Frost Bitten (9 page)

Unfortunately,
when she landed in the snow she misjudged the depth and ended up face
first in the icy wetness. Daisy pushed to her feet and trudged a path
through thigh deep snow until she got beyond the perimeter of the
house where the storm had dumped less than a foot or so of white
stuff. Minutes later she’d successfully navigated away from the
house but her face had begun to ache from her fall. Her body shivered
and she swore her fingers and toes were already turning numb. She
fished the gloves from her jacket pocket and slid them over her
hands. The sudden warmth she’d been hoping for failed to
appear.

Damn.
Shit. Fuck.

At
this rate she’d freeze to death before she hit the road. After
another several minutes passed she began to doubt her ability to find
her way. The scent markers she’d left behind the day before had
been obliterated by the storm. She shoved her hands under her armpits
searching for heat to warm her freezing fingers and trudged onward.

As
she lost track of time it became obvious she’d made a mistake.
She’d let a couple of bastard cougars run her off from a
perfectly warm cabin instead of kicking them out on their asses like
a smart woman would. Shit. Now she faced being lost on some God
forsaken mountain where she’d probably freeze to death.

“
Daisy!”

She
spun at the not so distant call of her name.
Seth
.
Apparently she’d not gotten as far away as she’d thought.
It only took her half a second to turn back and head in the direction
of the voices calling out to her. Her idiotic idea of running away
could only be chalked up to a brief bout of temporary insanity. If
they didn’t want her beyond last night that would be their
loss. They could go fuck themselves and she’d make sure they
knew it.

Fortunately,
it didn’t take long to get back to the cabin with their
constant calling out for her. She emerged from the woods, coming face
to face with two pissed off shifters.

Seth
glared at her. “Are you trying to get us all killed or are you
just being a bone-headed idiot?”

Daisy
straightened her spine and glared what she hoped were daggers at
Seth. It was hard to get a full-bodied anger going because her
fingers and faced ached from the cold. “And are you an i-idiot
or do you j-just look like one?”

“
Jesus,
Seth. Look at her. She’s turning blue. Save the insults and
attitudes for later.” Before she could protest, Trent scooped
her off her feet and carried her to the cabin. They’d dug a
tunnel from the front door, pushing the snow to the sides of the
path.

“
I-I
can w-walk.”

“
Uh
huh.” He pushed the door open and Daisy sighed in relief at the
blast of warmth enveloping her. They’d started a fire at some
point and it burned tall and bright in the fireplace in front of her.
It looked so inviting she wanted to dive in until every last trace of
the cold was gone.

Trent
went straight to the living room rug and set her on her feet. The
door slamming across the room caught her attention and she turned to
see a still angry Seth crossing towards her.

“
Do
you care to explain why in the hell you snuck out a window in the
middle of a snowstorm?” Trent removed her jacket and gloves and
blew warm breath across her hands. “You’re practically
frozen,” he growled.

“
N-not
snowing hard anymore.” That earned her a glare.

He
bent, unlaced, and removed first one boot and then the other. She
wiggled her toes and soaked up the heat. Seth stopped at the edge of
the rug and didn’t move closer. Nervous about what he had to
say, Daisy kept her head down and watched Trent finish removing her
socks. It wasn’t until he’d unfastened her pants and
pulled them halfway down her legs when her brain registered what he
was doing.

“
Hey,”
she objected.

“
Your
clothes are wet and freezing. You need to get warm.” Not in the
mood to argue when she knew he was right, Daisy allowed him to remove
the rest of her clothing. When he took a step back and began removing
his shirt, her mouthed gaped open. Was he kidding? From the corner of
her eye she spied Seth doing the same.

“
Are
you crazy? I’m not having sex with you again.” She bared
her teeth at Trent. “Or you.” She glared at Seth who
still wore the devilish scowl he’d greeted her with.

“
This
isn’t about sex, little cat. It’s about getting you warm
and the quickest way is body heat.” Trent pulled her into his
embrace and the protest she’d been about to blast at him died
on contact. Instead she clung to him, wanting to climb closer if it
meant more heat.

Seth
moved in behind her, pressing his naked front to her backside. Now
she’d died and gone to heaven. They felt that damned good.
Daisy rested her head on Trent’s chest and sighed. Regrets that
things couldn’t be different rose within her. Dammit, this
wasn’t fair. They should be fighting to keep her.

