"I can't believe this!" I can't help my roar of frustration.
I throw myself against the door but it doesn't do any good – the door doesn't budge. The ice cold air bites at my bare arms and legs and I struggle to hold back a shudder.
"Alex, stop…" Thom tries, hand reaching out to touch my arm.
I jerk away from his grip, still angry at him. "This is all your fault!" I bark.
"My fault?" He looks surprised.
"If you didn't interfere with the damn plan – we'd be nice and warm, on our way back to Division!"
"Alex, if I hadn't interfered…" He trails off, eyes burning with a mixture of emotions.
"What Thom? What would have happened? Oh yeah, I would have seduced the man that I was supposed to seduce and he'd be dead – and we – we wouldn't be trapped in a damn freezer!"
"Listen, Alex, calm down – you're just getting yourself more worked up." He replies softly.
"Do not tell me to calm down." I say threateningly.
"I'm sorry." He says mutedly.
"Why did you interfere?" I growl with frustration.
He looks away, turns in a full circle to inspect each and every corner of the freezer. It's just white everywhere, four white walls with slightly grey shelves filled with food. He's very obviously ignoring my question.
"Well?" I demand.
"I just… nothing." He mutters.
I stalk across to him, another bout of shivers taking over my body as I struggle to control them. "Don't lie to me. Tell me what the hell that was about."
He looks back at me and his eyes are dark and stormy, filled with a beautiful intensity that makes me almost weak.
"I couldn't stand it, okay? I just couldn't." He growls.
"What?" I ask, my voice filled with exasperation.
"I couldn't stand the thought of you being with him, seeing you draped over him like that – it's so damn degrading." He barks before turning away from me.
"Thom…" I murmur.
"I mean look at yourself!" He barks, whirling around to indicate at the dress I'm wearing.
Silky red, clinging to every big of my body – showing off way more skin than I've ever felt comfortable with. There's slashes at the waist, so that it shows off the dip and inward curve of my waist. I instantly try to tug at the dress, feeling overely exposed.
"You've made your point clear." I mutter, turning away from him. "I'm just a cheap whore for them to pass around."
"No!" He snaps loudly, the sound crackling with intensity.
He grabs my hand suddenly and whirls me back around to face him. I swallow hard at the anger burning in his eyes.
"You are not a cheap whore – don't even let me hear you say those words. Ever again, okay?" He barks.
I nod my head silently, biting on my lower lip hard. He pulls back, dropping my hand and runs a hand through his hair, letting out a sigh. Without another word, he walks across to the wall, leans against it and slides down.
I stand there, feeling more than a little awkward after his little outburst. The ice in the air makes it difficult to breathe and I watch as a small cloud of mist forms from my mouth.
I wrap my arms around myself and sway slightly, feeling the coldness seeping into my bones, making it difficult to form coherent thoughts. I glance across at Thom to find him shivering slightly, eyes tightly closed.
A thought invades my head suddenly, a memory of something, something obvious and plain as day. It takes several moments of freezing silence before I have the guts to voice it.
"Thom." I say quietly.
"Hmm?" His eyes open and focus on me.
I move over and stand just before him. I try to speak professionally and formally – but my pulse jumps at the thought.
"You know, there is a way that we can keep warm until division comes along."
"Oh?"
"Body heat."
I almost don't say it, it simply comes out a whisper – but in the tiny room, it echoes around, loud and clear as crystal.
His permanent frown seems to deepen and he sits a little more upright. I can't help but notice how he swallows. "What?"
I don't hesitate, don't give myself time to hesitate – the cold is now becoming harsher, cruelly. I almost throw myself down into him lap, not giving him time to push me away.
"Alex…" He breathes softly, sounding more than a little surprised.
"Don't. We need to keep warm. This is simple, okay?" I murmur softly, the heat coming from his body being just utter perfection.
He sits stiffly for several moments of silence before his body becomes wracked with shivers once more. I look down at my hands to find them white, before I glance across at his – to find them almost blue.
"What if you get frost bite?" I murmur worriedly.
"I'm more concerned with you in that dress." He replies absently, his teeth chattering slightly.
I toy with another idea for a second before deciding to act on it. I shift so that I'm more sitting on his lap, facing away from him – his chest and stomach pressing against my back. I take his hands in mine, ignoring his muted protests and slid them through the slits at the sides of my dress.
His hands are like ice as they press against my stomach and although I wince, I don't let it show.
"God, your skin's so warm." He mutters weakly, fingers curling against my skin slightly.
I keep my hands over his, beneath the tight material, before relaxing against his body, tilting my head to the side so that my face presses into the warmth of his neck.
He inhales a shuddering breath and I can feel his face pressing against my hair. The warmth coming from his body is almost impossible. How can the air be so cold? How can the skin be so cold? And yet beneath he skin, coming from within the body, it's so hot – it's insane.
"How long do you think until division arrives?" I whisper, glancing up at him.
His eyes are shut, his lips parted slightly, a translucent mist appearing whenever he exhales. "Hopefully not for a while."
My eyes widen at his words and his eyes jerk open as he realises what he said. He swallows.
"Probably not for a while. I mean." He mumbles, eyes refusing to meet mine.
I find myself smiling slightly at his choice of words. I lean more into him – and although I hate to use the word… it kind of felt like I was snuggling into his warmth. I literally would love to take the sun buried beneath his skin and meld it into myself. It's so beautiful.
"I'm in no hurry either." I murmur softly, more to myself.
Silence falls – but only briefly. I find his breath, surprisingly warm, suddenly against my forehead as he presses an immensely soft and hesitating kiss there.
I swallow, surprised at the sudden flare of heat coursing through my body, chasing away the demanding chill.
I tilt my head just slightly to the side so that his lips can trail slowly and deliciously down my temple to my cheek.
I turn my head to face him and his lips pause at the corner of my lips, a ridiculous inch away that makes me want to scream.
"Do you feel warmer?" He breathes weakly. "Or is that just me?"
I slide my hand free from the dress and reach it up to caress the coolness of his cheek. I brush the pad of my thumb along his lips and he sucks in a delightfully shuddering breath. His eyes are warm, so intensely warm.
"I wish I could say I was sorry for getting us trapped in here, but I'm not." He mutters.
"Neither am I." I breathe weakly.
"I'm also not sorry that I couldn't control my jealousy towards the bastard."
"He deserved the punch. He was so grabby."
"And the dress…" He groans. "The dress is gorgeous."
I kiss him, no longer able to not kiss him and the warm infuses my body. I can't breathe. I can't move. I can't fight the burning attraction towards him. I want him. I need him. He's my drug and I breathe him.
I cling to him tightly as his hands free themselves from my dress, as he grips me, hand fisting in my hair to pull my impossibly close.
Body heat truly does chase the cold away. But so does kissing – and the heat sparking from out intense kissing could start a fire.