Page 18 of Yule Tied Up

I almost jumpout of my skin at Mack’s scream.

“What the fuck?” I frown at her.

She’s staring past me, and I whip around, seeing nothing but the wall and the small window.

I turn back to her. “What is it?”

“The window.” She jabs with her finger, while grabbing the towel with her other hand and trying to cover herself and Kirill. “A face! I saw a face.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!”

I go to the window and cup my hand against the side of my face and press my nose to the glass, trying to see outside. The glass is icy cold, and it’s almost impossible to see beyond it. It’s so dark out there, the only thing visible is the snow falling.

I yank the blind down, annoyed I didn’t think of that before we started this, but not worried.

“We’re miles away from anywhere.” I turn back from the window. “It’s over four miles to the nearest house. I saw on Google maps before we came, and no one is walking four miles in this weather. It must have been a trick of the light.”

“There was a face,” she insists. “I saw it.”

“Will it make you feel better if we check? With the snow falling this heavily, if someone was there, they’ll have left prints.”

She presses her knuckles to her lips. “Yes, please. I need to know one way or another.”

Tino is already shoving his boots on, and I go and join him by the door.

“Kirill,” I say, “help Mack clean up and dress. She’ll feel safer that way, and we’ll go check outside.”

Kirill nods then stands and picks Mack up bridal style. He covers her with the towel before striding into the bedroom with her in his arms.

I turn to Tino. “It was most likely just a reflection, or maybe a light from somewhere.”

Tino nods, but his face is tense.

We both bundle back into our coats. It’s too cold outside to risk going out without them. We’re only doing this for Mackenzie. Neither of us is expecting to actually find anything. There’s a flashlight by the door, and I grab it as we march outside. The snow is coming down thick and fast now. I shine the flashlight and see no one around. I aim it at the trees, the powerful beam illuminating them.

Nothing.

We make our way around to the back of the house where the window is located. The trees encroach close to the cabin, the branches heavy with snow and hanging over the roof. Maybe some of the snow fell and Mackenzie caught the movement out of the corner of her eye and her brain morphed it into a face.

There’s been a dump of fresh snow, and I can’t see any footsteps. If someone had been standing directly beneath the window, they’d be obvious.

I let out a sigh. “Think our Duchess has been imagining things.”

“It’s understandable that she’s a bit freaked out being out here,” Tino says. “You know, after what happened before.”

I twist my lips and nod. “Being apart from our daughter is probably making her anxious as well, even if she doesn’t realize it on a conscious level.”

He grins. “At least that gives us an excuse to take her mind off things.”

He just got his rocks off, but he’s already thinking about fucking again.

“Yeah,” I agree, “let’s go and put her mind at rest.”

We both want to get back into the warmth and be near our girl again.

We get back into the cabin and strip off our outside clothes. The thunder of the shower comes from the bathroom, and there’s no sign of Kirill, so he must be in there with her. I wouldn’t blame him if he’s naked and under the water.

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