Page 44 of Ecliptic

Frozen to the bone and feeling so, so tired, I lifted my blurry gaze to Rowen. He emitted a choked sob of relief when our eyes collided and blood dripped from his nose.

Ihad done that to him—caused him to bleed. He was lucky to be alive. The thought made me sick to my stomach, but it was Rowen who looked ill as his gaze lowered, locking on Maddock’s hands giving me the support he couldn’t.

“Your hands and mouth are one thing, but I’ll kindly ask you to take your eyes off her,” Rowen growled, the tendons in his neck straining. “If I have to ask again, I can assure you I won’t be as polite.”

Wrapped in Maddock’s embrace, I followed his stare down my body.

My bodice was gone, and the thin shirt covering me was practically see-through. It was so soaked, everything was visible: the exact contours of my breasts and the stark contrast of my frozen pink nipples. “I t-t-told you not t-to follow us,” I stuttered between weakened breaths as my body shivered uncontrollably. “I-I…said I would k-k-kill you.”

“Let me save you now so you can kill me later.”

“Hold her up for me,” Rowen ordered over my shoulder. “We need to warm her.”

Without question, Maddock propped me up within his hold, and I whimpered as my stiff limbs were forced to move. Rowen’s hands lowered to my stomach as his black-tinged fingertips gripped the wet fabric around my waist and pulled it up my torso.

Maddock’s hands made adjustments on my bare skin while Rowen removed my top. I was too frozen to help, so the men moved and adjusted me like a doll, working together to strip me of my wet clothing.

Rowen’s eyes traced over my exposed breasts, his gaze darkening when it came upon Maddock’s fingers wrapped firmly around my ribcage.

In one swift tug, Rowen removed his shirt and pulled it over my head. The residual heat from his clothing seeped into my skin, and I hungrily accepted his warmth however I could get it.

Maddock’s hands slipped out from underneath Rowen’s shirt yet remained on me for support. Suddenly, a surge of heat exploded in my chest, triggering a shock to my system. My frozen blood pumped into motion like sluggish ice, tearing my veins from within. But then, the warmth spread throughout my body like molten gold.

A cry escaped my mouth in pain—or was it pleasure? The warmth disappeared as quickly as it came, leaving only pain, yet the phantom touch of pleasure still rippled through me.

“What’s happening to her?” Maddock asked, drawing me in and taking my weight as I fell back and cried out again.

“Fuck,” Rowen ground out, his voice strained. “She nearly drowned in glacial waters. I’m trying to warm her through our bond, but I pushed it too fast. We will need to bring her temperature up slowly.”

“N-no. Rowen. Don’t stop,” I gasped, needing my soul flameto ignite me from within, to touch and kindle the frozen fire inside me. “I’m c-cold.”

Rowen’s voice broke. “I must, my love. It is sending you into shock.”

“She’ll never get dry in those pants,” Maddock said over my cries.

Rowen huffed in agreement. “Lean back with her.”

Maddock obeyed, and even though my body was numb, I felt his heart pounding against my back. Rowen yanked off my boots before his hands flew to my abdomen, undoing the front lacings of my pants. He worked my leggings open, and heat shot to my belly as I ached for his adept fingers to touch the parts of me he was exposing. “Can you lift your hips for me?”

I tried to arch up, but my body was too heavy, too frozen, and I slammed back to the ground with a frustrated groan. The heat Rowen sent through our soul flame bond ignited other parts of me that were starving for warmth. The cold penetrated deeper into my bones, and my flame flickered dangerously.

If Rowen didn’t stoke the small fire soon, it would perish.Iwould perish.

A worried conversation transpired over my shoulder. “Lift her for me.”

Before I could object, Maddock’s arm scooped beneath me, the flat of his palm landing at the base of my spine. He pushed my lower body up in a slow, painful thrust, offering my hips to Rowen.

Rowen carefully tugged my pants and underwear over the slope of my ass, his breath skittering through the gap in my thighs and right to my center. An exhausted moan, laced with aching desire, escaped my lips, and my neck tipped back against Maddock’s shoulder. His warm breath fanned across my collarbone as Rowen bared me beneath his powerful, shirtless frame.

“You’re doing so good, Keira. We’re almost done,” he said,making sure his shirt was low enough on my thighs to keep me covered as he shucked my pants off my ankles.

I whimpered.

This was the most excruciating kind of pain. My soul flame stripping me down yet unable to touch me. To hold me. All the while, I lay braced in the arms of the man I hated.

“Her lips are still too blue,” Maddock warned, lowering my bottom to the ground.

“Give me your shirt. You’ll need to warm her with your body,” Rowen stated with a calm yet pained grimace.

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