He hesitated again, and then leaned in and licked her skin. My. Oh. My. The way his tongue rasped against her set light to the passion in her veins and she blushed, her temperature soaring. Snow licked harder, making her knees quiver and heart stutter.

Disappointment crushed her desire when he sat back and frowned quizzically at her stomach. His eyebrows shot up. His gaze darted to the dead owl.

Busted.

At least in his current state he couldn't pick her up on it. Speech was definitely beyond him. He knelt before her, his face a picture of innocence, looking up at her. She felt as though he was waiting for her to say something, only she wasn't sure what he wanted to hear.

Aurora stroked his cheek.

He leaned into her touch, his eyes closing, and something like a purr rumbled through his chest. She smiled down at him and sneakily rearranged her dress, covering herself before he could notice. His skin was icy cold beneath her fingers.

"Come to the fire," she said, not holding her breath but hoping he might understand her and do as she bid. "I need to get you warm. Understand?"

He growled when she took her hand away from his face. She smiled at him, hoping to soothe his upset, and held her hands out to him. She backed towards the fireplace.

Snow huffed and effortlessly rose to his feet, the muscles of his bare torso shifting with the action, and obediently followed her. He stopped when she crouched in front of the fire. She placed more logs onto the grate and stoked the flames to get the fire burning hotter. The heat of it warmed her skin and stole the numbness away.

Aurora patted the fur behind her.

Snow plopped himself down.

He didn't growl at her when she placed a fur around his wide shoulders. She took that as a good sign. He was happy for her to touch him.

She made him hold the fur around himself and set about rubbing his chest, trying to warm his skin. He grabbed her, twisted her around and pulled her onto his lap, sitting her with her back against his front and her bottom pressing against his groin. He snaked his arms around her stomach and settled his chin on her shoulder.

The fur slid off his back.

He huffed, released her and pulled it back up. The moment he held her again, it slid off. Aurora sighed as he repeated this process three more times before he realised that he couldn't hold her with both arms and keep the warming fur on his back at the same time.

To his credit, he found a way around the problem.

He held the two ends of the large fur and wrapped it around them both, effectively holding her at the same time. It was warm too, cuddly, and she was loath to mention that they couldn't remain like this. He needed to sleep because she wanted to see if sleeping would help him regain control over his bloodlust.

It was definitely affecting him differently this time.

He knew who she was and was more in control of himself, even though he was still acting more like an animal than a man.

"Snow," she said and feigned a yawn, feeling it would be the only way to get him to rest too. If he thought she needed to sleep, he would likely want to do the same, remaining close to her. She would wait for him to doze off and then do something about the dead owl that was in a heap across the room, disturbing her.

It wasn't the most romantic gift to give a woman, but she did appreciate the cavemanesque gesture.

First he had made fire. Then he had hunted for her.

And then he had worn the sweetest nervous look when he had wanted to clean her wound and had feared sullying her.

She smiled again at that and filed it away for bringing up at a later date, when Snow wasn't in the grip of his bloodlust.

The wind slammed against the cabin. Snow held her closer. She patted his hands to soothe him, glad to feel they were warmer now.

"Will you sleep a while with me?" she said and he grunted and moved just enough that he could lay them down on the furs, proving that he could understand her while lost in his bloodlust. He covered her and pulled her flush against him, his large hand settling over her stomach.

Aurora feigned falling asleep and it wasn't long before Snow had drifted off, his breath cool but steady against her shoulder.

Even in sleep, he didn't lessen his grip on her.

She tucked her arm under her head and kept her focus locked on him, monitoring him for a sign that he was experiencing a nightmare. He slept soundly behind her, his big body pressing against her back with each breath.

The fire popped and flickered, throwing warmth over them. She fought off sleep, wanting to stay awake in case Snow needed her.

When the sun began to rise, she gently removed his hand from her stomach and rolled away from him, intending to return to Vampirerotique and see Antoine. She had to confess what she had done and let him know that his brother was safe and well.

Snow grabbed her and dragged her hard against his body.

"Let me go, Snow," she whispered and it only made him worse. He growled at her, his powerful arms caging her, pinning her back against his front. She wriggled, trying to get him to loosen his hold.

