Frostbite & bruises
9.

An excited Viggo came running up the stairs, and in his raised hands she saw a bunch of bunnies, their hind legs tied together, dangling over his head like a trophy. Morgan grinned. Even if the catch was not much, considering there were eight mouths to feed, it was still a welcome addition.

Smiling, she watched as the boy hurried back outside to help the old man continue chopping wood for the fireplace.

Perhaps it would be wise to sit down with the two brothers and see if they would be willing to let her and her little group stay here permanently. The factory offered enough space to start a small community. Morgan suspected it would not take much effort to persuade Shane. The blind man seemed genuinely happy to be in their company. Nox, on the other hand, might be a problem. The man seemed annoyed by everything, even though they had only been there a day. Perhaps it would only be a matter of time, but she doubted it.

The fact that their little group already annoyed him, starting a new community would completely drive him grazy.

Morgan sighed. Even though it would probably be in vain, she would still go and try to convince him, after all, she had succeeded before, hadn’t she?

The barking of dogs in the distance caught her attention and she turned to Shane to see if she had heard correctly, but the man didn’t look up and she wondered if she had imagined it.

Morgan shrugged and continued with what she was doing.

Suddenly, despite the hustle and bustle around her, Morgan heard heavy footsteps on the metal stairs announcing Nox’s arrival and a lump formed in her stomach.

Quickly, she called herself to order. Nox had given her his word that he would not force her, and something in her told her that he was not the kind of man to break a promise. ...but he is a bit scary... another small voice squeaked.

As the door to the living quarters opened and the tall man stepped inside, goosebumps slid down her arms and back. Morgan quickly dismissed them as the result of the cold seeping in through the open door.

Out of the corner of her eye she watched him walk past Shane and Elise’s table, glancing at them as they worked on a new project, repairing an old wooden blanket chest.

Morgan’s heart began to beat faster as he came to stand beside her.

“So, what are you going to do with the rabbits?” His dark voice made her stomach churn.

“As soon as I finish this...” and she gestured to the stew on the fire. “I was going to ask you or Shane where I could skin the rabbits, so we can use the skin later to repair broken clothes and the meat I was going to smoke...” Seeing his raised eyebrows, she quickly continued, her heart pounding.

“One of the women from our old community taught me how to smoke meat, and since we are in a factory, I suspect I can replace materials to make a smoker.”

Nox looked at her silently, and it suddenly struck her that despite his cold gaze, he had bright green eyes. Morgan felt the blood rise to her cheeks at his penetrating gaze and quickly looked away.

Nox hadn’t failed to notice the red flush that was slowly colouring her cheeks. Confused, he turned and headed for the bedroom he shared with Shane. Why had she started to blush? Women..., Nox shook his head, he didn’t understand anything about them. They could be friendly one minute and bitchy the next. And they often said one thing when they meant something else.

Deep in thought, he changed his clothes and didn’t hear anyone enter. It was only when the door closed softly that he became aware of someone behind him and, with his shirt half pulled over his head, he turned, expecting to see his brother standing there.

After Nox had left, Morgan put the knife down and took a deep breath. If she wanted to start a conversation with him, she had to do it sooner rather than later. The longer she put it off, the harder it would be.

Determined, but with trembling hands, she walked towards the brothers’ bedroom.

The sight of Nox pulling his dry trousers over his hips and buttoning them made her heart skip a beat. The thick sweaters he usually wore made him look fat and unkempt, but now that he was standing here in front of her, half-naked and with his back to her, all she could see was how broad and toned his body was. His broad shoulders tapered to a slim waist and she had just managed to catch a glimpse of a pair of firm buttocks that were usually hidden by ugly, shapeless trousers.

She closed the door behind her with a trembling hand, and immediately regretted her carelessness as the man, half hidden by his jumper, turned to face her. This gave her an unobstructed view of his shapely torso, and a faded Marine Corps tattoo caught her eye.

