Page 73 of A Soul to Guide

When he got a fire going, Raewyn sat in front of it.

It wasn’t as warm as she wanted it to be, the chilly air blowing in from outside. She couldn’t get too close to the flames, or she’d start to feel like she was burning, but if she sat a safe distance away, she could barely feel them.

It was a miserable feeling, but she didn’t want to complain when it was obvious he was trying to be accommodating.

Raewyn nibbled her bottom lip.I can’t get warm because of my clothes.She folded one foot on top of the other as she hugged her knees.

She needed to strip – sheknewshe needed to. Yet, for some reason, she was nervous about doing so.

On the other side of the fire, Raewyn heard a heavyplop,as though he’d laid out a wet bit of material. Her ears twitched at a secondflawp, and she wondered if he’d come to the same conclusion about stripping. Perhaps he just wanted to dry the clothing he’d worn.

When a rather brutal wave of goosebumps assaulted her spine, Raewyn gathered the courage and stood.

“Do you have my spare clothes?” she asked.

“No. I’m laying them out along with mine to dry by the fire.”

Raewyn clenched her jaw and swallowed a lump in her throat. “Why? Shouldn’t they be dry?”

“I was, until I had to pull my cloak over you instead. All our clothing is wet.”

Her mouth went dry, and she wished her body would follow suit. Instead, she was forced to untie her cloak and let it fall to the ground.

Her hands were clumsy as she undid the ties at the back of her dress, her ears and cheeks burning. When she slipped it over her shoulders, she had the undeniable urge to turn and give Merikh her back, so she did.

Why am I being so shy?she thought, her lips pulling to one side.

Elysians were usually rather open with nudity and their sexuality. Both men and women had a tendency to prance around without a top on. It was only because of children and their rude little eyes or hands poking at people’s privates that they covered them.

Underwear was virtually non-existent, as they liked to let the body breathe naturally. She wasn’t wearing any now for that reason alone, especially since she’d never had any intention of letting anyone know she wasn’t wearing any.

Raewyn had never been shy in her life, unless she was stripping for a partner she was interested in. Her sudden bashfulness didn’t make sense to her.

It was when her dress was around her hips that she let out a silent gasp.

Wait... Am I attracted to Merikh?

What other explanation was there? She liked the way he smelt, his rumbly, gruff voice, his thick and muscled body. What his face was had little meaning to her.

His hands were rough but pleasant, his personality considerate when he wanted to be but mean when given the choice.

Raewyn kind of liked that he could be a jerk. Sometimes, things were a little scary, like his murderous tendencies, but she tried to ignore them. Whenever he was rude, she had the desire to needle him further until he growled or did this strange, low snorting huff.

People had treated her like she was precious from the moment she became a councilmember. Merikh, on the other hand, treated her like he couldn’t give a damn what he did or said to offend her, or anyone, for that matter.

He was also... sweet in his own way. She never needed to ask for help, like when he’d offered to shield her from the rain. He just did it without thought or expectation.

Raewyn let her dress fall as she chewed her bottom lip until it swelled.

Is it weird I feel this way about him?Sure, they hadn’t known each other long, and there were obvious issues to work out, but she couldn’t deny it.

There had been fleeting moments of desire in his presence that she’d unwittingly suppressed – especially whenever she got a close whiff of his delectable scent.

She wished she could ignore it now that she realised what she was feeling. She covered her chest when she grabbed her dress from the ground, rather than just presenting herself like normal.

But Raewyn wasn’t the kind of person to ignore something just because it was uncomfortable to discover.

Didn’t mean she’d voice it or do anything about it. She had no idea what Merikh felt. He was hateful towards everyone indiscriminately. What were the chances he’d feel any kind of desire towards her?

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