Mallory’s stomach twisted.
A familiar instinct rose in her, the urge to retreat and apologize for existing too loudly in someone else’s space. She pushed against it.
“Jakob…” Her voice softened despite herself. “If I’m making you uncomfortable, please tell me what I can do to stop it.”
“You’re not,” he said instantly.
He stopped pacing and faced her. The firelight caught in his eyes and turned them dark and intense as he stared at her like she was the single most dangerous thing he’d ever encountered.
“You’re the opposite of uncomfortable,” he said softly.
The words landed heavier than any touch.
Her heartbeat hammered, a mix of fear and something she didn’t want to name. Attraction was easy. This, though. This felt sharper. Riskier. Like stepping too close to a cliff edge.
The fire popped and a log shifted. Snow hissed faintly against the shelter roof.
Mallory sat down on the bench near the flames and hugged her knees to her chest. She focused on the heat and the dance of the flames as she tried to calm the wild tempo in her pulse. She told herself she was just cold or shaken.
Jakob stayed at the far end of the room, as far away as possible, as if distance was the only thing keeping him in control.
But his eyes never left her. She could feel him wanting and warring with himself.
Mallory stared into the fire, its glow reflecting in her eyes. She felt the tension humming between them like a live wire stretched too tight and felt her own internal tug-of-war between caution and curiosity, somewhere between self-preservation and the dangerous urge to step closer.
Her heart wouldn’t slow. Neither would his breathing.
And in that tiny shelter, with the storm raging on the other side of the walls, Mallory knew two things with absolute clarity.
Jakob was fighting something fierce and terrifying inside himself.
And the most unsettling part was that some small, reckless part of her wanted to know what would happen if he stopped.
CHAPTER 7
Jakob
The blizzard trapped them with ruthless efficiency and sealed the small cabin beneath howling wind and snow so thick Jakob couldn’t see his own tracks ten feet from the door. By nightfall, the world beyond the walls ceased to exist. There was only the groan of the old timber being weighed down under ice, the rattle of wind against the boards, and Mallory. She was too close, too warm, and too alive in a space never meant for two people.
The cabin held a single narrow bunk, a wooden table scarred from years of use, and a stove that burned just hot enough to keep them from freezing. Jakob had given her the bed without hesitation and sat on the floor with his back to the wall and his coat folded beneath his head. It should have been enough. He had survived worse nights in harsher conditions without a second thought.
But he had never shared a shelter with someone who smelled like apple soap and pure female, who looked at him with quiet trust instead of fear.
The storm worsened after midnight. The temperature dropped, and the stove burned low despite his careful tending.Jakob woke to the sound of Mallory’s teeth chattering. Before he could stop himself, instinct took over. He added wood and left the door to the stove partially open to allow more heat into the room.
But then she whispered his name, hesitant and embarrassed. “Will you sit by me so we can share our body heat? I’m so cold.”
It took every shred of discipline he had not to refuse. Not because he didn’t want to be near her, but because he wanted it way too much.
They sat side by side at first, a careful inch of space between them that vanished when she dozed off and leaned into him. The contact startled her and she looked up at him, her breath warm against the skin on his neck. She shivered again, and Jakob closed his eyes. He reached over and wrapped his coat around her without comment. She thanked him and snuggled into the added warmth.
Mallory never pushed. Never flirted. Never made it easy.
That somehow made it worse.
At some point exhaustion claimed her. She fidgeted sideways as if seeking his heat before she curled against his chest with a quiet sigh. Even asleep, her complete trust in him made him uneasy. Jakob froze and every muscle locked as the dragon surged beneath his skin with heat flaring in answer to her softness. He did not move or touch her beyond what was necessary to keep her warm even though the urge to wrap himself around her was strong.
He stayed awake the rest of the night and stared into the dark as he guarded her from the storm, and from himself.