“What the hell is this?” Surprised to see the young woman instead of his brother, Nox stiffened and stopped, his head half hidden in his jumper and one arm in the air.

Morgan’s eyes flew up to meet his. Immediately, a blush of shame appeared on his cheeks. “I, uhh, I...uhm... Can you put your sweater on, please?” At a loss for words, her gaze fell on her trembling hands.

She heard the rustle of fabric as he pulled the jumper further over his head. Cautiously, she looked up and saw, to her relief, that he had continued to pull on the knitted, pale green jumper.

“Well? What is it?” Nox knew full well that he was being unnecessarily rude again, but the sight of the woman looking at him with open admiration had been so unexpected that he did not know what to say.

“I, um...” Morgan’s courage almost collapsed at the sound of his rough tone.

She took another deep breath and looked the big man straight in the eye.

“I want to ask you to let us stay here permanently!” Morgan heard her voice tremble, but she had no choice but to try.

“I... We have nowhere to go. I have no idea where we might replace other settlements, and I think we can help each other. That the two of you have made it this long can be called more luck than wisdom, but you know damn well that if something happens to you... Shane will have a very, very big problem! If something happened to you..., I mean, suppose you broke your leg, with us around, the traps would still be emptied and the wood would still be cut! Suppose part of the roof collapsed, that could be fixed right away!”

She looked at him almost pleadingly.

Silently, he looked at her as a strange feeling began to stir in his stomach.

“Have you spoken to Shane about this?”

Morgan shook his head. “No, not yet, I wanted to discuss it with you first. I haven’t even discussed it with Steve and Mads...”

Nox looked at her with narrowed eyes. “Why not? Why not talk to Shane first? He’s not the one who’s going to be difficult... Why with me?”

“Precisely because of that.” She looked at him in genuine surprise. “You’re right, I think Shane will have no problem with us staying here, but I have a suspicion that you see us as intruders.” Gathering her courage, she looked away for a moment, glancing around the two men’s surprisingly tidy bedroom before looking back at Nox.

“Even though we made a ‘deal’, I’m pretty sure you’d rather get rid of us than have us around... Right? But if I can convince you to let us stay... Besides, you’re the one who makes the decisions here. Not that Shane doesn’t have a say, but he goes by what you say, you’ve been his eyes all along!”

He liked her directness, she was not the tame female he had taken her to be in the first place.

A clammy sweat broke out in Morgan as he continued to stare at her in silence.

In a last attempt to persuade him, she reached with trembling fingers for the zip of her padded orange vest and slowly pulled it down. Morgan watched as his eyes widened in surprise.

“Close the vest!” He growled through clenched jaws. “Just because we have a deal doesn’t mean you have to take your clothes off to get something from me!”

With a blush of shame on her cheeks, Morgan zipped the vest back up furiously. Tears of shame welled up in her eyes. Why wasn’t he clear about what he expected?

Seeing the embarrassment and dismay on her face, Nox realised that he had behaved rudely, as he had always done with women, and stepped forward so that he was now standing a few inches away from her.

“Our deal still stands...”

The tone of his voice was softer now and Morgan lifted her head to look at him.

“...But that doesn’t mean you should suddenly start spreading your legs for me right now. True, it’s been a long time since I’ve had sex with a woman, and yes, I won’t deny that I don’t fantasise about being between your legs, but again.... I won’t force you and I don’t need to be persuaded with sex.

He felt the tension between them grow and quickly backed away a little.

“I’ll talk to Shane about it, but as you said, I don’t think he’ll have much trouble with you staying. But I’ll let you know tomorrow!”

He walked past her brusquely and Morgan heard him almost pull the door out of its hinges as he opened it. The door to the factory hall opened and closed, and quick, heavy footsteps sounded on the steel stairs.

Still trembling, Morgan turned and shook her head in surprise. She had known many eccentric men in her life, but Nox certainly took the crown.