Her lips felt parched, but she didn’t care about that, either. All she cared about was the fact that she felt warmth, and softness, and the voice sounded too far away to bother her, so she snuggled back down and felt the voice fade farther away.
Then something jolted her. She groaned, wishing she had the energy to push whoever was bothering her away. Why was it such a difficult concept for people to understand when someone just wanted to sleep?
“Open your lips, Grace.”
“No.” Was that her voice? She could have sworn she’d spoken, but that most certainly wasn’t her voice.
Something hard and hot was now behind her. It felt good, so she nestled into it and took a deep breath, the scent raw and spicy—absolutely delicious. But something was pressing against her lips. She tried shaking her head, but even that movement was too difficult, so she gave up.
When the offending thing against her lips wouldn’t go away, she parted them just slightly, and then wished she hadn’t. Fire shot down her throat, making her eyes fly open as she began to cough.
“More. Drink this, Grace.”
The cup pressed to her lips was tilted up again, and more fire ran down her throat. She coughed and complained, and finally it stopped, but only for a moment. The glass was back and she tried to refuse, but she didn’t have the strength.
This time, though, it was cool and refreshing and she gulped it down.
“The whiskey will warm your insides. The water will hydrate you.”
“Cam?”
“Yes, it’s me.” It took a moment for her to process his words, but he sounded angry—furious, in fact. Why was he so upset? She was too tired to try to figure it out.
Then she noticed that Cam was sitting behind her—in his bed—and she was stark naked.
“Wh . . . what is going on?” she croaked out.
“I barely managed to find you—do you realize that? You were lying on the ground damn well covered in snow. You’ve been in and out of consciousness for two hours, and you nearly gave me a freaking heart attack.”
It took several moments for his words to sink in, and then she remembered her walk—her bright idea of making it to Sage’s house after he’d disabled her car.
“I wouldn’t have been outside walking if you hadn’t messed up my car,” she mumbled, leaning back into the warmth of his bare skin. She wasn’t even concerned at the moment that they were both pretty much naked.
“Once again, I didn’t tamper with your car!” he growled. “You’re from here, Grace. You know better than to walk around when there’s a storm brewing.”
“I didn’t know a storm was coming,” she said, turning just a little so she could snuggle more deeply into his warmth.
“The clouds were as black as they come, Grace. You know better!” he thundered.
“Stop yelling,” she said, but her voice was so weak, it didn’t hold much authority. “I thought it was just going to rain. I’ve gotten wet before.”
“Even if it had been rain, you could have gotten pneumonia at the very least.”
“I’m a Montana girl. I’m tough. It just started snowing so hard, and I lost the road, and then I couldn’t find my way forward or back. It was so cold, and then it wasn’t cold anymore, and then . . . I just remember something warm, and that’s all I remember.”
“You remember warmth because you were suffering from hypothermia, you stubborn little fool.”
At least he’d stopped yelling.
“I made a mistake. You don’t need to be such a jerk,” she told him, a flash of anger whipping through her.
He was quiet for a moment. She guessed he didn’t like being on the receiving end of a sharp tongue. Well, too dang bad for him. She might be craving his warmth at the moment, but she certainly wasn’t going to be berated for making a small mistake. Okay, a big mistake, but it was over and she was now safe.
“Dammit, Grace, I was scared to death.”
“Do I still have all my fingers and toes?” she asked in an attempt to make a joke. She wiggled all of her digits to make sure she did, in fact, have them.
“I don’t find you amusing,” he said, but he was much calmer as he ran his fingers slowly up and down her arms. “And, yes, you have all your body parts.”
“I’m sorry, Cam. I knew I was in trouble when it began coming down so quickly, but I couldn’t find my phone and I couldn’t get out of it.” Her voice was now choked with tears that she didn’t want to give in to. She was afraid that if she did, she might never stop.
“I shouldn’t have yelled, Grace. I was just so damn terrified,” he said as he pulled her more tightly to him and kissed the side of her forehead.
The soothing action was making her eyes drift shut again. She was still so very tired.
“I just want to sleep,” she told him, turning slightly, laying her head against his warm chest as he caressed the side of her face.
“That’s because your body was working so hard to keep you alive. It’s probably the equivalent of running a marathon,” he whispered.
“I’ve always thought people who run marathons are fools. Why in the world would you punish yourself like that? I find it much more enjoyable to sit with a glass of wine and watch an episode of Scandal.” She couldn’t quite get out a laugh.
“I’ll stick with the whiskey. My gut is still tied in knots.”
“I’m naked,” she pointed out. Should she be mortified that she wasn’t more embarrassed about it?