Page 20 of Cold Hearted
“There,” he said. “An impenetrable barrier, sure to keep you chaste despite my advances.”
The idea that a simple pillow would be a sufficient barrier between us was so ridiculous that a giggle slipped out, breaking the bubble of tension that had blossomed in my gut.
Zander looked over at me, a crease between his brows as if I’d lost my mind.And maybe I had. Nothing about this mission had gone to plan. From portaling to the wrong part of the realm, to getting myself arrested, and now sharing a bed with an almost-stranger who made me feel things I had no right feeling.
His features smoothed out after a few moments when he determined I wasn’t losing it… at least not completely.
“In all seriousness,” Zander started, “the floor is killing my back and we have at least another day, if not two, on horseback. We’re most likely going to have to camp somewhere along the way tomorrow. If you are truly bothered, I’ll go back to the floor. But I really don’t want to, and I never met a Midlands woman so bothered with formality. Aren’t your sleeping quarters usually communal?”
I chewed my bottom lip. He sounded sincere and tired, and it was bad I wasn’t acting like a true Midlander.
Would one night really matter? The bed was quite large, and it’s not like I would tell anyone back home that we’d slept next to each other, so no one—no one being my mother—would ever find out.
“Do you swear to keep your hands to yourself?” I asked.
“I will try.”
“Zander,” I growled, and the cuffs on my wrists tightened slightly.
He chuckled and the sound settled over my skin like warm honey.
You’re playing with fire, Dawn. Even light-wielding fae can still get burned.
“I swear it,” he finally said. “But the real question is, will you be able to keep your hands off me?”
“Pfft,” I scoffed. “I would only willingly touch you to deliver a killing blow.” Interestingly, my cuffs didn’t tighten at that. In fact, they loosened as if I’d just lied.
He made a humming sound in the back of his throat, one that said he didn’t believe me. I almost reached over and punched him, but that would technically be considered breaching the pillow barrier and that was one thing I was determined not to do.
“Just go to sleep,” I grumped, turning again so my back was to Zander.
That dang chuckle sounded again in the darkness, sliding way past my defenses and warming my insides.
“Good night,” Zander murmured.
I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep with Zander less than an arm’s length away, but the day finally caught up to me and I was out in minutes.
Chapter 6
The sunlight hit my face in the early morning, and I opened my eyes, arching my back into a stretch and then freezing as my gaze fell onto the arm draped over my waist and around my lower back. The pillow was still between Zander and me, but we were both snuggling it with our feet intertwined like pretzels.
Oh no. This was bad, this was really…kind of nice.
No. I began to slowly pull my limbs back over to my side of the bed when Zander’s eyes flew open. He took one look at my hand on his bicep and grinned.
“If you wanted to snuggle you could have asked,” he quipped.
I yanked myself over to my side of the bed and sat up quickly.
“That never happened. We never speak of this again.”
“Okay, snuggle bunny,” he said, and I spun with a murderous gaze.
Zander bit his lips to keep from laughing and I pointed a finger at him. “I will blind you for the rest of your life if youevercall me that again.”
He put his hands up in the air in mock surrender. “Yes, little bird.”
I sighed in relief. Truly, if anyone in Faerie heard that I’d awoken entangled in bed with a strange man, my marriage prospects would be shot.
