The Snowmaiden, A Bride for Krampus - Jeanette Lynn Page 0,65
the warmth of his. “I don’t know what I did, but I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “I guess I just wish I understood you better.”
The noise he made was even sadder than the first and didn’t really translate.
“I wish you didn’t hide from me,” I whispered, staring down at our hands.
A series of grunts left the Baumbel and he stood. Lumbering over to the fire, his back to me, he beckoned Yule ti to get it roaring again. Once done with that, he kept his back to me as he began taking the meat chunks from his bag to stab them onto sticks and set them over the blue flames to roast.
Right. Okee dokee then.
Feeling slightly rejected and confused as to what the hell was going on, I dragged the pelt swaddling me over my head to sit here in silence and not do anything else to otherwise aggravate the male.
I was drowsy, drifting off for some time, when I felt a hand at my shoulder and the blanket was gently lifted off my head. The smell of roasted meat tickled my nose as my eyes slid open. Rubbing my eyes, I went to sit up, mumbling that I was awake, to find myself dragged into my mate’s lap and enveloped in a huge bear hug. Someone was full of apology type feelings as they cuddled me to them and garbled out gibberish. Maybe my words were gibberish to him too but he was better at reading me?
The smell of roasted meat was so close I could taste it. My belly growled angrily as I licked my lips. “That smells wonderful,” I whispered, wanting to sit up but hesitating to peer up at him questioningly.
The saddest noise I’d ever heard from the male left Baumb and he reached up to scratch at his ear. “Lumi?” he rumbled out softly, then brought his fingers to his lips. His gaze was drawn to my exposed shoulder as the pelt slipped. It was freaking cold, even with the fire and the pelts. “Lumi.” Nuzzling the spot, he pressed a sweet kiss there and tucked the pelt back up over me until I was once more swaddled.
“I can’t eat like this,” I pointed out, raising my eyebrows at him.
Shifting, a cup bowl of meat beside him coming into view, he extended his claws, stabbing a piece of meat with one, and carefully brought it over to me to hold it out to me.
“Oh. Don’t know what I did to deserve special treatment but I could get used to this.” When I went to pluck the meat from his talon-like extended claw, his hand pulled back and he slowly shook his head, as he’d seen me shake mine at him plenty of times. “No?” I asked, confused and at a loss.
“Baumb Lumi,” he said, and held the offered bit out, bringing it to my lips.
Shrugging, I leaned in and took a bite. Chewing and swallowing, I glanced up at him to find him watching me concernedly. “Uh, thank you,” I mumbled, trying not to frown along with him. That Krampus cream filling only stretched so far and those pleasant warming effects didn’t last as long as I’d like.
“Lumi Baumb?” he asked suddenly, his heavy brow crinkling as he glanced from me to somewhere beyond the maze of the caverns catacombs. Unease slithered through him. I held back a shiver at the chill in the air, the winds howling through the caverns chafing my cheeks. My nose was feeling as dry as my face with this wintery wonderscape. Nose slightly stuffed up, I was slowly beginning to experience those lovely, constant cold weather drawbacks.
“Lumi Baumb,” I assured him as that tickle in my nose started up. Damn. This really was having some fun with me today. Wriggling my nose, I could feel it as it built, until I cupped a hand over my nose and mouth and a sneeze slipped free.
Baumb jumped like I’d just goosed him. As one sneeze turned into a stream of them, prone to that sort of chain sneeze reaction, I shook my head out, wriggling my nose when it was all over, to glance up and find my snow beast alien mate gaping down at me.
Baumb grunted as I eyed him curiously. Leaning in, he sniffed at me, chuffed, grunted, and leaned back.
With a huff, I laughed. “Well, thanks, sweetie,” I teased on a chuckle. When my mouth opened and a laugh came out at the tense look on his whiskered