He paused in the middle of climbing into the bed, eyes fixed on me as I unbuttoned my shirt. And he remained in that frozen posture, one knee on the bed, throat flexing with a gulp, until I had slipped off my jeans too, leaving me in nothing but a pair of red-and-white-patterned boxer briefs.
He huffed a shaky laugh. “Wow, you Canadians sure do love your plaid.” If he kept staring at my crotch like that, he would see how much I loved his attention on me too.
Much to my dismay, Fable did not undress in kind. In fact, after crawling into the bed, he hiked the thick quilt up so high that all I could see were his eyes.
“Are you okay?” I asked. His body was quivering.
“Nomno—” he began, voice muffled, then jerked the comforter down and tried again. “No, I’m not okay. It’s freezing in here! How are you okay in just your boxers?”
I shrugged. It wasn’t like I could simply explain that shifters ran warmer than humans.
“Well, do you mind if we light a fire? It’s only going to get colder overnight.” His face turned pleading.
I gestured for him to stay where he was, and I crouched in front of the fireplace. Someone had already set the kindling and starter, ready for a match, so within a few minutes, I had a decent little blaze going. I added a few of the split logs from the stack and then closed the grate. It wouldn’t last all night, but it quickly began to heat the small space.
Turning off the light, I crawled under the covers. “Good night, Fable.”
He peeked out, limning his profile in muted golden light. “Good night, Guy.” Before he disappeared once more into his blanket cocoon.
I watched him, unable to peel my eyes away from him. Long after his breathing had deepened, I obsessed over the array of his eyelashes, the bridge of his nose, the crimp in his left eyebrow. My mate’s presence on the other side of the pillow barrier called to me, but I was a man of my word. I would not cross that line until he asked me to. Eventually I drifted off to dreams of what future may lie ahead for us, the endless possibilities that could bring us to a happy ever after.
I woke sometime in the early hours of dawn, a strange vibration shaking the bed. Frowning, I cracked my eyes open to see that the fire had died down, and Fable was shivering violently. I could hear his teeth chattering even over the howling wind outside.
Seeing him like this made me ache in a way I’d never felt before. Like the phantom pain I’d heard described after amputation, like there was a piece of me missing, and I needed to make it right. I reached for him but hesitated, my hand hovering over the pillow barrier.
Notre âme sœur. Réclamez-le, my beaver said, urging me to claim our mate. To take him and protect him forever.
No, I made a promise. But even as I said it, I remembered the exact words. My promise had been to stay on my side of the bed. Neither of us had said anything abouthimbeing onmyside…
I bit my lip, battling the inner tug-of-war. On the one hand, I was desperate to show he could trust me. But at this rate, it was practically a matter of life or death, right? I mean, he was literally freezing! Sharing body heat was a legitimate survival technique.
Decision made, I threw the pillows aside and snatched Fable around the waist, dragging him until he was up against me. Instantly, even in his sleep, he registered the change in temperature and burrowed even closer. His nose was like an icicle on my chest, his fingers and toes even worse, as he sought out the source of heat.
His shaking settled, and he sighed blissfully in his sleep. I wondered if he felt the same contentment, the same sense of rightness, as I did. I sure hoped so, otherwise I could have a fight on my hands in the morning. Smiling, I decided it was worth it. I brought my arms around him and closed my eyes, ready to face everything that came next.
5
Fable
Sunshineturnedmyeyelidsgolden in the way that meant I’d slept in. Shit, I hadn’t meant to do that. The short days in the winter meant it was still dark when I woke up most mornings. Sleeping in was a luxury I couldn’t afford—literally! My heart gave an uneasy patter as I panicked for a brief second, thinking I was late for work. It took me far too long to remember there was no work. This wasn’t my bed in California, certainly, it was too soft. And there was a band of weight over my waist and a furnace at my back that tempted me with the promise of more sleep.
I forced my eyes open, confusion at war with panic for dominance at the forefront of my brain. I was met with wood, wood, and more wood. Every surface was gleaming, swirling woodgrain and so stinkin’ cozy.
Ah. The cabin. Right.
And that weight around me? Heart pitter-pattering, I lifted the edge of the blanket to confirm what I already knew. Yep, it was Guy’s tanned arm, his palm tucked under my hoodie and splayed possessively over my bare stomach.
My mouth went dry, before doing a 180 and flooding with saliva. He was just inches away from… Nope. Not going there. That was a dangerous game to play, no matter how tempting.
Who initiated the cuddle? It would’ve been easy to blame Guy for breaking his promise, but when I blinked my bleary eyes clear and observed the expanse of empty bed in front of me—what had beenmyside—I realized the truth. I was nowhere near where I’d been when I fell asleep last night. That pillow wall? Long gone. Not sure why I’d thoughtpillowswould make a sturdy barrier, but I was fresh out of bricks and mortar. And I had a feeling that was what would’ve been necessary to keep me away from this sexy inferno currently glommed to my back.
I knew I should pull away, knew I should at the very least feel a modicum of embarrassment for the way my ass was snuggled right up to his crotch, but… he was so warm! What could it hurt to just pretend for a few minutes? So, I closed my eyes and cozied into this burly alpha’s big spoon and imagined what it would be like to wake up like this every day, instead of cold and lonely.
Except I lost track of time, and as the minutes lengthened, so did something else… Guy began to stir, and he flexed his hips, grinding his growing erection against the cleft of my ass. And of course, the only appropriate response for my body was to create an excess of slick, ready for any potential action. Shit.
I froze, pretending to sleep, even as Guy’s hand on my stomach pulled me in, hard against him. He groaned in his sleep and buried his nose into my neck, breathing deep. He murmured something that sounded like, “Notre,” and even though I had only the vaguest idea what the French word meant, I felt it straight down to my core. It took everything in me not to moan out loud when his fingers began to inch under the elastic waistband of my pajama pants. I was rock hard and weeping, so close to taking his hand and putting it right where I wanted it. Even one second more and my resistance would’ve broken.
I felt the exact moment he woke up. He went stock still, from predator to prey in the blink of an eye. His shaky breath skated over my neck as he extricated himself from my neck. He withdrew his hand carefully and rolled out of bed, leaving a startling chill in his wake. I swore I could feel the guilt coming off him in waves, but still, I kept my eyes shut tight and my breathing even. I didn’t need his apologies, especially while I was just as guilty. Maybe more…
