Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 87731 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87731 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
His gaze shifted briefly toward the bed then the fire. “You will make use of my cloak, and I have rested in worse places and with less clothing.”
Bria could not keep her cheeks from flaming, an image of him naked rising vividly in her mind. Though how accurately it was, she could not be sure.
“I’d be more than happy to satisfy your curiosity,” he said with a faint chuckle.
Her cheeks flamed as hot as the logs, embarrassing her even more and she scolded him. “It is not proper for you to assume what my thoughts might be.”
“You are even more appealing when you blush, and you should know that I am anything but proper,” he cautioned.
You are even more appealing… his words continued to ring repeatedly in her head.
He found her appealing. That might explain his kiss, as faint as it was and tempting as well.
“This is not the time or place,” she scolded once more.
“Nay, it isn’t, but one day, soon enough, it will be.”
Again, he spoke with confidence that could not be ignored, as if he knew something she didn’t.
“You assume too much,” she said.
“I assume nothing, Bria, and in time you won’t either. Now sleep. We have much walking to do tomorrow.”
There were those words again… in time. She was tired of hearing them, annoyed that they explained little, and wondered what they meant.
“Sleep,” he said. “I will keep watch.”
The fire burned lower as time slipped quietly past. Outside, Driochmor seemed to breathe around them. Strange calls drifted through the trees now and then, some distant, others unsettlingly near. Once, something large moved beyond the clearing, branches cracking softly beneath its weight before silence swallowed it once more.
Through it all, Kaelan remained calm, watchful, and somehow that calm continued to ease her.
Bria had spent much of her life sensing the emotions of others, learning to soothe fear and pain before it consumed them. Yet never before had another person’s presence affected her so strongly in return.
When Kaelan drew near, the unease inside her quieted. When he touched her, warmth spread through her that had nothing to do with fire. And that frightened her in ways Driochmor could not.
The cold deepened steadily as the night wore on. Though Kaelan kept the fire still burning, chill crept through the ruins, curling through cracks in the stone and settling heavily across the floor. Bria pulled his cloak more tightly around herself but could not stop the shiver that ran through her.
Kaelan noticed at once. Without a word, he crossed toward her.
Bria looked up as he crouched beside her.
“You are cold.”
“And you are not? You need your cloak. Take it,” she said, going to pull it off her.
He stopped her, his hand resting on hers. “It will worsen before dawn. We will share it and our heat.”
She should have protested when he stretched out beside her. She should have moved away when his arm settled around her and tucked her against him, drawing his cloak over them both.
Instead, the warmth of him reached her instantly, strong and steady, easing the chill that had worked too deeply into her bones for the fire alone to touch.
“This should not comfort me so much,” she admitted softly before she could stop herself.
“And yet it does,” he said, feeling the same.
She lifted her head slightly to look at him. “I barely know you.”
His arm tightened faintly around her before easing once more. “There are some things you are not ready to understand.”
The answer should have frustrated her, but it didn’t. Perhaps because she sensed no deception in him, only comfort, a touch of pleasure, and some restraint.
Bria rested her head cautiously on his chest growing too tired to understand anything and to seek any more answers. Her eyes closed on their own, exhaustion taking hold, and she slept.
Kaelan had taken a chance climbing in bed beside her and taking her in his arms. It wasn’t that he couldn’t resist her, though that was growing more difficult, it was that she had shivered so badly he couldn’t let her suffer.
Every instinct within him sharpened at the feel of her wrapped in his arms, resting against his side, and trusting him despite her uncertainty. It took more restraint than she knew not to pull her closer still.
In time, she would understand what she was feeling. With that thought easing his own, he settled into a light sleep.
Bria stirred and seeing how much the fire had faded, she knew sunrise couldn’t be far off. She had slept well in Kaelan’s arms, their shared heat making for a pleasant sleep. Even now she was reluctant to leave the warmth that wrapped close around them.
It had been a necessity, she told herself.
So, why then did she want to linger there in his arms, keep her head rested on his chest, and enjoy not only his warmth but the earthy scent of him that somehow felt familiar.