Took three breaths to realize I was warm.
Actually warm. For the first time since dragging Xavier inside, my fingers didn’t ache with cold. My breath wasn’t fogging. The chill that had burrowed into my bones had finally retreated.
Fourth breath: the reason why.
Body heat. A lot of it. Wrapped around me from behind, his chest pressed to my back, his thigh hooked over mine under the blankets. His palm flat on my stomach like he was holding me in place.
Like I belonged there.
Warmth flooded my face.
Christ. How did I...
Memory surfaced in fragments. The landlord’s unit. Standing too fast. The floor rushing up. Nothing after that.
I tried to shift, test if I could move without waking him.
The growl came again. Deeper this time.
His arm tightened, pulling me back flush against him. Not violent. Just immovable. The kind of strength that didn’t need force to make a point. Every inch of him pressed against me, solid muscle, radiating heat, making my breath catch in ways that had nothing to do with fear.
“Xavier.” Rougher than intended. “Let go.”
Nothing. Just that steady pressure, his palm warm through my shirt, his breathing even against my neck. Each exhale ghosted across my skin, raising goosebumps.
I twisted enough to glance back. Awake. Watching me. Fever-bright green studying my face with that unnerving focus that made me feel dissected.
He’d been awake the whole time.
“I need to move.”
Slight shake. Absolute.
The possessiveness in the gesture should piss me off. Should trigger every instinct that said I didn’t need protecting, didn’t need some injured stranger deciding where I could go in my own damn apartment.
Instead, my heart rate spiked. My body responded before my brain could catch up. Warmth crept up my neck.
The growl had settled somewhere low in my belly, doing things I refused to examine.
Professional. Stay professional.
“I’m serious. I have to check your injuries.” Clinical. Reasonable. “You caught me when I fell. Probably tore half your stitches.”
His jaw tightened. But after a long moment, his arm loosened.
Slightly.
“Xavier.”
Still didn’t move.
Fine. “I will elbow your ribs. Don’t test me.”
He narrowed his gaze. Then, slowly, his palm slid from my stomach. His leg shifted. His body pulled back, putting inches between us.
The cold rushed in immediately. So did the loss, like something vital had been stripped away.
I shoved down the part of me that wanted to burrow back into his warmth and sat up. Too fast. The apartment tilted, pain spiking through my temple.
