Page 39 of A Blaze of Fire
Before turning off the dim overhead light, Alec ignited a single cinnamon candle and crawled into his bed. I watched as he turned to his side with his back to me and seemed to fall asleep within minutes. I assumed he was asleep when I heard his slow, steady breaths.
Seconds turned into minutes, which slowly turned into an hour. Still, I hadn’t fallen asleep. Besieged with rambling thoughts I couldn’t turn off even though I tried, I slowly felt the temporary warmth granted by my blankets wearing off and began to shiver. The insidious chill had filtered into the room and no amount of covers or heat from the fire helped. My fingertips were numb and my teeth chattered as I trembled beneath the heavy blankets. I couldn’t understand how it could feel like an arctic blast when the temperature earlier had seemed normal. Mild, even.
“All that teeth chattering is driving me insane,” Alec grumbled as he turned around to face me. “You can’t bethatcold.”
“I-It’s like a-an ice box i-in here,” I stuttered and clutched the blankets closer to my chest.
I saw the outline of Alec’s face since the only thing between us was the single candle on the narrow nightstand nestled between our beds. If you could even call it a nightstand. It barely put a foot between our beds.
Alec stared at me contemplatively for several long moments. Then he exhaled loudly and started climbing out of his bed.
“What are you doing?” I mumbled.
Alec pulled my blankets aside and nudged me to the edge, then lay down next to me and covered us with the thick comforters again.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I exclaimed again, coming fully awake.
“Keeping you warm.” He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me flush against him, locking my hands against his chest.
I smacked his chest hard enough to make him grunt. “I’m not sharing a bed with you!” I attempted to yell, but I was so cold, my voice quivered at the end.
“Trust me, this is no picnic for me, either,” Alec grumbled. He rubbed his hands up and down my arms and back briskly, trying to stimulate blood flow. “But unless you want to stay up all night and freeze to death doing it, I suggest you settle in and get comfortable.”
Unbidden, I gave a relieved sigh when I felt the delicious heat radiate off him. “Why aren’t you cold like me?”
“You’re half human. You haven’t adapted to this climate just yet. The longer you stay, the easier it’ll become,” he whispered.
No longer caring about the devil in my bed, I snuggled in deeper to soak in his body heat and intertwined my legs and feet with his under the covers.
“Alec?”
“What?”
“This means nothing,” I mumbled against his chest. My eyes fluttered closed as I soaked in his enveloping warmth.
There was a pause before Alec whispered, “What if itdoesmean something?”
I froze and held my breath, my mind racing with a million thoughts. “Alec—”
“I know,” he murmured. “You’re in love with Ansel, blah, blah, blah.”
“I didn’t say I was in love with him,” I snapped, then shut my mouth. “I mean—”
His hand stilled on my arm. I could have sworn he held his breath. “You better know before you say anything else that my brother is definitely in love with you, Violet.”
I exhaled loudly. “Everything happened so fast. I feel like we just met yesterday! I … I can’t say I’m in love yet. It feels too soon.”
“None of that matters to us,” Alec whispered as he started stroking my arm again. “Once we find our soulmates, that’s it. It can happen during the course of twenty years or twenty minutes.”
I shook my head. “That doesn’t make sense to me.”
“You better make it clear to Ansel before he gives up his life for you. It’s not fair to him,” Alec warned.
I knew he was right.
I liked Ansel. A lot. More than I cared to admit. But was it love? I didn’t know, and I probably wouldn’t know the answer any time soon. We’d only known each other less than three months. It was too soon to tell. But if Ansel really was in love with me, he needed to know how I felt before he did anything drastic.
“Thank you,” I mumbled against his chest. I closed my eyes, suddenly feeling shy.
