Chapter Nine

“Why Are You Helping Me?”

There were two things that Mallory was grateful for as she and Lance lay in the dark depths of the cave that night. The first was its warmth. It was nothing compared to what she imagined a fire would be like, but it was warm enough that she could pull off the coat for a moment and stretch her wings.

The second was that they could finally get some rest. Their journey had been tiresome. Her muscles ached, and her bones were tired. More than anything else right now, she needed to get some sleep. Between the constant threat of Boris, the Fae Hunter, the appearance of Boris himself, and their plunge off the cliff, her nerves were frayed.

In all her life, she’d never come so close to death so many times within a matter of days. If, by some miracle, she ever found herself back in her world, the first thing she would do was book an appointment with a shrink.

Lance was already asleep, which was a relief. He needed the rest even more than she did, especially after everything he’d put himself through on her behalf. She lay in the dark, listening to his gentle snores until, soon, the sound lulled her into a deep, dreamless sleep.

By the next morning, she felt invigorated. Lance was already awake and crouched near the mouth of the cave, almost a silhouette to her. Wrapped in bandages, he looked like something out of a fantasy movie. Either that or someone auditioning for a remake of The Mummy .

Routinely checking her MediPack to make sure it was still intact—she’d used most of the bandages and antiseptic and had lost the scissors but nothing else—she made her way toward him.

“You’re awake,” he said before she reached him.

He hadn’t even turned around. Mallory edged closer. “I am. You should be resting.”

“I did rest,” he told her. “And then I couldn’t. It’s hard to, knowing he’s out there.”

He turned suddenly, and their eyes met. Mallory felt a wave of awkwardness wash over her as the memory of yesterday came rushing back to meet her. She’d mistakenly gone below the belt while cleaning his wound and touched him where the sun didn’t shine. Good thing it had been dark—she’d been pretty sure her face had turned crimson.

And Lance…Lance had been hard.

It couldn’t have been because of her, could it? That sort of thing happened all the time. Men didn’t have to be aroused to get erections. Besides, he didn’t even like her. For all she knew, it had all been a coincidence. A misunderstanding.

But even as the thought crossed her mind, she knew she was wrong. Mallory decided not to deal with it now. She cast it aside.

“How are you feeling?

He was silent for a moment. “Stronger.”

“You need more rest.” When he opened his mouth to protest, she said, “If Boris were going to find us, he would have done so by now. I don’t think we’ll be seeing him anytime soon.”

She didn’t believe any of what she was saying, but she figured someone had to sound confident about their odds. If Lance was this worried about their odds against the Fae Hunter, what chance did she have?

“Do we have any food?” she asked him.

The look he gave her told her she’d asked a dumb question.

“Oh.” She rubbed her arm through the coat. “We’ll get something when we keep moving. For now, you need more rest.”

He lifted an eyebrow.

“I mean it,” she told him sternly. “You know I’m right.”

A sigh parted his lips. He cut her a sideways glance. “Why are you so concerned about me?”

Mallory hesitated. She had to admit that the question caught her by surprise. She hadn’t really given it much thought, but now that Lance mentioned it, she supposed it was because, deep down, she felt guilty about asking him to help her and, in the process, risking his own life. That, and the fact that taking care of his wounds, had helped calm her exhausted mind.

She shrugged. “Why are you helping me?”

He frowned at that, but before he could respond, she pointed back into the cave. “Rest. Now.”

Lance turned to face her, and she staggered backward suddenly. He reached out and grabbed her before she could lose her balance, pulling her to him. He was hard against her body, her breasts crushed against his solid chest.

She could feel the steady thump of his heart.

Mallory stared up at him, feeling a tiny flutter in the depths of her belly. His lips were still slightly parted. If she stood on her tiptoes…

She swallowed and pulled away from him, feeling her face grow hot.

“We can keep moving tomorrow,” she told him, clearing her throat. “Just get some rest, okay? We both need it. Boris isn’t going to find us. At least, not for a while.”

Lance protested for a bit, but eventually, he agreed to sleep some more, retreating to the back of the cave. He lay curled on his side, facing the entrance and reluctantly closed his eyes. Mallory watched him until his breathing slowed down, guilt and a sense of responsibility clawing at her.

She supposed she should learn to adapt to this place, but it seemed that the more time they spent on Frost Mountain, the more uneasy she felt. It was hard to believe she would be spending the rest of her life in a place that felt like it was designed not only to imprison her but to kill her as well.

To be fair, she thought with a silent chuckle, the rest of my life is relative. For all she knew, she could be dead in the next ten seconds. Or by midnight. That was the thing about Frost Mountain. Back in her world, back in Vegas, things could get pretty chaotic, but at least there seemed to be a general order to things. Get up from bed. Get on the commune. Grab lunch at noon. Work your butt off.

Here on Frost Mountain, at the mercy of the elements, she had none of that to worry about. No, all she could think about was her survival. There was no telling at what point she could suddenly lose her life or how. It could be another avalanche. She could step on thin ice and fall into a river and drown or freeze to death. Or she could get attacked by some animal in the woods. Mallory had spotted a couple of bears over the past few days. They could have been regular bears or maybe shifters; she had the feeling they were the former.

As if that weren’t enough, she had someone tail her for several days and several nights. In her world, she would’ve easily filed a restraining order against Boris. Heck, the Fae Hunter would be in the slammer by now. But things like that didn’t happen on Frost Mountain. Here, she had a single task.

Survive.

And then what? Even if she managed not to get killed by the elements or by Boris, Mallory didn’t think she had anything to look forward to. A new job? A new home, maybe a husband and some kids? The idea almost made her laugh. Almost.

She heard a groan, and it sent a chill through her bones. Her first thought was that someone was nearby, and she stiffened, bracing herself for whoever could have stumbled upon them. But the sound was coming from deeper inside the cave.

Lance?

He groaned again. Was he in pain? Mallory inched closer, her hand already reaching into her MediPack.

“Lance?”

“…lia,” he groaned. His body twitched. “No…”

“Lance, are you okay?”

When he spoke again, she heard him clearly this time. Mallory’s entire body went rigid.

“Julia…”