He snarled and sharp pain blazed across her bare right shoulder. Aurora gasped, her breath stolen by the intensity of it. Heat washed through her and fear for Snow followed in its wake as she realised what had happened.

He had bitten her.

Aurora instantly stilled in his tensed arms, expecting him to start feasting on her blood, driven to drink all of her in the midst of his dark lust.

He didn't.

He remained rigid behind her, crushing her against his body, his fangs buried in her flesh.

He hadn't bitten her to drink her blood. He had bitten her to keep her with him and ensure she couldn't try to sneak away from him again. It wasn't an act of aggression. It was an act of possession. And possibly even protection.

It was light outside.

Had Snow feared she would go out into the day and the sunlight would harm her?

Aurora breathed slowly, forcing her fear to settle. His body relaxed a fraction of a degree with each second she lay calmly in his arms and the pain in her shoulder subsided. His breathing slowed again, steady once more, but he showed no sign of releasing her from his hold.

She placed her hands over his to soothe him and show him that she was going to stay. He relaxed further, his body moulding against hers in the most delicious way. His fangs remained buried in her shoulder, holding her still.

Aurora lost track of time, staring at the fire. She tried to stay awake but eventually sleep claimed her.

Something tickled her shoulder. She frowned and focused, clearing the fog of sleep from her mind. Snow had released her and was tenderly licking the spot where he had bitten her, his tongue soft and cool as it rasped over her flesh. His arms still caged her, keeping her flush against his body. He wasn't taking her blood though.

He was healing her.

It surprised her, especially when he allowed her to roll over to face him and she found that his eyes were still blazing crimson. He was deep in his bloodlust even after his rest, but he was affectionate and gentle, two things he had never been before when the darkness had seized him. It gave her hope that she could save him.

She pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

He froze, eyes wide and fixed on her the whole time that she explored his lips. She couldn't resist grazing one of his fangs with her tongue. He purred at that and pressed his palms into the small of her back, tugging her closer. She drew back and stroked his white hair from his brow.

"Rest now," she whispered, her gaze holding his. "I will stay with you. You need not fear, Snow."

To prove it, Aurora settled into his arms, her head against his chest. He tensed at first, then relaxed and rolled onto his back, dragging her with him so she was lying on top of him under the furs.

She dozed off again.

When she woke this time, the sun was close to setting and they weren't alone.

The one she knew as Payne was standing in the middle of the room, shivering despite his thick black jacket and gloves, and looking more than a little annoyed.

"Do you know how big this damned valley is?" he snarled and she gestured for him to lower his voice.

Snow still slumbered, but if he woke, he was bound to attack his friend in order to protect her.

"I have been searching everywhere for you two. I had to hide out in a bloody cave when the sun rose this morning and wait for shade to come to this side of the valley before I could teleport through the forest. Do you have any idea how many trees I crashed into trying to get here and avoid getting fried at the same time?" Payne's eyes darkened. Blue, gold and red mixed together like a tempest.

A very deadly tempest.

It made sense that he would be the one to show up. His incubus side gave him the ability to teleport, but only to places that he knew or could see. He had probably already been to the chateau in Switzerland looking for them and now he was here, in the middle of the arctic, hundreds of miles away from the nearest airport.

He would have had to teleport from there to the furthest point he could see and then repeat the process, risking ending up in a lake or any number of dangerous situations. Judging by his soaked blue jeans, soggy leather boots and damp coat, he had ended up neck deep in snow a few times.

He folded his arms across his chest, causing the sleeves of his thick black wool jacket to stretch tight across his muscular arms, and glared at her.

"Snow needs to come home now," he said and his tone gained an edge she didn't like, one that verged on threatening. He thought she was out to hurt Snow. What had Antoine told him about her? Why did everyone think she wanted to hurt him when all she was trying to do was save him?

Payne's gaze flicked to Snow and then back to her. "Antoine needs him home."

She knew that. She had wanted to go to him but Snow had stopped her.

"When he wakes and darkness has fallen, I will bring him back," she whispered. "I couldn't bring him back any sooner... even though I had wanted to. His bloodlust took over."

