I paced back and forth on the carpet, nervously watching the clock beside the bed.
It had only been thirty minutes. Thirty minutes since the sun had completely gone down. I didn’t know what it was when I felt it the first time. I thought I
was just hot.
But as I changed into shorts and a t-shirt and found no relief, I realized what was happening. My entire body felt like it was trapped in a fire pit. This bedroom quickly began to feel like a kiln.
I went to the French doors and opened them up to reveal a balcony. The layer of snow on the balcony was almost up to my knees, but it felt amazing. I threw myself on the ground and began to do snow angels.
This was only momentary relief. I felt as if my skin was melting the snow.
I stood up, my shirt and shorts soaked to the skin, and began to peel off the layers of clothing I never thought I would find myself completely naked, standing in almost a foot of snow, and yet somehow completely feverish, but there I was.
I ran back inside, leaving the doors open to let in the fresh, cool air. I went into the bathroom and quickly turned on the bath. I made sure the water was as cold as it could get and I filled the tub full of it.
This offered a fleeting solace from the Heat.
As the night progressed, I tried to come up with more clever things to do that would keep me cold, but my body only grew hotter with every effort.
I was miserable.
A few times I thought about going to find Adam and get it over with, simply so I wouldn’t have to ever go through Heat again. These were short-lived moments. Each time the thought would cross my mind, I would just splash the thought away with cold water or a snowball to the face.
Just when I thought I wouldn’t be able to bare it any longer, I saw the sun start to rise over the mountains on the horizon. I found myself lying on Adam’s bed, covered by nothing but a sheet, watching the sunrise like it was the first time I’d ever seen it.
I was certainly more excited to see the sun that morning than I had ever been. It was like Christmas morning. I don’t remember falling asleep, but I remember being woken up by the sound of Adam’s voice.
“Evie…”
I opened my eyes to see him staring down at me.
I was lying on the bed in the wrong direction, my head at the opposite end and my body completely tangled up in the sheets.
Adam stood over me at the foot of the bed.
“How are you feeling?” He asked.
I rolled over. “Like shit thanks to you,” I croaked. My throat was drier than the Sahara desert.
I looked up at him once more and noticed the way his black hair was tousled roughly and dark circles were prominent under his blue eyes.
“Rough night?” I asked sarcastically.
“Don’t pity me,” Adam said.
I shook my head. “Don’t worry, I don’t.”
Upon second glance, I noticed he was also shirtless.
Damn, he is sexy as hell. I shook the thought from my mind.
He’s also stupid and incredibly selfish, I reminded myself. I sat up and stretched my arms out over my head. The sheet slipped slightly, but I pulled it back up to cover my cleavage.
“I’m starving,” I mumbled hearing my stomach rumble. “Do we have any breakfast?”
I looked at Adam for an answer but instead caught him staring at my exposed skin. “Avert your eyes, pervert,” I said snapping my fingers in his face.
He blinked and looked up at me.
“Breakfast?” I asked again.
“Sure,” he said taking a deep breath. “What do you want?”
“Literally anything,” I replied. “I would eat radishes or raw zucchini right now if I had to.”
Adam didn’t find the comment at all funny like I had intended him to.
He simply walked over to the phone and requested breakfast be sent up to the room.
“You have room service in your house?” I asked in disbelief. Adam didn’t answer, just walked around the bed and began to pull out clothes for him to change into.
He was only in his boxer briefs.
It was a view I had dreamed of seeing in daylight.
Adam turned to say something to me but stopped short when he noticed the open French doors on the other end of the room for the first time.
“Why are the doors open?” He asked angrily.
“Because it was hot in here.” I said in a duh tone.
“Don’t open these doors again,” he said walking over to close them. He closed one but stopped himself from closing the other when he saw something.
My clothes were still on the balcony.
I put my hand over my mouth as my face turned beet red. Adam reached down and picked up my lace panties with his finger.
He turned to look at me, still holding them up. “Are you naked?” He asked in a husky voice.
That’s kind of hot.
I couldn’t find anything to say but he continued to stare at me, waiting on an answer.
“I mean… I was hot,” I said defensively.
I swore his eyes grew a few shades darker. Slowly he turned around and picked up the rest of my clothes
from the balcony, including my bra, and dumped them on the floor inside the room.
Wordlessly, Adam closed the door and walked back over to his wardrobe.
He grabbed the clothes he’d pulled out and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
Exhausted, I laid my head back down on the mattress and dozed off into a light slumber.
My eyes shot open when I heard a knocking on the door.
I sat up and listened to see if I could hear the shower running but I couldn’t.
Maybe Adam left?
Slowly, I got out of the bed, carefully keeping my body wrapped up, and walked over to the door. Before I could open it, Adam’s hand was blocking me from pulling open the door.
“Do I really have to remind you that you shouldn’t open the door when you’re naked?” He asked, his warm breath fanning the back of my neck.
I turned to look at him. “No, you don’t.”
I pulled open the door swiftly and came face to face with a older woman holding a tray of fruit, toast, and glasses of water.
“Good morning.” I said with a smile. “I can take that from you.”
She was obviously flustered seeing me in nothing but a sheet, but she turned white when she saw Adam standing behind me holding the door open. I can’t imagine what she thought had been going on behind that door.
“Thank you,” I said.
“Yes, thank you,” Adam repeated, closing the door.
She didn’t say a word.
I walked back into the room, holding the tray of food.
“That wasn’t funny,” I heard Adam say.
“It wasn’t supposed to be,” I retorted.
I placed the tray down on the bed and hopped back onto the bed myself. “Strawberry?” I asked Adam, eating one myself.
“No thanks,” he quipped.
I ate almost half the plate of fruit and more than two pieces of toast before I was satisfied. All the while, Adam walked around the room, picking up and re-
straightening things.
“You’re kind of a neat freak,” I said eating a slice of pineapple. I had been watching him clean. More specifically, watching his ass when he bent over to pick something up.
“Are you checking me out?” He asked, staring at me.
“Shamelessly,” I replied.
He rolled his eyes. “What are your plans today?” Adam asked. “Assuming you even get out of the bed and do something that is…”
I scoffed. “You’re not my favorite person in the world right now, so I don’t think my plans for the day should concern you.”
Adam smiled.
“Who is your favorite person in the world right now?” He asked.
“Me,” I said. “This food is amazing. I’m about to go take a nice, hot bubble bath in a huge bathtub that happens to be sitting in the middle of a palace. And, not to mention, I’ve only just found out that my mate is practically a god among men and could potentially give me anything that I want in this world, so I’m
feeling pretty good.”
I took another bite of the pineapple slice. “Of course,” I added, ” he is kind of an asshole, but he’s a hot asshole. So I’m hoping he has a change of heart in the nearby future so I won’t feel so guilty about wanting to make out with him.
All this provided that I can actually forgive him for marking me without my consent and dooming me to long nights of unbearable Heat.”
The look on his face made me laugh.
“Like I said, I’m going to take a bath. Don’t wait around for me though. I don’t really want to see your face for the rest of the day,” I said getting off the bed.
I grabbed a glass of water and walked into the bathroom, still holding the sheet around me with one hand.
“Oh and by the way,” I said stopping myself. “This mate thing you’re trying to force on me is going to be a partnership, not an ownership. Until you’ve accepted that, you won’t get anything from me.”
With that, I closed the bathroom door and dropped the sheet.