I stand very still in the center of the room, staring at her door, wondering if she’ll return. If her fear will override her pride. I bite back a grin as she knocks once more. I’m already moving toward the door when the latch turns.
She stands in the doorway, chin lifted in her signature stubborn look.
“Yes?”
“There is no reason,” she begins, voice carefully composed, “for a married couple to sleep separately.”
I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling. “Of course not.”
Her gaze flicks to the bed behind me, then to the hearth, and back to me.
She steps inside, walking past me as if she owns the place. “We should sleep in this room. It’s warmer in here.”
I incline my head solemnly. “As my wife commands.”
She strides past me before I can see whether my words please or irritate her more. Her delicate scent of jasmine and vanilla trails in her wake.
She climbs into the bed, gathering the blankets around herself like armor.
Swallowing hard, I start toward her.This is it. The moment I’ve been waiting for.For her to allow me closer.
I’ve already decided I’ll lie on my back. I’ll let her come to me if she wishes. And if not, simply sharing the same bed is enough. In fact, it’s more than I expected at this point.
My hopes dash as she tosses a pillow. It strikes me square in the chest and falls to the floor. I lean down to pick it up and she throws a quilt at me as well.
“Very generous of you,” I tease lightly. “To give me something soft for the cold floor.”
It’s not actually that cold. At least, not to me. She, on the other hand, seems to truly need the mound of blankets she’s currently under.
She purses her lips, but there isn’t any irritation in her eyes. “You could use the cushions from the sofa,” she offers.
Thunder rolls again, vibrating through the floorboards, and it’s easy to see Vivienne is still unnerved. Although now, I’m beginning to wonder if it has less to do with the storm than it does the fact that she’s still shaken from what happened in the hallway.
I could simply sleep on the sofa, but I get the feeling she’d prefer me nearby. Even if it’s not in her bed.
I gather the cushions and then arrange the pillow and blanket, settling onto the floor beside her. The cushions are a bit thin and don’t provide much support, but I’ve slept on worse.
I would sleep on stone if it meant she did not tremble alone.
Stretching onto my back, I lay the quilt over my lower half and put my hands behind my head. When I look at the bed, I find Vivienne staring at my chest.
I’m dressed in only my pants, and if her blush is anything to go by, she likes what she sees. A smile curves my lips. “Goodnight, me’lira.”
She makes a soft huffing sound—half irritation, half something else—and shifts under the covers. The mattress creaks as she turns onto her side.
The storm continues its relentless assault, lightning flashing bright enough to illuminate the room before plunging it back into shadow.
As the minutes pass, I listen to her breathing. It’s uneven and shallow, her heart hammering. But as the thunder grows more distant, her pulse slows a bit.
The mattress shifts again and her arm slides off the edge of the bed, the tips of her fingers brushing my shoulder.
I go still. Her touch is featherlight against my skin, but it warms my heart all the same as her breaths become soft and even. As if she is instinctively seeking and finding comfort with me… even in her sleep.
Staring into the darkness, a troubling thought comes to mind. She already has me wrapped around her finger. And she cannot find this out… not until I know that she’s mine, just as much as I am already hers.
A sudden ripple of unease moves through me, and I go still. It’s faint at first, barely more than a whisper brushing the edge of my senses, but it sharpens quickly, tightening into something jagged and wrong.
Fear floods my veins, and I realize it’s not mine, it’s Vivienne’s.