Payne took a step back, as though that tiny distance could save him if Snow woke and viewed him as a threat to her.

"Please tell Antoine I am sorry and wanted to go to him and tell him about all of this... Snow would not let me go." She glanced pointedly at Snow's arms around her and the fact they had her pinned against him, trying to make Payne see that she wasn't exactly comfortable sleeping on top of him like this and she certainly wasn't doing it by choice.

Snow growled in his sleep and held her closer.

Payne tensed and crimson shot through his eyes, obliterating the blue and gold.

The growl must have been a threat.

Snow's red eyes flicked open and she pressed her full weight onto his shoulders, cupped both of his cheeks in her palms and kept his gaze on her.

"I am safe," she said and he inhaled, and then his lips peeled back off his fangs and he growled again. He tried to look towards Payne. She stopped him. "Snow, look at me. You know him. He means us no harm. Your brother sent him. Antoine sent him."

Snow frowned at that and huffed as he set about covering more of her body with the furs. He tossed a growl at Payne and rolled her off him in the end, tucking her behind him and shielding her from the male by completely concealing her with his broad body and the furs.

Aurora stroked his bare back, trying to soothe him. She poked her head over Snow's shoulder and caught the flicker of shock in Payne's crimson eyes.

"Why isn't he trying to kill me?"

She kept caressing Snow's back, keeping the motion even and smooth. "He will be if you stick around. I think we had a little breakthrough."

"Snow has claimed you as his female." Payne hit the nail on the head with a resounding bang and looked as though he wanted a prize for it. She was tempted to point out all the evidence that should have made that clear from the moment he had popped into the cabin.

For a start, she had been in bed with Snow, sleeping on top of him.

Payne moved, just enough to undo all of her hard work, causing Snow to tense and toss a dark snarl at him. Snow clutched her closer to his back, his blunt claws digging into her bottom through the furs.

"I'm not interested in her. I'm taken, remember?" Payne said but it didn't stop Snow from growling at him again.

"Perhaps you should leave and return to Antoine. Tell him that as soon as Snow is feeling better, I will bring him home," Aurora said and stroked Snow's hair, desperate to soothe him so he didn't do something he would regret later.

"I'm damned well going to tell him that you fucked Snow some way towards sane." He grinned and disappeared.

Aurora cursed him and was tempted to go after him, catch him before he could say something so vulgar to Antoine, and beat him into a bloody pulp. She should have let Snow have his way with the arrogant perverse male.

She squealed when Snow dragged her over him, caught her before she hit the floor, and kissed her.

Someone was learning fast.

Aurora melted into the furs, letting him have his way for a full minute before she decided that him kissing her senseless while lost to his bloodlust probably wasn't a good thing.

She pushed him back and his eyes flicked open to reveal blue irises.

CHAPTER 18.

Snow stroked the tangled waves of Aurora's long black hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. She stared at him, her beautiful green-to-blue eyes wide and full of the shock he could sense in her. She hadn't expected him to be back. She had expected the red eyes of his bloodlust.

"Payne was here," he murmured, not wanting to break the comfortable quiet that was happening between them. She nodded. Snow frowned. "He was rude to you."

Aurora didn't nod this time. "We should take you back to the theatre."

His frown hardened and he rested his fingers on her warm pale cheek. He remembered her being cold last night, her skin chilled by the wintry weather. He remembered her coming to find him in the darkness, risking her life.

It had angered him, although he wasn't sure why. At the time, he had felt she was in danger and he had been desperate to protect her. The only threat to her in this part of the world was a polar bear and Snow could easily take down such a beast. It wouldn't have laid a paw on Aurora.

"What if I do not want to go back?" Snow said, partly because he didn't want to return to Vampirerotique and partly because he wanted to see how she would react to that question.

"You have to-"

"Yes, I have to," he interjected, disappointed that she was going to take the sensible route of what he must and must not do, rather than allowing her emotions to colour her answer. "But that doesn't mean that I want to go back. If I didn't go back... if I chose to spend the rest of my days in this cabin... would you stay with me?"