“Nes?” Shame coated him when his voice came out a squeak.
“Yeah?”
“Why…” He took a deep breath in. “Why aren’t you wearing anything?”
His lips refused to form the word.Naked.
“I’m wearing something,” she said with a bit of her usual confidence.
He forced himself to open his eyes, to turn and look at her. “You’re not. I felt…” He closed his eyes against the flood of embarrassment. Hell, he couldn’t do this.
“I felt it, too,” she said. “But to answer your question, we’re both wearing blankets.”
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
She let out a long sigh, and the image of her bare chest rising and falling flitted in his mind’s eye. He bit his lip. He needed to get out of this bed. But if he did, she’d see him. See exactly how she affected him.
When she spoke again, he listened. Her voice was small, and he marveled at the vulnerability in every word. It made him want to fold her in his arms, hold her close, feel her heart calm under the weight of his touch as it had the day they met.
“You passed out,” she whispered, “while trying to change. Suri and I managed to move you, but even with the blankets, you wouldn’t stop shaking. You wouldn’t warm. I was afraid if I didn’t get you warm again you might not…I was afraid you’d never wake up.”
He met her gaze, his heart suddenly still. Something passed between them. Something he latched on to. Something he’d tried for so long not to feel.
She cared about him. And he cared for her, too. Cared and maybe…maybemore.
Her eyes were clear in the morning light, the meaning of her words striking in the blue around her large pupils. “So Suri and I did the only thing I could think of. We undressed, and she got in bed with Genna while I climbed in with you.”
He glanced over to the unmade bed on the other side of the room—it was empty—then back to Nes. Worry creased her brow, hiding some freckles and accentuating others.
“Nothing happened,” she said quickly. “You needed body heat. And it was the only way I knew how to give it.”
He pulled a hand out from under the blankets and reached over to her, brushing stray strands of hair from her face. He hadn’t thought he could want after Loriana. He’d been so broken. So lost, and he hadn’t wanted to find his way back. Now he was glad he had. He never could have imagined a girl like Nes.
He wanted her. But she deserved more than this. More than him.
“What’s wrong?”
He smiled softly. “Nothing.”
She shoved his shoulder, and he laughed, pushing up onto his elbows. They’d have to get out of bed eventually, but until then, he was content to just lie beside her.
“Liar,” she said and threw the blankets in his face.
He shook them off and turned to look at her, only to find her out of bed. All of their blankets still wrapped around him. She had skin for days.
“Nes!”
She whirled, and he slammed his eyes shut.
“What?”
Goddess, maybe there was something wrong with him. She clearly had no problem parading around naked in front of him, so he shouldn’t feel the need to respect her privacy. Still, he kept his eyes closed. In his head, he heard Kohen’s voice.Prude.
“Please,” he croaked, “put some clothes on.”
“What do you think I’m doing?”
“Torturing me.”
