Page 27 of An Accident Waiting to Dragon

Gwen turned her back on him and pretended to be busy wringing out her clothes and trying not to think about flaming eyes, ridged muscles, that low growl, or how it felt to be the one protected, and not the one doing the protecting, for the first time in a very long time.

He’s the reason Goran is dead. Either get answers or get this over with and get away from him again.

She dropped her chin to her chest, eyes closed, trying to make herself agree with that sound logic. Could she walk away from him a second time? She’d thought she’d grown stronger than that.

“We need to get you warm.” His voice came from behind her.

Gwen frowned, first at the words, and then even harder at the realization that she was shivering.

“That rain was not tropical,” Asher pointed out next.

As if proving his point, wind whipped into their hiding spot, carrying with it a frozen bite of winter and she shivered even harder. “I’ll be fine.”

The hole of silence at her back seemed to grow and grow.

“You can hate me all you want, Gwen,” he finally said in a hard voice that gave away no emotions. “But don’t let it drive you to poor choices.”

Gwen stiffened so hard she was surprised her back didn’t spasm. “I don’t…hate you,” she said in a soft voice.

More silence. She refused to turn around and try to see the emotions in his eyes. So stoic, his face was almost always a blank, but his eyes, that’s what gave him away.

But she didn’t want to see if he was hurt, or guilty, or didn’t care, or whatever it was he felt about all of this.

“You don’t?”

She gave her head a small shake, glaring at the sand at her feet. “I can’t forgive you, Asher. But I could never hate you.”

Her young heart had loved him too much for that.

“I…see.” Another long stretch of silence.

Finally she turned around to find his hair standing on end like he’d been running his fingers through it. “What do you suggest?”

His frown was a question all by itself.

“About the cold,” she clarified.

His wince told her she wasn’t going to love his answer. “We can’t risk dragon fire.”

She nodded. The storm was too close.

“But even in human form I can keep us both warm.”

Human form. Her eyes widened.

He meant snuggling up with each other for body heat, or in his case, animal heat. An entire night plastered to his side. Given the way her feelings about him were all over the damn place, that sounded like torture. But he wouldn’t have suggested that if there was any other option.

She blew out a frustrated breath and blinked as it misted on the air. The drop in temperature was that sharp.

“I’ll take first watch,” she said.

Asher hummed in what she assumed was an agreement, then sat down on the sandy floor—at least it wasn’t rocky—with his back against one of the small cavern’s walls. He winced, but didn’t complain, instead waving her over. Taking a silent breath, she tried to calm her nerves, to get her heart to stop tripping over itself as she carefully sat beside Asher in the sand.

“This will keep you warmer,” he said in a voice that sounded both reluctant and apologetic.

“What will?—”

Asher scooped her up and deposited her between his legs, her back to his chest. A low sound from her memories, like the bellows of a forge, came from behind and around her…and then lovely warmth seeped into every part of her.

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