Finding Him (Covet 2)

“I know.” I rubbed her back. “We’ll get you warm, alright?”

“Sleepy.”

“No.” It was going to be a long night, wasn’t it? “I need you to tell me what happened, alright?”

She nodded and then whispered, “He died.”

“What?” I froze and pulled away my eyes, searching hers. “Who died?”

“Noah.” Her eyes filled with tears. “He died, and I’m alive.”

“Had you been in the snow longer . . . ,” I said under my breath. “Was Noah your brother?”

Husband? Fiancé? Friend?

She just shook her head. “The elk came, and then I screamed and kicked the wall of the cabin.”

I nodded. “Did he hit you?”

“Noah?”

“The elk,” I clarified, cupping her cheeks. “I need you to focus. Did the elk hit you in the head?”

“Me?” She shuddered against me. “No, the ice did, from the roof. I think it was ice, something hit my head. The elk ran.” She yawned. “Can I sleep now?”

I held her close, my hands on either side of her face as I stared at her pupils. She looked fine, she wasn’t puking, but she’d clearly been knocked out. I wasn’t sure if I needed to keep her up all night, or just keep waking her up.

With a grimace, I nodded my head. “I’m going to have to keep waking you up every few hours, though, okay?”

“Good thing you’re warm,” she whispered before nodding off against my chest.

My right arm strained across the floor for my phone.

I set three alarms, each waking me up every two hours.

And then I wrapped my arms around her and prayed the blizzard would end soon, because I was in over my head, and the last thing I needed was another death so close to one I still hadn’t recovered from—it was a selfish thought, projecting my anger and fear onto a woman who was most likely just trying to take care of herself and grab some firewood. But that was what happened when a person didn’t deal with grief. It found a way to be heard, even if it was unfair. Even if it was wrong.

“You better not die,” I said through clenched teeth as I hugged her close.

Chapter Seven

KEATON

I’d never been so hot in my entire life, and just when I was finally comfortable against the furnace I had obviously fallen asleep next to, hands would brace my shoulders annoyingly and wake me up.

At first, I thought it was a bad dream.

I was too tired to care.

I went from freezing to heatstroke all within the span of what felt like an hour, but I couldn’t open my eyes, didn’t want to, I just wanted to sleep a little bit longer.

“Princess, I know you can hear me, open your eyes and give me a little grunt so I know you’re not dead.”

Whose voice was that?

Why did it sound so . . . gruff?

Tired and sexy?

I searched my memory, but all I had was the cabin, lying on the couch, grabbing more firewood, and then nothing. I’d been irritated with the owner.

Julian.

Julian.

Tennyson.

I stiffened and then very slowly opened my eyes.

The first thing I saw was fear.

I was so unaccustomed to seeing it reflected in someone else’s face that it took me by surprise. I was usually the one trying to hide my fear every time I saw that Noah had lost more weight or gotten weaker.

Why was Julian staring at me like that?

My head pounded. I tried lifting my hand.

“I wouldn’t.” His arms tightened around me. Why was he holding me? And where was his shirt? “You hit your head.”

“Why are you naked?” My voice was hoarse, thick like I hadn’t had water in days.

His dark eyebrows shot up. “You’re welcome for saving your life.”

“Huh?” I blinked up at him. He was pretty, I had to give him that. Green eyes, hair I wanted to run my fingers through, a strong, muscular chest that refused to let me go. Where does a guy get pecs like that?

I’d forgotten what it felt like to be held tight.

To feel protected.

And that made me even more traumatized than the fact that I was completely naked in his arms while he stared at me like I was a lunatic. Noah hadn’t been able to hold me tight, he was too sick, and now I was being held, and I hated that it was nice.

“What happened?” I was afraid to move.

He sighed. “I couldn’t sleep and found you outside by the woodpile. You said something about an elk and Noah.” His lips turned into a small smile. “Unless you named the elk, I highly doubt they’re one and the same.”

I talked about Noah?

I cleared my throat. “I didn’t name the elk.”

“Too bad.” He sighed. “You were bleeding, I was afraid you had a concussion so I’ve been waking you up every few hours. The snow just stopped, but we don’t have cell service. The towers must be down.”