Bearing the Black Ice (Ice Bear Shifters Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page A

excited him. After she died, Alan had pushed the thought of any other woman far, far out of his mind. Thinking about anyone besides Tessa in a sexual way seemed wrong. But Hannah had somehow broken through that invisible wall. He couldn’t deny that the sight of her heated his blood and filled him with desire.
    Alan groaned when he felt an involuntary stiffening between his legs as his body responded to his passionate thoughts. He tried to change the subject in his head, but his dick insisted on hardening. It stood firm and erect, reminding him that he was still a man with needs and wants, no matter how much the grief had been overshadowing that reality.
    Alan squeezed his eyes closed even tighter than they already were. He desperately needed sleep, and if they made it out of here alive, he could worry then about sorting through these feelings.
    Right now they needed to focus on surviving.
     
    * * *
     
    Alan woke with a start several hours later. He could hear teeth chattering in the darkness, and he realized that Hannah must be freezing. The temperature felt like it had dropped another couple of degrees, probably due to the dropping nighttime temperatures up above ground. Alan sat up on his elbow, and fumbled around in the darkness trying to find the flashlight.
    “Hannah? Are you awake” he asked, feeling along the edge of the wall to locate their light source.
    “Uh-huh,” she said, her voice sounding shaky from the shivering. Alan found the flashlight and turned it on, the small beam flooding the cavern with its light.
    “We should get moving,” he said, glancing at his watch. They had only slept about four hours, and it was still the middle of the night. But it didn’t sound like Hannah was going to be able to sleep again anytime soon, and getting her blood flowing to warm her up seemed like a good idea at this point.
    Hannah sat up slowly. “Can I have another protein bar?” she asked. “I’m starving.”
    Alan hesitated. His own stomach was growling insistently, too. But if they were going to stretch out their meager food supply, it was best to limit themselves to a bar a day each. On the other hand, Hannah’s body had been through quite an ordeal. She needed fuel to warm up and to heal. Alan decided to let her have another one but hold off for the time being on eating any more bars himself.
    “Sure,” Alan said, digging into his bag and pulling out a bar to toss to her. “But enjoy it. We’ll need to wait a while before allowing ourselves to dig further into the food rations. And make sure you drink plenty of water.” Alan tossed her his water bottle as well. Thankfully, there were plenty of underground springs and streams in this cave, providing an abundant supply of water.
    As soon as Hannah finished eating, Alan stood up. “Are you up for walking? I think moving around will help you warm up. And we should try to get some more distance between us and the dead Blizzard. I don’t know how long it will be before someone realizes he’s missing and comes looking for him, but I don’t want to be anywhere near here when they find him.”
    Hannah nodded. “I think I can walk. Just take it slow. I only have socks on, so the ground feels pretty rocky and rough.”
    Alan smiled at her kindly. “We’ll go slowly. But let’s keep moving at a steady pace.”
    Hannah smiled back at him, and Alan felt his heart melting. His bear leaped inside of him, demanding to be heard. Was it possible that Hannah could be his new life mate? Alan turned abruptly away and headed for the entrance to the next tunnel. He didn’t want to think such heavy thoughts right now. He walked quickly, trying to stop the stiffening of his dick between his legs as it responded to the warmth spreading through his body from Hannah’s smile.
    “Alan, wait. I can’t go that fast,” Hannah called out. He looked over his shoulder and saw her trying to gingerly run across the rocky floor. Guilt immediately flooded him. He needed to be