He pulls me to sitting and helps remove my clothes. Well, he does all the work. It’s impossible to help him with numb fingers. After he finishes, he dries every inch of my body with a clean cloth, then he tucks three thick blankets around me.
Visions of Hale spooking and throwing me flash before my eyes. I sigh and sink deeper into the blankets.
Hector pats his thighs. “Let me see your left foot.”
“Why?”
“Just give it to me,” he says, his tone firm yet gentle.
I obey, slipping it out of the covers. He places it across his lap and runs his fingers against my foot, warming it with each pass of his hand against my skin. I exhale as he does the same to the other foot, rubbing it and bringing back the warmth.
“Now your hands.”
This time, I don’t even question him. I just offer him my hands. He works on the left one first, rubbing it, massaging it, and lifting it to his mouth for a quick kiss.
The cold still seeps into my bones. I shiver and clench my chattering teeth together. Concern deepens in Hector’s eyes as he tucks my blanket closer and lies next to me.
I scoot against him and drift to sleep.
ChapterThirty-Two
The chills shaking my body wake me a short time later. Hector shifts next to me as I clutch feebly at the blankets.
“I’m so cold,” I say through my chattering teeth.
“Still?” he asks.
“Help me.”
He pulls my blankets tighter, tucking them around my chin.
“That’s not what I meant.”
Worry sparks behind his eyes as he glances between the fire and where I lie. “You will get warm soon. You just—”
Without thought, I grab his hand, stealing his next words. “I want you to help me get warm.”
“By bedding you?” he asks with a lift of his eyebrows.
“No, you fool! I want your warmth.”
“Well, why didn’t you say so?”
He stands and pulls his surcoat over his head, and my mouth goes dry. It’s not like I haven’t seen his bare chest before. I just never get over seeing him.
“Earlier…” I squeeze my eyes shut as I picture the moment Hale threw me from his back, and I sank into the icy water. “…I thought it was the end for me.”
“I would have drained that entire lake to find you.” Determination echoes from his words.
My pulse leaps in my throat. He would have?
A vein throbs in his forehead as he reaches for the blanket, settles it over us, and places a solid hand against my back, keeping me tucked close. My breasts press against the flat plains of his chest. My thighs push against the coarse fabric of his pants.
It’s true, I am far warmer than I was a moment ago, but there’s no way I will sleep like this.
“You didn’t remove your pants,” I say impulsively.
“You said no to me bedding you.”
