“I’m saving your fingers and toes,” he answered flatly, while pushing the zipper down further.
“I…I’m fine,” I stammered, my body frozen in place.
He leaned back, pinning me with that annoyed stare. “If you don’t let me warm you, you won’t have to worry about me killing you anymore. You’ll just die of hypothermia tonight.”
I shook my head.No.
He growled in frustration. “Look at you! You can barely move. You’re frozen stiff! Are you going to make me beg to save your life?” He laughed coldly, shaking his head. He looked to the sky. “How the fuck did I end up here?”
“I’m not making you beg for anything,” I declared wilfully. He was crazy.
“Good.” His voice had dropped dangerously low. “Because I don’t beg.”
Grayson ripped the sleeping bag out from under me. I gasped at his sudden ferocity and scurried to the side of the tent, trying to put as much space as possible between us. I watched shakily as he zipped the two sleeping bags together. The thought of him so close to my body made me nauseous. Maybe he didn’t plan on doing anything, but men seemed to have the tendency of losing all good sense when it came to their dicks.
He had laid the sleeping bag open and climbed in. “Get in.”
I shook my head vehemently, clutching my knees to my chest.
He reached for me and got a hold of my leg, dragging me to him.
“No!” I thrashed wildly, trying to get free from his grip. Images of earlier burning in my mind.
“Stop!” he boomed. “Look at me!” He had hold of both my legs, pinning my knees together to stop me from kicking him in the face. “I won’t touch you; I promise. I’m just trying to keep you alive.” His voice and face had softened. He waited for a few seconds before pulling me closer again, first inspecting my sore foot to see if I hadn’t caused more damage, then tucked my feet into the sleeping bag. “God, Princess. You’ll be the death of me,” he muttered under his breath, while zipping us up.
My whole body was rigid, my eyes felt as wide as saucers. Grayson settled down on his side, an arm underneath his head and tucked me into his chest. His large body engulfed me.
“Relax. I won’t hurt you.” He tucked me closer, willing me to conform to his body, to loosen up.
After an excruciating minute of trying to calm my racing heart and being painfully aware of every muscle twitch of his arm around me, I finally had the courage to look up at him. I searched his eyes for my impending doom, but he just held my stare, waiting.
“Just don’t…” I couldn’t finish my sentence. I couldn’t beg him not to hurt me, my voice trembling too much. “Please, Grayson,” I pleaded instead, hoping he understood. Saying his name out loud felt strange on my lips.
A shudder went through him. I didn’t understand the emotions on his face. He pulled me in even tighter. “You’re safe, Princess.” His voice was rough, the taunting nickname suddenly sounding…different.
And I believed him.
I didn’t know why, but I did. Was it his eyes or the fact that my mind desperately wanted to feel safe again, that it would believe anything. I couldn’t tell.
Nonetheless, my body relaxed, melted into him, as I let loose the burning breath I had held for far too long. Warily, I pressed my cold nose against his chest. His warmth seeped into my skin, his smell surrounding me.
And for the first time in weeks, I felt safe.
Safe. Oh, the irony wasn’t lost on me, but I grabbed hold of that feeling, cherishing it. I refused to think too much about it. I wasn’t inclined to give it up. He had saved me from my worst fears, and that was all I was willing to focus on for the moment. For just a few heartbeats of reprieve.
“Will you do one thing for me?” His voice was soft, his breath hot against my ear.
I shifted my head to see his face, apprehensive of what thisthingwas that he expected of me.
“Tell me your name,” he whispered softly over the raindrops on the tent. The tenderness in his voice washed over me, settling warmly in my stomach. He had never spoken to me like that. And the gods knew I might be crazy, but right now, I would do just about anything to keep it that way.
I looked at him for a moment, uncertain.
“It’s Ava,” I heard myself say.
Grayson’s smile was beautiful. “Ava,” he repeated after me, brushing a strand of hair from my face.
I quickly looked away from the intensity of his stare. Gods, what was happening? It was a complete one-eighty of how he used to treat me. I tucked my head into his chest, savouring his warmth. It didn’t matterwhyhe was suddenly nice to me, just that he was. I needed it.
