“I don’t sing with company. Ever.” Her arm replaced her eyes as she stuck her hand out to me. “Towel. Please.”
“So I’m just company to you? Words hurt, Nightshade.”
I grabbed a fluffy white towel before slipping into the bathroom. She was still glaring at me but I couldn’t care less. Fuck, I’d never get tired of looking at her. Every curve, and freckle, and tattoo, and birthmark. I was obsessed with memorizing every inch.
“Austin.”
Her tone was annoyed and impatient enough to snap me back to reality. Her hand was out stretched for the towel but I ignored it. Instead, I wrapped it around her shoulders, drying her off myself. What? Five minutes was far too long to go without touching her. I managed to dry her off without any funny business. By the time I was done, however, it was very clear that I was hard.
“You’re insatiable.”
She was shaking her head, but she wasn’t fooling me. That little smirk she was trying to hide told me more than words ever could.
I shrugged. “It had been a while before you.”
“What’s a while to you?”
“Five years, nine months, give or take.”
I watched her do some mental math before her jaw dropped.
“You haven’t…sincethe incident?Like, nothing?”
I shook my head. “No one could stand to touch me.”
Her nose scrunched in confusion. “What? Why?”
“I’m too cold. You’re the first person that could touch me since I became Avalanche. I’ve been told it feels like touching a pole in the middle of January. So I’ve kept my distance to keep my secret.”
She tilted her head, studying.
“That’s why you think I have superpowers? Because I can touch you?”
God she was so fucking smart. I just wanted to kiss the shit out of her.
“Yes.”
She nodded slowly, water dripping from her hair.
“I’ve been thinking.”
“About how much you want me? I’m flattered. Let me take you to bed.” I scooped her into my arms while she squealed. Shit, her little noises had me fucked up.
“No,” she laughed as I dropped her on the bed. “About your powers.”
I sighed. “If you’re going to talk about how much you love my shadows, please don’t.”
“About how you can’t use them at the same time.” She rolled her eyes. “Fucking caveman,” she mumbled under her breath.
I chose to be the bigger person and not engage with the last statement. Instead, I kissed down her neck, trailing my hands up her side to push her towel out of the way.
“What about that?”
“Well, it’s not true.”
“Um, yes it is.” I peeked up at her with an eyebrow raised.
“Then you would have died the other day.”
