Tarass gave no thought to releasing her, not until she was ready. He could feel her body still quivering with fear and he would keep hold of her until it dissipated even if it took all night.
He did think, however, talking to her might help calm her. “Thaw came and got me. I imagine he tried to wake you and when he couldn’t, he ran for help.” When she didn’t say anything he continued, “You know my whole clan believes the pup is named after the mighty god Thor and will treat him with respect even though he snarls at most of them.”
He felt a small chuckle run through her. “He is named after a winter thaw and not the god Thor, right? A winter thaw fits well with Snow.”
“Thaw and I fit perfectly together,” she said as she plucked her face out of the crook of his neck and turned it up toward his face and didn’t realize the distance between their lips.
Her lips brushed his with a delicate faintness that could barely be felt, yet it sent a sharp jolt to her senses, sending a rush of tingles through her. Instinct had her hurrying back away from him, while passion-filled pokes urged her to return to his arms and his lips.
Thaw hurried into her lap as she moved away and she quickly snatched him up in her arms to hug him to her.
Tarass stood with haste and stepped away from the bed. The way her lips had brushed his could barely be called a kiss, and yet he had never felt as much intensity from a kiss than he had from the faint touch of her lips on his. If a faint touch could produce such a bolt of pleasure, what would a full kiss feel like?
He had to restrain himself from finding out, a good reason to leave, and yet he didn’t want to. He wanted to linger in that shot of pleasure that aroused him enough to turn him hard. Another reason to take his leave quickly. And still…
“I will go. You need more sleep,” he forced himself to say as he backed away from the bed and turned toward the door.
“Tarass,” she called out.
“Aye,” he said, not turning around.
“Thank you.”
“Sleep,” he snapped and left the room, closing the door behind him.
He went straight to his bedchamber and dropped back against the door after closing it. He couldn’t get the faint touch of her lips on his off his mind. It had followed him all the way up the stairs and into his room and had turned him hard, rock hard.
He would get no sleep if he didn’t ease his ache. He thought of the various women always available no matter when, day or night, but the thought of burying himself deep inside any of them brought him no satisfaction. Nor did the thought of poking anyone else.
Damn, he didn’t want to poke anyone but Snow.
He shook his head. That wouldn’t happen. That meant marriage and she was not what he wanted in a wife. Marriage to her brought no benefit with it and with her being blind she would be more of a hindrance than anything.
Snow was not for him, not for one night, not ever. He would do something he had never done. He would deny himself for tonight and tomorrow enjoy a good poke with some woman.
But as he slipped beneath the blanket in bed, the insane thought came again.
Nobody but Snow will satisfy you.
Chapter 9
Snow had been surprised and relieved when Nettle told her that the snow had stopped and with the accumulation minimal, it had to have been sometime in the middle of the night. The villagers were now busy clearing paths. She’d also been surprised to hear that Tarass had taken Thaw out for his morning walk and the pup had actually gone with him without protest. But then Thaw had gone to Tarass for help last night, a sign that he trusted him.
She nibbled on her lips as she thought about last night and how her lips had brushed against Tarass’s lips. Such a faint brush, yet such a jolt to her body. She shivered slightly at the memory. It had been the first time her lips had ever touched a man’s lips and though it hadn’t been a kiss, it had felt like one. At least she thought it did, but perhaps that was because she had never been kissed.
Thaw’s growl caught her attention. He had sat by her side since entering the Great Hall, growling now and again, which meant someone passed by too close to her to his liking. She and Thaw had finished the morning meal hours ago and was told by Fasta she and the pup were to stay put and not get in anyone’s way, since Nettle was needed for a chore in the kitchen.