Total pages in book: 218
Estimated words: 205594 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1028(@200wpm)___ 822(@250wpm)___ 685(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 205594 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1028(@200wpm)___ 822(@250wpm)___ 685(@300wpm)
“Did I hurt you?” he asks, lowering my hand. There’s a look of concern on his face.
“No, I’m fine.” Strangely aroused, but fine. I watch as the blood wells up on my fingertip and he nips his own finger, then holds it to mine.
Our blood mingles, and his eyes meet mine from across our joined hands.
“Our secrets remain ours,” he says. “Nothing leaves this tower when we do.”
I nod, and when he releases my hand, I automatically put my finger into my mouth to lick off the blood. Here I started a silly game simply because I wanted to tease him and have some fun, and it’s turned into a strange sort of vow that feels rather weighty. Like we’ve just made a soul-pact of some kind.
Nemeth’s gaze is on my mouth as I suck on my finger. He licks his, and I watch as his tongue slithers over his skin. “Do you still want to play?”
“I always want to play,” I whisper, and I wonder if we’re talking about the same thing.
The game dies a quick death after the deep moment of blood-letting and finger-sucking. It’s hard to find the fun mood after that, and Nemeth, clearly out of his element, returns to tending the fire. Instead of teasing him about it more, I let him retreat. If he was Balon or one of my suitors, I’d keep hounding him until I got the response I wanted—either an angry, passionate kiss, or a heartfelt confession—but I’m not going to push too far with the Fellian. He’s my friend, and I don’t like the idea of making him so uncomfortable that he wants to retreat from my presence. Something tells me that if I kept needling Nemeth, it wouldn’t break his resolve and turn into a passionate kiss. He doesn’t know how the game is played. He’d probably storm out of the room and not speak to me for a week, thinking I was teasing him out of cruelty.
I’d much rather us be friends. So I cradle my pepper-studded onion in my hands, and we talk of nothing at all for the rest of the night, until it’s time for bed.
All in all, not so terrible a holiday. When we go to bed, I’m happy, even if my hands do smell like onions and pepper despite washing them.
I wake up in the middle of the night to a strange, jarringly loud clattering noise. It’s dark in the room, the fire having gone out, and so cold it feels like my entire body is made of ice. It takes a moment for me to realize that the constant clicking sound is my teeth. I shiver wildly in the bed despite the layers of blankets and the thick dress I’m wearing.
“Candra?” A large hand grips my arm. Nemeth, in bed next to me. “Are you all right?”
“C-cold,” I manage, my teeth chattering. “Why is it so c-cold?”
He shifts in the bed and I see green eyes blink to life in the darkness. “The fire is out. I could light another, but we should conserve our fuel. Do you need another blanket?”
“H-have them all,” I manage, my jaw trembling. “How is it so cold?”
“One last storm before the end of winter, perhaps? Maybe the Green Goddess isn’t ready to return from the Gray God’s realm just yet.” He rubs my arm. “Do you want to get under the blankets with me? Share warmth?”
Do I?
I thought he’d never ask.
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
Iall but fling the blankets back the moment he suggests we share warmth, tugging his blankets over me. We’ve had two separate sets of blankets all this time even though we share a bed, simply because it was more comfortable for both of us to have our own space. I don’t care a bit about space tonight, though. Not when I’m freezing and my toes feel like icicles.
I plunge under his blankets, my hands seeking out his to share warmth. He’s turned towards me in bed, and my seeking hands encounter bare chest and muscles. Lots and lots of muscles.
I pause, not because I’m shy, but because I know he is. “Are you naked?”
“I am wearing an undergarment.” His voice is oddly tense in the darkness.
“Okay, good.” I slither forward. “Because you’re really warm and I’m going to put my hands on you.”
He remains still as I move against him, settling myself in. His big body is enormous against mine, dominating the bed. I press up against him, my front to his front, my hands tucking between our bellies for warmth, and I curl my legs up against his.
“Better?” he asks, and there’s a little more ease in his tone.
“Much,” I murmur, and lean in, breathing in his warm scent as he settles my blankets over his, enveloping us in a cocoon. My jaw unlocks and no longer shivers with distress, and all of me relaxes. He smells like herbs and woodsmoke from tending to the fire, and it’s actually quite a lovely smell on his skin. I’m tempted to burrow my nose into his neck and just breathe in from there all night. “Thank you, Nemeth.”