All I Want For Christmas by Liliana Hart Read Free Book Online Page B

her arm. Grant . He’d come for her.
     
    ***
     
    “Dammit, Annabeth, don’t you go to sleep on me. Keep your eyes open,” he yelled as he ran with her cradled in his arms. Her alabaster skin was already tinged blue and her lips were white. Frost gathered on her eyelashes and he knew they were racing against the clock.
    It was less time to get to his house than it was back to the MacKenzie farmhouse where Thomas could treat her, so he made the choice and started running. They all knew how to treat hypothermia. It was ingrained in every child growing up in this territory, but he wasn’t sure he could save her. She hadn’t been under long before he’d gotten to her. Less than a minute, though it had certainly felt longer at the time.
    His little white house came into view and he pushed the muscles in his legs to go faster, faster, until they burned with the burden he carried. He kicked open his front door, not having the hands or time to dig for his keys. He could patch it up after he took care of Annabeth. Damn fool woman, what the hell was she doing skating on that part of the ice? The thin ice signs were up for a reason.
    Her eyes were closed by the time he got her inside. Grant carried her into the bathroom and turned on the tub as hot as they’d be able to stand, and then he stripped her efficiently down to the skin and followed suit, leaving his briefs on for both their sakes.
    He hissed as he stepped into the tub and the hot water lapped at his ankles, but he gritted his teeth and sat down with her, so her body was completely pressed against him. He needed to get as much of his body heat into contact with her as possible, and skin to skin was the only way to do it.
    Her head lolled against his shoulder and he pressed his finger to the sluggish pulse in her throat.
    “Come on, baby. Let me hear those teeth chatter.”
    The bathroom was so full of steam he could hardly see, and the hot water felt as if it were cooking his insides, but he put his discomfort aside as he held Annabeth close. He’d known her his whole life it seemed, and this was the first time he could remember holding her. He’d never dared before, afraid that if he touched her once he’d never be able to stop. Already, he knew the feel of her in his arms was going to ruin every plan he’d ever made.
    “That’s it, sweetheart,” he said as he felt the shakes begin to overtake her body. “Open your eyes, Annabeth. Let me see those pretty blue eyes.”
    Her lashes fluttered open and she looked at him with a glazed expression, still obviously in shock.
    “Grant.” Her voice was hoarse and he had to strain to hear her. “Knew you’d save me. Love you,” she slurred before her eyes drifted shut again and she snuggled against him.
    Grant froze at her words, sure he’d misheard them. And so what if he’d heard what he thought he had. Wasn’t it common for women to become attached to their rescuers? He brushed the hair back from her forehead and held her tighter as the shivers grew in their intensity. The hot water had done its job, but they weren’t out of the woods yet.
    He pulled the plug and lifted her out of the tub, not bothering to dry either of them off. He pulled off his wet briefs and draped them over the side of the tub. The large armoire in his bedroom held extra quilts and blankets, and he grabbed a down comforter from the shelf.
    Annabeth hardly weighed anything in his arms and he found he was reluctant to put her down as he turned back the covers on his large tester bed. He sure as hell hoped she wasn’t squeamish, because they were about to get as close as two people could possibly get without him being inside her.
    Just the thought of feeling her wet heat around his cock had him hardening instantly. “Snap out of it MacKenzie. This isn’t the time.”
    Grant laid out the down comforter and then put Annabeth’s quaking body on top of it.
    “S…so ccccold,” she moaned.
    “I know, sweetheart. It’ll be better