I sag against him and more or less let him drag me the rest of the way to the cave. I didn’t realize how tired I was until he broke me from my trance, and now it feels as if every ounce of strength has left my body. The translator feels like a block of ice against my ear, and I can’t feel my toes. Or my fingers. My teeth are clacking like they’re tap-dancing and all the while, the snow just keeps pouring down.
Maybe we should have waited after all.
I don’t even have the energy to protest when Aehako slings me into his arms and carries me the rest of the way to the cave. At least there will be warmth there, and fire. Gosh, I love fire.
But when we get to the cave, it’s dark inside. There’s no fire.
“Predators in this area,” Haeden explains. “It’s a dangerous place to have a fire. We’ll have to share body heat.”
I look over at Harlow, who is just as bundled in furs as I am. It’s gonna be a cold night.
Harlow, however, takes one look at me as Aehako gently sets me down, and then drops her pack next to Haeden. She unrolls her bedroll and strips off her wet, snowy clothing and then inches against him like a big furry worm in a blanket.
Which means I’m with Aehako.
I should have seen that coming, I guess. I stand there like a big snow-cone as Aehako tugs my gloves off my frozen hands and then blows on my chilled fingers to warm them. “H-how c-come H-h-Harlow’s not as c-c-cold as me?” I chatter. “How c-come I sssssuck at traveling so bad?”
“She was not sick for two weeks like you were,” Aehako says easily. “You will get stronger with time.”
Harlow yawns and scoots further into her furs. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m cold and exhausted, too.”
It doesn’t, because she doesn’t look as if she’s about to fall to pieces like I do. Sure, she’s cuddling up to Haeden, who really isn’t the most cuddly of people. But I’d feel better if I wasn’t the only one struggling.
“Get some sleep,” Haeden says. “We’ll eat in the morning and then set off again.”
Aehako strips me down to my last layer of clothing, spreading the others out to dry. The cave is small but there’s no bitter wind, at least. I watch as Aehako lays out my furs and then his, pushing them both together. Then he guides me down into the bed and pulls the covers to my chin.
It doesn’t feel warm at all. I’m about to whine about this when Aehako’s enormous body gets into the furs next to me and he pulls me against him, my face pressing against his bare chest.
And…oh. Okay. This is where the warmth comes in. Because sleeping with Aehako is like sleeping with a space heater. A soft, velvety one with lots of muscles. I’m pretty sure he’s naked, too, or at least down to a loincloth.
Man. Now I wish I’d been paying more attention.
My teeth stop their chattering and I press my cold hands and feet against his skin. He doesn’t protest, just hugs me closer. Delicious warmth seeps through my body, stolen from him, and I start to feel good for the first time since leaving the tribal caves hours and hours ago.
“Are we almost there?” I whisper to Aehako. “To the elders’ cave?”
“About halfway,” he says in a low voice. His finger traces my ear and then my jaw, sending shivers up my spine. “We’re moving slower than we’d like. The storm is hindering things.”
The storm, and the slow-ass human, I think, but I don’t say it aloud. He knows I’m doing the best I can. I snuggle closer to him and rub my fingers on his stomach. Gosh, he feels good. My fingers glide up and down the flat plane of muscle that is his belly, and I explore him with my touch even as he caresses my face.
I should be really embarrassed that Harlow immediately assumed I was sleeping with Aehako. But…I find I can’t really care. I’m glad. I don’t want to cuddle up to her because she’s not warm and delicious — and I sure don’t want to snuggle with Haeden. I’m glad Aehako and I are under the blankets together, even if it’s just for warmth.
And I think about what he said earlier. About wanting to be with me no matter what. Heat pools through my body, and even though I’m utterly exhausted, I find my hands sliding lower to check if he’s wearing a loin-cloth after all.
My questing fingers encounter nothing but muscular, lean hip. Oh. So…there’s that. There’s no waistband. No leather. No nothing. Just me and big naked alien that I have to burrow against for warmth.
Gosh, it is so hard to be me sometimes.
Aehako leans in and brushes his lips against my forehead. “Your fingers are feeling playful. Are you not tired?” His voice is whisper-soft so the others can’t hear.