Ivan's Captive Submissive (Submissive's Wish) by Ann Mayburn Page A

leaves onto her as she could.
    What happened over the next few hours was the closest thing to hell she’d ever felt. She was so, so very cold. Her body shivered in uncontrollable jerks. With her hands between her thighs she tried to curl into a ball as tightly as possible. The forest was in almost complete darkness, and she swore she kept feeling bugs crawling over her. She berated herself a thousand times over for doing this, wishing with all her might she was back with Ivan right now.
    Yes, he was scary. Yes, he was a criminal, but he’d also been good to her—at least so far. While she was sure he’d be seriously pissed when he found her, she would endure anything to be warm again. Freezing to death had to be one of the most painful ways to die and she hoped the numbness of her toes didn’t indicate frostbite. She’d lost feeling in her ears a couple times, but then she’d cup her hands over them until they thawed. But now her hands were becoming cold no matter where she put them on her body and she was afraid to fall asleep. She’d watched enough recue shows to know that when a freezing person fell asleep, they didn’t wake up.
    Her thoughts slowed and her shivers began to wind down as well. She thought maybe she was dying because she swore she heard her name. Craning her neck towards the sound, she saw a bright light and was sure she was dead. But if she was dead, why did she still hurt?
    The thoughts spun through her head like bubbles on the wind, insubstantial and fleeting. Someone called her name again and she recognized the rough accent. 
    Ivan.
    “Here,” she croaked out, her throat completely dry. 
    He came closer. “Gia!” His voice was rough and starting to break.
    Taking a deep breath, she tried to sit up on numb arms. “Here.”
    The beam of light swung away from her and she cried out, a harsh and jagged sound that hurt her throat like nails. Terrified he wouldn’t see her, she tried to scramble out from beneath the tree but her limbs didn’t want to respond. A burst of adrenaline leant her some strength and she moved a few feet out from beneath the branches.
    A moment later the light hit her and stayed on her. 
    “Gia!” Ivan’s voice held so much relief, she started to cry again.
    When he reached her, he set his light down and immediately shrugged off his backpack before he picked her up. The shivers started again as she tried to tell him she was sorry, but she couldn’t form words around the chattering of her teeth. In the harsh light of the flashlight, his face was all highlights and deep shadows, but the strain was obvious. 
    He was clearly worried about her.
    The thought spun around in her head as he set her down. “Hold on, Gia. Let me get this set up and we’ll get you warm.”
    She could barely keep her eyes open, the last of her energy exhausted. He then began to undress her and she wondered why he wanted to have sex now. Her shivers had stopped again and a comfortable fuzziness blanketed her skin. With a grunt he lifted her against him and he slid them into some kind of gigantic foil bag. He must have put their clothing beneath the bag because there was a buffer in-between her and the ground. Next he drew a blanket over them and wrapped his big body around hers. With a rough gasp she clung to him, turning her face on his chest to warm herself. She started to shake again, more like convulsions than shivers. He pulled her tight and she absently noted he was naked, but she couldn’t care less.
    He was warm. 
    Blissfully, wonderfully, warm. 
    Though he startled at the touch of her cold skin, soon he was briskly rubbing her hands. “You are freezing.”
    For a moment he moved away from her and she stuttered out a protest. “I have heated packages.”
    Wondering what the hell he was talking about, she watched as he rubbed some kind of gel pack briskly before placing it in her hands. The instant heat felt like it was burning her skin but she moaned, slowly becoming aware of how