He sets my bag at the foot of the bed and turns back to me, his expression devoid of emotion.
"Is there only one bedroom?" I press, raising my eyebrows.
He only grunts in response, but I can see the answer in the way his jaw tightens.
“Yes.”
"Are you planning on sleeping here with me?" The wicked smile stretches across my lips before I can stop it. “I’m great at cuddles, you know.”
I bat my eyelashes innocently, enjoying the way his whole body goes rigid.
His eyes flash a shocking bright red in the first real emotion I've seen from him all day. The sound that rumbles from hischest is low and dangerous, somewhere between a growl and a warning.
Message received loud and clear. I definitely affect him.
"I'm taking the couch," he says, his voice rough.
"Too bad," I murmur, delighted by his reaction. Then I smile sweetly, as if I hadn't just poked a very large, very dangerous bear.
He reaches into his jacket and pulls out my phone, holding it across the space between us. His fingers brush mine as I take it, and the contact sends electricity shooting up my arm.
"Use it only if absolutely necessary," he says, his tone matter-of-fact. Too matter-of-fact. "Tell no one where you are except your mother."
I tuck the phone into my hoodie pocket and give him a small salute. "Sir, yes, sir."
Something flickers across his expression. Frustration, maybe, or something darker? I decide to push just a little further.
"What should I do if I get cold?" I ask innocently. "Or scared?"
The growl that rumbles from his chest is answer enough.
Oh, this is fun.
He turns away and steps toward the hallway, and I can practically feel the control he's exerting over himself. When he reaches the doorway, he pauses without looking back.
"Good night, Rona."
And then he pulls the bedroom door closed behind him with a firm, final click.
I stand there for a moment, grinning to myself. My entire life has just imploded. I'm stuck in an isolated cabin with my mother's bodyguard while the entire internet thinks I'm a party girl who strips for strangers. I should be crying. I should be terrified.
Instead, I'm thinking that if I'm going to be snowed in with a grumpy ogre, I might as well make it fun.
Chapter Six
Darhg
Thecouchwastoofucking short and the floor next to the fireplace was too fucking hot.
But it’s not the reason I barely slept a wink. No, the reason I haven’t slept a wink is tucked up in the one bedroom just down the hall, warm and safe under the duvet cover.
All night, every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was Rona's wicked smile when she asked if I was planning to share a bed with her. The way her pale-blue eyes lit upwith mischief when she mentioned being good at cuddling. I couldn't stop imagining what she looks like with her strawberry-blond hair spread across my pillow.
Every creak of the old cabin settling, every whisper of wind through the pines, every sound that might be her moving around had me instantly alert. I tried to tell myself that I was just doing my job, protecting her.
It's a lie, and I know it.
All I could think about was her vulnerable little human body, surrounded by my scent. In my bed. Inside my lair.