Painful
tears burned at the back of her eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut and
fought them back to no avail. The first splash dropped to Trent’s
chest with no warning. He jerked against her, his heart rate
accelerating.

In
what she guessed could be nothing less than silent twin speak, Seth
ran his hands from her buttocks to her shoulders, where he hesitated
only for a second before entwining his fingers in her hair and
tugging her head back, thus forcing her to meet Trent’s gaze.

“
You
will tell us why you ran.” The quiet, controlled tone of his
voice sent a shiver along her spine. How could she get through this
conversation without breaking down?

“
I
heard you talking,” she admitted. “You were arguing over
why you couldn’t mate with me.”

Trent
sighed and Seth’s free arm came around her waist.

“
Only
because I was trying to protect you.”

“
I
can protect myself. And make my own decisions. I’m a big girl
now.” She managed to temper her tone but didn’t quite
succeed in the execution.

“
Have
you met a male shifter? In case you didn’t notice we’re a
bit possessive about our females.”

“
So
that’s why you’re ready to throw me out this morning with
yesterday’s trash?”

“
You’re
a smart-mouthed little hell cat, that’s what you are.”
Seth whispered at her ear. “Can you even comprehend the danger
you placed yourself in out there? This mountain is dangerous on a
good day. Add in a storm and it’s a hell of a gamble.”

She
sighed. As embarrassing as it was to admit, they were right. How many
times had she spouted a similar lecture to strangers in her swamp?
“You’re right. See. I can admit when I was wrong.”

“
And
so can we.” Trent bent close until he barely hovered over her
lips. “If we let you go. I’d take odds we wouldn’t
last long before we came after you. Danger or no danger.”

Daisy
fought for breath. The always-simmering arousal had flared to life.
“I don’t understand the danger.”

“
Historically
outsiders haven’t fared well in our clan. Especially other
breeds. We’d all have an uphill battle. It would change your
life drastically.”

“
Who
said anything about staying here? I have a life—a career.”

“
Are
you saying no to mating?”

Daisy
shrugged. “I haven’t heard anything about love yet and I
won’t settle for anything less.”

Trent
opened his mouth to say something and she quickly covered it with her
hand. “If you say one word about fated mates I will knock you
both silly and leave you both here to freeze to death.”

Seth
and Trent exchanged glances before they both broke out in smiles.
“Yes, ma’am, Miss Daisy. Whatever you say.”

Daisy
swung her arm to punch Trent in the arm and Seth caught her arm and
pinned it behind her back.

“
Trent,
I’ve always wanted to go south for vacation. What do you think
about a nice long trip to a certain swamp?” Seth slid his hand
in between her legs and circled her clit.

Trent
leaned forward and pushed a finger insider her wet and aching pussy.
“Oh yeah. I’m long overdue on a vacation and I know just
how I want to spend it.” He curled his fingers and rubbed
across her G-spot. Dark spots danced in her eyes as the orgasm that
had been threatening strained for freedom.

“
You’ll
have to face my brothers,” she gasped trying to hold on.

“
I
think we can take it,” Trent said.

She
wasn’t so sure they understood what they were getting into…

A
low growl sounded from somewhere close by seconds before Seth’s
mouth closed on her clit. Sharp points scraped the tender flesh a
split second before he bit down.

Daisy
screamed as her body splintered into a thousand little tiny points of
light. Her lungs burned for air she couldn’t drag in even while
her heart expanded at the sudden truth of what these men meant to
her. They pushed her to heights of pleasure she thought would
certainly kill her and sometime in the middle of a freaking snow
storm she’d begun to fall ass over teakettle in love.

Now
if she could just breathe.

When
Daisy didn’t think she could handle another second she heard
Trent purr, “Like it or not little cat. You’ve been good
and bitten.”

About
the Author

Eliza
Gayle lives a life full of sexy shapeshifters, blood boiling vamps
and a dark desire for bondage—until she steps away from her
computer and has to tend to her family.

She
graduated Magna Cum Laude (which her husband translated into
something very naughty) from Park University with a dual degree in
Human Resource Management and Sociology. That education, a love of
the metaphysical and a dirty mind comes in handy when she sits down
to create new characters and worlds. The trick is getting her to sit
still.

Join
her in her world. The door is always open and the next red hot
adventure is just a page away.

For
more information on other books by Eliza, visit the author’s
official website:
http://www.elizagayle.net

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