Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 121146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 606(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 606(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Celia was struggling weakly in the icy water and her face had already turned blue.
Hold wasn’t usually a cursing kind of male, but he cursed now. The river wasn’t fast but it was deep and she couldn’t swim. He had to get her out and quickly—before she either drowned or literally froze to death before his eyes!
Throwing himself down on the floor, he reached down into the trench and grabbed for her. He missed at first, his fingertips skating off her tight-fitting warm suit and he could feel his fingers going numb at once. He knew he had to get her on the next try or they would be too cold to grip her!
“Goddess, help me!” he muttered desperately and tried again.
He reached further, bending recklessly far over the swirling river. Plunging his hands to the elbow into the icy water, he finally succeeded in gripping Celia’s arm. But as he started to pull her up and out of the river’s channel, he felt himself beginning to slip forward over the icy side and towards the water.
Hold cursed again. If they both fell in—
But then two strong hands grabbed him and began pulling.
“Fierce?” Hold turned his head, surprised to see that his brother was up and gripping him by the ankles. After getting a death hug from a V’ranna, all his ribs should be broken! “Your ribs—” he began.
“You got her?” Fierce demanded, his eyes blazing. Hold could see pain twisting his face, but he wasn’t letting go.
“I’ve got her.” Hold nodded.
“Then fuck my ribs. Hold her tight—I’ll pull you both up.”
And Fierce did it somehow, hauling both Hold and Celia up and out of the river’s channel.
When they were clear of the water’s edge, the Dark Twin collapsed, panting and clutching his sides. Hold was afraid that if he had internal injuries, he might have made them worse.
But he had no time to examine his brother at the moment. Celia was lying on the floor, cold and blue and soaking wet.
If they didn’t get her warm—and quickly—they were going to lose her.
19
FIERCE
Fierce felt like all the Seven Hells put together. His ribs ached fiercely, both from the V’ranna’s death hug and from hauling his brother and their bride out of the fucking river. But he couldn’t relax.
Before he knew it, Hold was shaking him by the shoulder and demanding that he help.
“Strip her!” he was saying, his eyes wide and serious. “Now, Fierce—help me! We have to get this suit off her before she freezes solid!”
Struggling to sit up again, Fierce grabbed for the warm suit—which had now become as cold as ice—and began pulling and tugging on it. But despite his efforts, he couldn’t peel it away from Celia’s chilled body.
“How the fuck does this fucking thing come off?” he growled, frustration boiling inside him and about to blow.
“There must be a way it opens—look! I found it!” Hold was fumbling with something near her neck. “My fingers are numb—you do it. It’s one of those human clothing closures that go up and down!” he exclaimed.
Fierce felt where his brother was pointing and found a small metal tab just under Celia’s chin. Gripping it, he pulled downward. There was a soft purring sound like zzzzzip and finally the warm suit parted.
They worked together to peel it off her arms and legs—no easy task since the stretchy material seemed to want to cling to her. At last they had her down to her bra and panties—a lacy black set that looked gorgeous against her warm brown skin, Fierce noted distractedly. But Hold was already tugging at the bra.
“Off—get it all off!” he demanded. “She can’t have any wet fabric on her body—it will freeze to her skin! Here—you strip her while I set up a warming tent!”
He pulled off his backpack and began digging through it madly, leaving Fierce to wrestle with their bride’s undergarments. He just hoped she didn’t wake up while he was doing this—she already disliked him and if she thought he was stripping her for his own personal enjoyment…
But Celia didn’t wake up. She made no protest at all, just a soft moan as he finally got her bra unhooked and slipped it off, baring her full breasts. As he pulled her panties down her generous, full hips, Fierce was getting more and more worried. Her skin was cold as ice—what if they had been too late getting that damn warm suit off her?
“Hold—she’s freezing!” he shouted to his brother, who was still digging in the pack. “And she’s not moving—I’m fucking worried!”
“Take off your coat and shirt and put her against your chest!” Hold ordered, without looking up. He seemed to find what he was looking for, because he pulled a cube the size of his hand out of the pack and paced forward to place it on the floor.