Free Stolen Dreams by Marilyn Campbell Page B

as still as possible
after that.
     
For
several minutes, Gabriel guided the floating shelter until he reached a
spot where the wind was partially blocked by high snowdrifts. Shara
wondered how he was managing to tolerate the cold so much better than
she, but when he lowered the tent and crawled in, she realized he was
merely more stoical. His lips and fingers had turned blue and his hair
and clothing were covered with frost.
     
His entire body was
shaking as
he began rooting through his satchel again. "He-he-heater," he
whispered, placing a crystal ball in the center of the tent. Instantly
it emitted a soft golden glow. Seeing him place his hands close to the
orb, Shara did the same and sighed as a mild warmth seeped into her
stiff fingers. She barely began to thaw when he took several small
metal boxes out of his satchel and crawled toward the tent opening.
     
Grasping
his arm, she asked, "What are you doing now?"
     
"Have to ...
s-s-set b-b-barriers to k-k-keep animals away." As he spoke, two of the
boxes fell from his trembling hands.
     
Shara
picked them up and held out her hand for the other two. "Give them to
me and tell me how to do it." When he hesitated, she added, "It's very
clear that I need your help, Professor. You will be of little value to
me if you're frozen to death."
     
He gave her the two boxes and
pointed
out the activator button. "Just p-p-push them . . . under the s-s-snow
... at the f-f-four corners of the tent. And hurry."
     
She
rolled her eyes at him. "No kidding!" Opening the tent flap as little
as possible, she went back out into the cold. The snow was packed so
hard she had to use the
boxes to dig out holes to set them in the way Gabriel had instructed.
By the time the fourth barrier projector was activated, she was again
shivering from head to toe.
     
Crawling back inside, she noted
that
Gabriel was now huddled in his sleeping pouch, but he was still quaking
something awful, and she wasn't doing any better. Because she'd had to
open the tent flap and let in the freezing wind, the space heater had
yet to make a substantial difference.
     
Shara tugged on the edge
of
the pouch he had tucked under his chin. "Let me g-g-get in th-th-there
with you." When he merely arched an eyebrow at her and kept his grasp
on the pouch, she explained, "Hypoth-th-thermia. B-b-body heat helps."
     
"Only
if ... you t-t-take off those . . . c-c-clothes."
     
Shara
blinked at him, then realized her body suit was covered with melting
frost, and his damp clothing had been discarded on the floor next to
him. Another violent shiver racked his body, and she set aside her
natural modesty in light of practicality. Reminding herself that most
of the people she knew would think nothing of being seen in the nude,
she stripped to the skin as quickly as her shaking hands permitted.
Nevertheless, she kept her eyes averted and hoped he did the same.
     
"Sh-Sh-Shara—"
     
"Don't
s-s-say a word," she warned as she slipped into the pouch with him.
"You s-s-saved my life. I owe you." The pouch, made for one large man,
expanded enough to accommodate her once he straightened himself out.
She had thought her body was as cold as a human could get until she
stretched out on top of his length with her cheek on his shoulder.
     
He
was one giant icicle. Though her extremities had almost no feeling in
them, she pressed her feet to his and rubbed her hands up and down his
upper arms. Her efforts finally paid off after what seemed like an
eternity. The numbness left her body and his shivering lessened to an
occasional spasm.
     
As his skin took on a more normal warmth, he
moved
his hands from where they had been sandwiched between their chests and
massaged her back, returning the favor of getting her blood circulating.
     
At
least that's what she thought he was doing. But what began as a
vigorous rubdown changed to a light skimming over the flesh from her
neck to her thighs. Another shiver passed through her, but this one had
nothing