Page 12 of A Snowed in Valentine's

And so, when she opened her eyes to find a face hovering over hers, her first reaction had been to panic. Unfortunately, in her panic, she jerked up from the bed, closing the distance between them. Her forehead bumped against his.

His lips brushed hers only for a second, but it sent a shiver racing through her body.

What the—?

Thank goodness she still had her presence of mind. Her self-preservation instincts kicked in automatically. Thinking quickly, she bent her leg at the knee and drove it upward and was rewarded with a deep grunt of agony. The man rolled off her immediately and hit the floor amidst a plethora of curses.

“Damn witch!” he spat.

Daphne blinked, sweeping her gaze around. Her apartment was gone. She was back in the cabin, back on Frost Mountain.

Her mind was racing with agitation, but she remained as she was, drawing deep breaths as she took in the details. She’d been in her apartment a moment ago, having just turned off the TV. Now, she was on Frost Mountain, in her captor’s cabin, with the storm raging outside. Somehow, she was moving between two worlds. She was quite certain now that she wasn’t dreaming or imagining any of this. Dread settled in her chest, making it grow heavier by the second.

She got to her feet, her eyes locked on the door, but she had barely taken a step forward when she heard her captor say, “Don’t bother. Neither of us is getting out of here.”

She froze, turning to face him as he pulled himself upright, one hand clutching his groin where she’d kneed him. “What are you talking about?”

His handsome features twisted in a smirk. “We’ve been snowed in. The entire cabin is walled in on all sides. The snow has been rising for days, and now… we’re trapped in here.” His smirk widened as though he meant to say,You’re trapped in here with me.

What the heck had he been doing on top of her? His face had been dangerously close to hers. And, oh, crap, she’d accidentally kissed him. She supposed the fact that she’d brushed lips with a man who’d tried to kill her should disgust or at least annoy her. So why did the thought of it fill her with a slight ache?

It didn’t help that he was regarding her with those dark, fiery eyes of his again. It was strange. She was supposed to be terrified of him, especially after he’d tried to behead her. At the very least, she should despise him. Shediddespise him. But her body was responding to him in ways that suggested the exact opposite.

Still clutching his groin, her captor turned and exited the room, returning seconds later with what looked like a bowl filled with steaming food.

“Fortunately for me,” he said, “I always make sure I have supplies.” He handed the bowl to her. “Here. You must be hungry.”

Daphne frowned at the bowl, then at him, and folded her arms across her chest. “Why would I want to eat that? It’s probably—”

“Poisoned?” He rolled his eyes. “If I wanted you dead, you would be a corpse already, not that it isn’t what I’d like anyway.”

He thrust the plate toward her again. “Besides, I’ve been feeding you for over a week. You drool when you sleep sometimes.”

Something he said struck her suddenly. “Wait a minute. Did you say… a week?”

He nodded. “You have been slipping in and out of unconsciousness for days.”

“I don’t remember any of that.”

“You’ve only been conscious enough to eat. You’ve been mostly out the whole time.”

“So why do I feel so damn weak?”she wondered aloud.

“Because I bound you.” He pointed to the insignia on her hand.

“No, this is different.” This wasn’t about losing her magic. Even moving seemed to require more energy than she was used to. Something wasn’t quite right, and she suspected it had to do with the fact that she was somehow traveling back and forth between Earth and Frost Mountain.

How am I supposed to fix the Frost Mountain problem if I don’t even know what the heck is going on?

“Who the hell are you, anyway?” she asked.

Her captor set down the bowl next to the bed. “That is unimportant.”

“Well, you tried to kill me,” she pointed out. “I’d say that’s pretty important.

His lips twitched in amusement. “If you say so. I’m August Kane.”

Kane.That explained theKon her hand. It wasn’t just a magical bind. He’d branded her like livestock.

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