend better when I’m outside if I’m dressed to match the terrain.” She turned back around, but not before he noticed a grin spreading across her face. Good. He was making headway.

While she stared at the fire, he adjusted his cock, biting the inside of his mouth to keep from moaning.

The storm had picked up speed. He was neither surprised nor concerned. He’d not been kidding about the power of Jack Frost. The man was beyond superhuman. If he wanted a late summer storm, then by God there would be a late summer storm.

“How long do you suppose this weather will last?” she asked, her sweet voice bouncing around the cabin.

He swallowed. How should he answer? He’d already told her about this dilemma. Clearly she was unconvinced. “I don’t know.” It was true.
It will last until you let me claim you. That’s how long
. But since he had no idea when that might be, he was unable to predict the weather with any certainty, either.

He glanced out the window again. A total whiteout. He smiled and shook his head. That damn man knew what he was doing. How he had predicted Zephyr was the true mate of Adonia, a woman Jack had never even met, was beyond him. But, Zephyr had never been a man to question the powers of Mr. Frost.

“Would you like me to cook something?” He needed to move. He was growing antsy. As he stood, she turned around.

“You cook?”

“Of course. I love to cook. And I love to feed women even more.”
Now why did I have to go and say something like that?

She didn’t comment. In fact, she moved to the other side of the fireplace to keep her distance as far as possible. While her gaze was lowered to the flames, he took in her frame from the side. She was curvy, even though she was barely a hundred pounds wet, he imagined. Her breasts sat on the top of her crossed arms, small and high and firm beneath the sweater. He was dying to know what she wore under the woven material.

Instead, he whipped his gaze toward the small kitchen area and headed that way. The accommodations were sparse. A small fridge sat between a sink and a stove/oven combination. Remembering where he’d seen things the first time he’d searched her kitchenette, he set to work preparing a meal. It would keep him occupied, and food always comforted people.

When he opened a small closet he’d not investigated before, he found a second door behind the first. “What’s this?” he asked as he pulled the lever.

“A freezer.” She chuckled, and her voice rang in his ears. He wanted to hear more of that.

He turned toward her and smiled as he realized what he’d opened. The enclosure was really a door to the outside. It was protected from behind by a thin Plexiglas that would allow the cold air in but keep uninvited animals from chowing down on the supplies. “Ingenious.”

While Zephyr worked, Adonia moved toward the table and sat. “I’m not that hungry.”

He glanced at her from the stove. “You will be.” He had confidence in his ability to make her mouth water. And he prayed the smell of food would cut down on the smell of woman permeating his every breath.

While meat simmered in a pan, he cut up vegetables. A stew would be perfect. It would take a while to cook and fill the cabin with its richness.

“What’s he like?”

Her father, of course. “He’s tall. Overbearing, I’d say. His smile is genuine, and he makes everyone laugh.”

“Including exiled bastard children?” She sounded forlorn, angry.

He stirred the stew and set the lid on top. When he sat across the table from her once again, he continued. “He’s a good man. You’ll like him.”