Bianca covered herself with the quilt. She didn't know that the night would become so cool.

Except for the noise of their breath and a dull sound of water flowing beneath them, there was nothing. She closed her eyes, not even moving her finger. His presence across the bed affected her. Her thoughts were focused on him. She heard a rustle and to her heart's dismay thought that he had turned the other way. There was yet another rustle, closer to her and she felt his presence near her, which was followed by the touch of his fingers on her cheek. Her body heated and she knew that her ears must have turned red. She opened her eyes and all thoughts that she had focused on him, scattered when he traced her cheek as if he could see her in the dark. She licked her dry lips as a shiver ran down her body.

​​

"You are cold," he said.

"I will be fine soon," she muttered under her breath.

He brushed his finger on her cheek again and said, "You are very cold."

He got up and for a moment she thought that he was going back to his side, but he stayed right beside her.

Holding his quilt, he brought it near them, over her and covered her with it. Before she could contemplate his next move, he settled right behind her. She looked over her shoulder and squirmed.

"Relax Bia. I am making sure that you get warmed adequately." He adjusted her quilt and tucked it in front of her. "Because if you would, that would not be good in your frail condition."

"I don't think this place would become any more colder." What she meant was that she wouldn't freeze to death. He shifted closer to her and if she even turned a little, her shoulders would bang in him.

"Oh you don't know," he said. "This place used to be freezing cold! There used to be a lot of snow on the peaks of those mountains. It was beautiful!" He turned and faced her back.

She became absolutely silent again. Heat flushed her cheeks. A moment later she said, "Why are you sleeping beside me?"

"Am I?" he said. He picked up the edges of the quilt and put them over her, at the same time putting his arm over her waist.

She realized how heavy his arm was as she sank a little more in the mattress. "Are you not?"

"I am not sleeping beside you, I am sleeping with you." His breath was on her cheek and on the exposed part of her neck. Her heartbeat accelerated as her Lykae senses heightened. Her wolf began to clamor her on the inside and she bit her lip, she pleaded it to settle down.

"Sleeping beside me or with me—it's the same!" She exclaimed and then tried to remove his arm, but it wouldn't budge. "Move your arm!" He was beginning to get shameless.

"Hmm… no. They are different things. Plus I can't have you sick tonight. Your parents are going to take you away if they see that you got a fever." He took a deep breath and added, "Would you prefer to sleep with Holly?"

"What? Never! I don't want to sleep with anyone else!" And she gritted her teeth for the slip of tongue. She meant that she didn't want to sleep with anyone.

"Yeah, I guessed as much." The way he replied, she could feel him grinning.

As the time passed, it was impossible to find sleep. With his close proximity, how could she? Moreover the thought of her parents leaving her in the morning made her feel sad. She had never been away from them and now suddenly… they would leave her. Gods, she already missed them.

As if understanding her sorrow, he said in a soft voice, "I would like to stay with you so that you don't miss your family."

She frowned. Who was at the short end of the stick?

"Just loosen Bia because you have to take a tour of the capital tomorrow and I want you to feel better."

She thought she would protest but her wolf shut her down. And Brantley was so close to her that his heat had wrapped her. Her chattering had stopped but she was shivering. He was so warm that she thought it should be banned to have this kind of a body. She didn't protest because eventually she had to get to know him better. And right now she wasn't shivering because of the cold.

"Sleep Bia," he said softly and his warm breath landed on her shoulders.

She closed her eyes but now she felt how his hand was curled around her waist, where it now touched her bare body and how his chest was pressed gently behind her. She could feel his chest heaving against her and it was… intense.

Once again the only sound she heard was that of her breath and the gentle flow of water below the floor.

"This is so awkward," she breathed out.

He chuckled and she could feel his lips over her hair. "Is it more awkward than the first time you kissed me on the beach?"

She became absolutely quiet and clenched her teeth tightly with embarrassment and anger. As if he didn't want to kiss her?

"Or when the first time you kissed that Matt after cliff diving, Or—"

"Just shut up!" She gritted. Wait. How did he know about Matt? "How do you know about Matt?" she asked with a frown and a tense body.

Silence. A soft chuckle left him again.

"What? How. Do. You. Know?"

"I happened to pass from there," he said without an iota of self-conscience. "And saw you kissing him."

"And was it coincidental?"

"Yes."

"Do you know the meaning of coincidental?"

He sighed against her head. "Sorry… I have to remind myself that you are a pure, innocent girl."

Oh. My. God.

"Who will not remain that pure—"

She elbowed him hard in the chest.

"Ow!" he bucked. "Was that necessary?"

"I think we will start with me hating you!" she said and folded her hands beneath her face.

"No sweetheart. This is where we digress. I know you don't hate me."

Bianca didn't know what to say to that so she kept quiet.

"I feel that—"

"Shut up. I don't want to know what you feel."

"Let me complete Bia," he said. "I feel that you actually love me."

"What?"

"And that you can't live without me."

She wanted to glare at him, combust him with her glare and perhaps elbow him again, but she ended up staring in the dark.

"And that you love it when I am close to you," he added affectionately.

"Oh please!" She threw the quilt off her and sat up. The cold wind hit her body hard and her teeth started chattering. "At this point I am contemplating death by becoming an ice cube."

"I am sorry Bia," he said in the darkness. "Let us go back to what you pretend to feel about me, but come back and lie down."

Bianca gritted her teeth. He appeared to be a calm, sweet and a gentle person up until now; how the hell did he turn up into such a tease? The cold was almost unbearable and his body heat was extremely inviting. She decided as to why would she unnecessarily feel cold, so she went back to lying against him—only for his body heat. Nothing else. Nope.