Page 46 of Bride of Choice

A head popped around the divider, still snow covered and half snowman-ed out. Staring at me as if he was looking at a new person, he settled for a soft grunt of an answer.

Sliding my legs out of the water, I started to dry them off but he rushed over, shoving my hands out of the way, and finished for me.

I protested, quite vehemently I might add in my own defense, but he just gently moved my hands out of the way and insisted on helping.

“Hands,” he said simply, gesturing for me to put them back inside the cloth I’d wrapped around me for a makeshift shawl.

His fingers were so freaking warm, but there was a wealth of guilt to follow, knowing I was enjoying this and he was taken. It made me feel queasy to think about it.

My hands closed over his when he would have put my socks on for me. “You have a mate. Don’t touch other women like this when you have a lady. I wouldn’t like it, if I were her. It would break my heart.”

Taking the socks from him as he swallowed thickly, nodded, and backed off, I noted him standing, walking away, grabbing the divider and dragging it back wherever he’d gotten it from.

Returning by the time I’d put on the pants, socks, and my boots, he had a weird looking canister in one hand, steam coming from it.

He must live very close by and be cool with mega Mc-Yeti-mansion owner to be coming back so fast.

“Hot,” he said simply, offering up a small metal cup to pour some of what looked like broth into it.

“Just like Granny used to make,” I joked. Thanking him, I gave it a curious sniff and carefully took a few sips.

“Goot?” he asked.

Not exactly the word I’d use to describe it but it wasn’t awful. “Did your mate make this?” I wondered aloud. Honestly, as far as broth type stuff goes, this was the best I’ve ever had.

Pointing at himself, he grunted, waited.

“You made it? It’s good.” I took a few more sips. There was a warmth it left behind in it’s wake, making me wonder if it was like all those stories I used to hear about chicken soup and bone broth or whatever helping what ails you. “What’s in it?”

“Finish. Need see Rothy. Owed-ies bad,” he informed me.

Not one to let other people tell me what to do, I snorted. “Soon as I’m finished with my broth, I’ll be going back home, but I thank you all the same, sir.”

“No home,” he grumbled, but poured me another cup of broth as I polished off the first one.

“Ain’t that the truth,” I mumbled around the rim of my cup. Mm. It was like the more I drank, the better it tasted.

No home. It was the painful, hard truth. I wanted one. Always had. In a lot of ways I’d found a home in Rosie, but she had her own home now, in her mates and babies. I respected that. She needed to live her life and I needed to get myself one.

I wanted that too so badly it hurt.

“Krampus hunt,” he reminded.

Blowing out a deep breath, I grimaced. “I’d almost forgotten all about those assholes for about two seconds.” I could try Rek’s place, Booger’s, or even Gopher’s if I was feeling ballsy, but Rek was probably pissed at me and may just try and pull a Misery on me at this point, I really didn’t want to un-break up with him and the asshole needed to understand I was not his willing, waiting hole. Gopher was probably hiding from me, if he wasn’t halfway to Canada running from me or himself, whichever, I wasn’t quite sure yet. And Booger, that might just freak him out… God forbid he might decide to cut his losses on waiting for his one, lose his marbles and try to toss himself into the mix. It might kill me. I had zero love or lust or sexy any kinda feelings for the male but platonic love.

Not wanting to involve Rosie in any of this, or let anyone else in on the drama, I had next to no options. Like hell was I going to get Dorothy involved in this. She’d slap some beasts around, get their mates in on it. It would be a hot fucking mess before I could blink. I didn’t want hands forced in any of this. It would only lead to unhappiness and resentment.

“You know what, I know a place,” I said as I thought of the bunker we watched movies in, blinking as the world started to slide out of focus. “Ohhhh. Ah… erm… what the hell was in that shit?” I blurted as I dropped my cup. It tumbled to the snow, spilling everywhere.

My snow encrusted companion, only those lovely blue-grey eyes clearly visible in my swimming vision, picked up my cup and set it aside. “Help. Safe,” he grunted out as a helpless noise left me.

It was hard to feel panicked when I was so warm and toasty, even more so when he picked me up and my belly dipped. “Oi, frosty, I thought you had a mate,” I muttered as our eyes met and held and he started to lean in.

“Soon,” he purred softly, waiting for me to push him off, and when I didn’t he then gently placed his lips over mine.

I knew who he was the instant his lips touched mine and that oh so familiar, bone deep, toe curling rumble left him.

“Mystery Mate,” I blurted the second his lips left mine.

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