Chapter 3

Serra’s POV

Leon woke earlier than usual the next morning.

Nothing about the night before left his mouth. While packing the patrol gear he only said, calm and almost casual, “The border’s been restless lately. The three of us should head out together today.”

My hand holding the water cup paused for a second.

He was already holding out the jacket, tone still even, as if arranging ordinary daily work. “Rex will come too. A three-person team is safer.”

No solid reason existed to refuse.

The sky stayed overcast when the group set out. Near the border the blizzard arrived faster than anyone expected.

Wind drove ice pellets into the face. Visibility dropped until an outstretched hand nearly vanished. Leon’s voice came in broken pieces through the gale and then disappeared completely. A hard pull dragged me into a shallow recess in the rock wall and slammed me straight into a solid chest.

Rex.

The cave barely held two people. Outside the storm stayed blocked at the entrance while the cold inside cut to the bone. Every layer of clothing was soaked. Body heat was already dropping fast.

Rex wasted no words. He pulled me into his arms and wrapped both of us tight with his own coat and frame.

At first the hold was only for warmth.

Chest pressed to chest. Heartbeats struck hard against each other. Breath tangled in the narrow space. My fingers clutched his collar without thought. The cold slowly gave way to his heat, yet a different heat began rising from every point of contact.

His hand slid from my back down to the side of my waist. The palm rested on wet, freezing fabric yet burned hot against my skin.

“Still cold?” The question came low.

A headshake was the only answer. No sound followed.

Outside the wind howled. Leon’s shouts tore into scraps and vanished. The knowledge that he was searching out there stayed clear, yet the cold still made me lean a little deeper into Rex’s hold.

That single lean erased any path back.

His temperature ran too hot. Soaked clothes clung to skin. What started as shared warmth turned into a different kind of pressure. The hard length of him was already obvious, pressing through the layers, hot and unmistakable. My body softened without permission. Underwear was soaked through before the chill had fully left.

I caught my lower lip between my teeth. Rex’s hand had already slipped under the hem and settled bare against the skin of my waist. His thumb rubbed slow and light, yet every pass carried a current.

Leon was outside. I could still hear the wind tearing his voice into pieces.

The thought slammed into my mind over and over, yet never produced a real push away.

My head tipped back, almost offering my mouth. His other hand had already loosened the ties of the outer coat. The palm traveled higher, about to reach the edge of my bra. Cold, heat, fear and want tangled so tightly it was impossible to tell whether I stayed pressed close because of the cold or because I refused to pull away from his touch.

In that exact second hurried footsteps and a shout broke through outside the cave.

“Serra! Rex!”

Leon.

Ice water seemed to pour from head to toe. I shoved hard, separating us. Distance opened in a clumsy scramble while clothes were yanked back into place. My heart hammered near explosion. Legs still shook, yet I forced myself upright.

Those few minutes stayed burned in memory: the near surrender of everything to the brother while the husband searched only steps away.

Leon stumbled in, face covered in snow and worry.

“You two all right? I’ve been looking forever…”

Meeting his eyes felt impossible. A quiet “We’re fine” was all that came out before I turned and stepped out of the cave first. Wind and snow hit at once, yet none of it mattered. The only need was to leave the place that still held the heat of that body.

Aftermath fear and relief crashed together. The skin still remembered every spot he had burned.

A voice dropped straight into my mind from behind.

“Next time I won’t stop.”