Page 76 of Rosie and the Beast Next Door

Dylan stepped onto the sloshy flooring to where I was perched on the bed and swept me into his arms. “You’re freezing cold.”

As he turned, I saw that my fresh artwork, the paint still wet when I’d gone to bed, had smeared across most of the mural, ruining it. Dylan’s long strides took us quickly from the room.

“Lizzy,” I said as we left the apartment. Dylan paused, then turned around and opened the door again so Lizzy could follow us out. She was trembling as well. Probably scared on top of being cold. I knew the roof needed some repairs, but I hadn’t realized it was so dire.

We entered Dylan’s apartment and went straight to the bedroom. Dylan set me gently on the bed, and rifled through his drawers, pulling out a huge sweatshirt and super soft joggers that he tossed to me. “You need to get warm. Your lips look blue.”

I took the clothes into the dark bathroom and changed by the light of my phone. If only I could take a steaming hot shower. But the power being out meant that my ancient electric water heater was useless to me right now.

When I came out of the bathroom, it was to the sight of Dylan swaddling Lizzy like an adorable little baby. She was tucked into one of my extra fleece blankets and snuggled close to his broad chest.

“Who’s the nurturer now?” I said through chattering teeth.

He leveled me with a dry look. “What happens during a Winterhaven storm, stays in Winterhaven.”

I snorted out an unexpected laugh that was interrupted by a shiver.

“Come here.” He patted the bed beside him. “I moved the bed away from the wall, so hopefully we won’t get drenched tonight.”

My stomach did a hop and then a skip at “we.” And it did a full acrobatic twist when he lifted the covers for me. Okay, then. I guess I was getting into bed with Dylan Savage.

I climbed into bed, and he got under the covers as well, Lizzy still burrowed into his chest—her eyes at half-mast and her deep purrs letting us know she was in heaven.

I wasn’t jealous of my cat. I turned my phone’s flashlight off, plunging us both into darkness. This whole one-bed business would be way less awkward if we didn’t see each other.

I faced Dylan and when he adjusted his position under the covers, his foot brushed mine.

He hissed out a swear. “Your feet are ice blocks.”

“You should feel my hands.” And because I had the maturity of a twelve-year old, I reached out to touch his neck with my numb hands. He sucked in a breath, but instead of reeling away from my coldness, as I expected, he grabbed my hands and tucked them under his side.Under his obliques.The ones I’d been admiring from day one, and which were not covered in a shirt.

We were in a skin-on-skin situation.

Take that, Lizzy.

His side wassowarm. Who needed hot water and electricity when they had a human furnace in bed with them?

Lizzy snuggled in deeper between us, her purrs at sonic level.

I could hear the grin in Dylan’s voice when he said, “Does she always sound like this?”

“When she’s warm and happy,” I said, my breathing still a little stilted. I must have been lying in that pool of cold wetness longer than I realized. I was still freezing.

“Tuck your feet by my calves,” Dylan said.

“They’re too cold,” I protested half-heartedly as I did what he said. I hadn’t realized he’d worn shorts to bed, until my feet were pressed against the bare skin of his calves.

“I’m always on ice. I’m going to pull you closer,” he warned me. As if there were a universe in which I would protest to Dylan pulling me into his bare chest.

Lizzy relocated to nestling between our stomachs, and I pressed my face into the hollow between Dylan’s neck and collarbone. My icy nose thawed out minute by minute.

“You know, this was a lot of effort just to get your bed back,” he whispered teasingly.

“Bet you didn’t see this coming,” I said into his neck, and I felt his reverberating chuckle against my whole body. His skin was soft against my lips. I wanted to explore that sensation further.

“Rosie, I haven’t seen anything coming since I met you.” He rested his chin against the top of my head, securing me beside him.

As I grew warmer, my shivering lessened, and I was able to relax into him more fully. A less selfish person might insist onnotusing Dylan to keep themselves warm.

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