Page 126 of Steamy Ever After

“I was saving you!”

“Nice job. I’m so rescued right now.”

“God, you’re such an ungrateful bitch!”

“I can’t believe this.” She cradled her head and glared out the window.

He cupped his hands and blew into them, deeply concerned that he might have frost bite. “The plows will be out soon. Someone will find us.”

She shoved her arms into her coat and stretched her dress over her knees, drawing them up to her chest. How did women do that? She literally just transformed into a ball.

He kicked off his ruined shoes and peeled back his damp socks, draping them over the rearview mirror. There was no relief against the sting of the cold.

“Like they’re gonna dry there. It’s twenty-six degrees outside.”

“Do you always have to be so damn negative? Just…shut up. The next few hours will be a lot easier if you don’t talk.” His toes were frozen to the bone.

He took off his coat and wrapped it around his feet. Shutting his eyes, he tried to get some rest, if only to distract himself from the freezing pain. Maybe if he slept for twenty minutes he’d wake up to feeling in his toes. Or maybe he’d wake up to find them black. Why had he not been a boy scout? He didn’t know shit about surviving in the wilderness.

For nearly an hour, they sat in silence, their breath and the heat of their frustration the only thing keeping them warm. The snow was mounting, and he was sure, by now, the local news stations had determined this a state of emergency.

Erin’s teeth chattered and her skin looked blue. Her chin rested on her knees and she stared forward at the windshield, which was now covered in snow.

She had quite the bruise on her cheek. Bored and beyond manners, he stared at her. She could be pretty—until she opened her mouth.

He frowned when he noted the smeared makeup around her eyes. Black smudges traveled down her cheeks, the kind women got when they cried. But she hadn’t cried since he found her. Had she been crying when she crashed?

He thought back to the bar and the things he said to her. Had he made her cry?

No way. Erin Montgomery didn’t have a soft side. She was made of nails and spit and tar and whatever else they used to glue demons together.

Yet, she looked so small and innocent at the moment. Childlike and sort of scared. It was messing with his head. He didn’t like feeling anything but hate for her.

His feet were warmer now, so he reached for his coat. “Here. Put this over your legs.”

Startled by his voice, she looked at him as if she’d forgotten he was there. She took the coat. “Th-th-thanks.”

On second thought, maybe talking would keep them warmer than sleep. “What were you thinking about?” He watched as she swathed her legs in his coat.

“That if I died here, no one would care.”

“Jesus, Erin. Could you be more fucking dark?”

“You asked.”

He didn’t even know how to respond to such a bleak comment. “We’re not gonna die here.”

She looked up at him with big eyes and a cloud of vapor formed between them. “I can’t f-f-feel my fingers.” She tucked her chin into the collar of her coat, exhaling her breath down her body. She continued to squirm as if trying to burrow into herself.

“I once read an article on hypothermia. It said that two naked bodies produce more heat than one clothed.”

She glared at him. “I’m not getting naked with you.”

He rolled his eyes. “Like I’m really after a glimpse of your tits. I was just sharing useful knowledge.”

Her lips firmed but split apart when her teeth continued to chatter. Several minutes passed and her quivering got worse.

“I wouldn’t look.” The truth was, he was freezing, too. If snuggling up with the devil could somehow produce a little heat in this car, he’d take it. “Come on, Erin, it’s fucking freezing.”

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