Page 217 of The Edge of Darkness

She looked over at me as she settled into her pillow. “I like to sleep naked,” she practically purred.

Fucking fates.

I clenched my jaw but gave her a tight-lipped grin to hide it.

She knew what she was doing. But two could play this game.

As I grinned, I tugged the hem of my own shirt up and over my head, just as slow—just as tantalizing as she had done. A dose of her own medicine. Then, I unbuttoned my pants and worked them and my undershorts down my thighs. They were still thoroughly soaked from the rain, but that only helped to achieve the necessary effect their removal was having on Nivelle.

She watched me with deadly precision, and when I finally stepped out of the garments and kicked them to the foot of the chair beside me, she didn’t hide where her gaze went. It roamed over my entire body, pausing on what hung, thick and heavy, between my thighs.

“I like to sleep naked too,” I said.

Her nostrils flared, and she pursed her lips before turning away from me and scooting to the other side of the bed closest to the window.

Good. Let her stew in the same predicament I was in.

I swiped the blanket from the armchair and stretched out on the rug in front of the fire that was now beginning to dwindle.

Thunder rumbled, and rain lashed against the window, the sound soothing and familiar. The isles were a lot like Vahrenhall, in the way that there were constant storms, and it was nearly always overcast. I supposed that was why I felt so at home here. Perhaps that was also why Nivelle seemed more amiable when she was in the highlands.

The way she’d been completely enamored with the Dreki and hadn’t even been afraid to approach them had tugged at something inside me. It appealed to my baser instincts, but it also took me by surprise.

I’d never forget the look she gave me when she saw me atop that winged beast’s back. It was similar to the way I’d looked at her earlier when she spoke to the Dionachs about the coming war. We both had an admiration for strength and leadership, even if she would never admit that to anyone.

A flash of light skittered across the ceiling, followed by a gust of wind that rattled the windowpane.

The bed creaked, then creaked again as Nivelle shifted restlessly.

I sat up and peered through the dark. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s . . . cold.”

“Put some clothes on,” I said bleakly. In reality, that was the last thing I wanted her to do, but I wasn’t going to get any sleep knowing she was naked in the bed ten feet away from me, so perhaps it was the wiser option.

She scoffed, making sure it was plenty loud for me to hear.

“Want me to stoke the fire?” I offered, a bite of sarcasm lacing my voice.

“There’s no more wood.”

I raised a brow.

No wood. I couldn’t help my own scoff. How convenient.

When I didn’t say anything, she explained. “I haven’t exactly been here to tend to the upkeep of this place.”

Right, I thought. Still convenient though.

I briefly toyed with the idea of offering my own body heat as a solution, but she’d probably shoot that down.

Or would she?

Ah, fuck it.

“I could come keep you warm.” The moment the words were out of my mouth, I silently cursed myself and waited for whatever snide remark she had in her arsenal.

Silence followed. Then . . .