Chapter 16
Rowan woke slowly, painfully aware of the pressure on her bladder. That’s what she got for going to bed so early and for not going to the bathroom first. Closing her eyes, she pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders and tried to ignore the urge to go along with the wind howling around the cabin.
Nope. She had to go. Whimpering at the idea of getting out of her warm cocoon, she pushed the blanket aside and swung her legs over the bed. By the time she returned, her body was racked with shivers. The temperature outside must have dropped considerably. She hurried back to bed, wrapping the blanket around her like a burrito and tried to keep her teeth from clacking like a windup toy.
Once she got cold, she always had a hard time getting warm without any additional help. She didn’t know if there were any extra blankets and frankly, the idea of getting out of bed to look for some was as appealing as the idea of going out and starting the generator to get some heat going.
A soft tap at the door made her clench her jaw. If she pretended to be asleep, he’d go away.
The door opened. “Rowan? You okay?”
Her whole body shook. “Mmm hmm.”
“Are you cold?” he asked.
Freezing!“No, I’m good.” Her teeth picked that exact moment to chatter.
“No, you’re not.”
She heard him approach the bed.
Luke pushed her shoulder. “Move over.”
“You’re not getting in bed with me,” she said through clenched teeth.
“I’m cold, too. Move over.” A draft of air floated over her right before his blanket covered her head.
She grumbled in protest but scooted toward the edge of the mattress. The bed jostled when he joined her. He shoved an arm under her pillow and neck and pulled her closer, leaving her wrapped up in her blanket burrito.
His body was a furnace. She’d forgotten that, but took advantage of it and inched closer, tucking her head into the pocket of his shoulder.
“This doesn’t mean anything,” she whispered.
“It means we’re both cold and neither of us wants to go outside to start the generator.” Luke turned on his side and wrapped his other arm around her, pulling her closer. “Quit thinking and go to sleep,” he mumbled.
Right. Like that was going to happen. She was in bed with Luke. Her nose was pressed into the hollow of his throat and she was trapped in her blanket and his arms. Her body might be settling into the familiarity of his, but her mind was telling her she was all kinds of a fool.
Rowan closed her eyes as his heat slowly seeped into her and her body stopped shivering. She’d roll over in a few minutes…as soon as she was all the way warm.
* * *
Weird—Michaelwasn’t normally a cuddler, but he had one arm thrown around her and a hand cupping her ass cheek with a thigh between her legs, while her head rested on the warm skin of his chest.
Rowan blinked her eyes open slowly and stared at the music note tattoo. When did Michael get a tattoo like Luke?
Luke! She rose and rolled away, only to get tangled in the blankets and fall off the edge of the bed.
“Owww.”
His head appeared over the edge, his hair adorably disheveled. “You okay?”
“Yup.” She pressed her lips together.
“Forget I was here?” he asked.
“Yup.”
Scratching the back of his head, he let out a big yawn. “I’ll get the generator started.”
