The Snow Queen's Captive by Jill Myles

the winding corridors of the ice palace and into her palatial bedroom. There was her icy nest, just as she’d left it, and Kai gently laid her down inside.
    “Rest,” he told her. “Your bear can take care of itself. I can take care of myself. But all of this,” he said, gesturing at the palace, “needs you to be well. Understand?”
    She nodded up at him, resisting the urge to rub her throbbing forehead. “Maybe I’ll close my eyes for just a minute.”
    “Do that,” he said sternly, peeling off his cape and laying it over her as a blanket. As if she needed a blanket.
    Still, she snuggled underneath it, the scent of Kai in her nostrils, and went to sleep.

Chapter Six
     
    Next to him, Charlotte cried out.
    Kai bolted awake and sat up, rubbing his eyes. The chamber was frosty, his breath puffing, and he tugged the blankets higher over their bodies. He’d gone to sleep clothed in his furs so he could curl up next to her while she slept.
    There was no reason to do so, but he’d wanted to. He liked touching her and being near her, just like how he couldn’t seem to get enough of looking at her. And this was nothing like the mirror spell from before, when he’d felt drugged and doped out of his mind, unable to process anything but the commands she’d given him. He was in full control of his facilities…and still obsessed with this sweeter, gentler version of the snow queen who went by the name of Charlotte and talked to people that he couldn’t see.
    The snow queen that was just as trapped here as he was. Kai gazed down at Charlotte’s sleeping face, wondering at her secrets.
    Even now, as he studied her, she tossed and turned, shaking her head. Her eyelids fluttered in her sleep. “No…” she murmured, a distressed sound. “Don’t…come back!” When she shook her head again, tiny crystalized tears sprinkled the bedding.
    A nightmare. Kai adjusted one of his mittens, tightening the laces to ensure it stayed on. Then, he gave in to the urge to touch her, stroking her cheek with the backs of his gloved fingers. “Charlotte. Awaken, Charlotte. You’re having a bad dream.”
    She flinched, and then her eyes flew open, and her lashes fluttered as her blue eyes struggled to focus in the dim light. “K-k-kai?”
    “It’s me,” he said softly. “You’re safe.”
    Her breasts heaved, her ice bodice creaking with each lungful of air she sucked in. “God. Oh God. That was the worst dream ever. I…” she looked at him and then clamped her mouth shut. “I’m okay, really. Thank you.”
    He didn’t like that she’d pulled back, a wary look on her face. “What were you dreaming about?”
    “Nothing.”
    “It’s not nothing,” he argued. “You were shaking and crying. What was it?” It was obvious to him that the dream had frightened her…and just as obvious that she didn’t want to share it with him. That made him feel helpless. He wanted to help her. To comfort her. And he couldn’t if she pursed her lips and looked away, like she was now.
    So he distracted her again, running the soft fur of his mitten along her jaw again. “Charlotte,” he coaxed. “Tell me.”
    She shook her head again. “It’s nothing, Kai. Really.”
    “Was it about the prophecy you mentioned?” He asked, brushing the mitten across her gleaming brow. He could have stopped touching her at any time, truly. He just…didn’t want to. She was snuggled in bed next to him, looking soft and oh-so vulnerable, and he couldn’t help it. He had to caress her, even if it was through this gods-blighted mitten of his. He longed to touch her skin, to touch her like a man touched his lover, but they had to be so very careful at all times.
    It was frustrating.
    “I’m fine,” she said softly. “Really.”
    He doubted that very much. Even now, she seemed to be trembling quietly under the thick furs. He knew she couldn’t shiver with cold, so it had to be fear. Kai kept touching her, this time brushing a lock of hair from her