Page 106 of The Spark that Ignites
He turned his face away. The moonlight outlined his toned stomach, chest, and the thin dark hair trailing into his trousers. His scars practically leapt from his pale skin. Vesper pinched the bridge of his nose. “I really don’t want to discuss this right now.I’m exhausted.” Eyeing the mattress, he sighed. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”
Mouth suddenly parched, Emmery jerked her attention from his bare chest to the gap between the bed and wall. “There’s barely any room.”
His gaze softened. “But you’re uncomfortable.”
“I’m fine.” Voice weak, she cleared her throat. “We’re both adults. We can share a bed.”
Vesper studied the lion scarring his hand. “I sleep naked. I hope that’s alright.” Her eyes widened but he only laughed—a warm, devious sound. “Oh, come on. Lighten up. It was ajoke.”
She huffed a breath and squeezed her temples. “Let’s just go to sleep.”
“I swear to the gods, I’ll keep to my side.” He held up his hands in surrender, but it didn’t calm her, and Emmery gnawed her cheek. “You’re safe with me, you know that, right? I won’t touch you ... unless you ask me to of course.” He winked but she couldn’t meet his playful gaze, suddenly fascinated by the dirty floor.
Fingering her wet tunic, she asked, “Can you turn around? I need to change.”
He gave her his back. “You got it.”
Peeling off her wet clothes, her clammy skin hot and cold from the freezing temperatures, she tugged on a tunic and soft trousers before hanging the garments on a nearby hook and praying they would dry by morning. The damp room didn’t provide any guarantees of warmth and to her dismay, there was no hearth.
“Done,” she mumbled, crawling under the quilt.
Vesper unbuttoned his trousers and yanked them down. Emmery yelped, covering her face with her hands but she got an eyeful of his shorts.
“Gods, Vesper—” she choked through her fingers. “Have some modesty!”
“You can look if you want,” he offered, grinning like a mischievous child. “I’m not shy.”
“Apparently,” she hissed. Emmery counted ten breaths before removing her hands. The dark cotton trousers hung low on his hips as he kneeled on the bed and Emmery pulled the quilt over her face. She could have died right there. What in the world was wrong with her? Sure, Vesper was attractive, but she had never thought of him in that way. Perhaps it was that shameful loneliness in her heart mocking her.
His hand caressed her shoulder. “I’m teasing you.”
She glowered at him. “Would you stop?”
A grin. “It’s so much fun though. I didn’t know you were so opposed to nudity.”
“Get in bed and be quiet,” she grumbled. When that wicked glimmer reappeared in his eye, she held up a finger. “You’re sick, you know that?”
He mimed zipping his mouth and slipped under the covers.
The quiet weighed on her as they lay there. His body heat filled the fraction of space between them, joined by his calm, earthy scent, and layered with the palpable tension from earlier. Gods help her. Emmery sighed, opening her big, fat mouth.
“Are you going to forgive me?” she whispered into the darkness. “Or do I need to beg?”
“You didn’t listen to meagain, Emmery, and you put us both in danger.” His voice was rough, weighed down by fatigue. “Some grovelling would be fitting. At least an apology.”
“I’m sorry I put us in danger,” she murmured, “but I don’t regret it.”
Vesper released a long, exasperated breath. “I guess that’s all I’m going to get?” He rolled onto his back, his fingers drummingon his chest as silence swelled. “Do you think I’m terrible?” Vesper studied the ceiling, his brows creased in thought.
“What do you mean ‘terrible’?”
“My father ... what he did.” He swallowed, turning his head to face her. “You know I wouldn’t have done that, right?”
Emmery studied him for a long stretch. “I know you have a big heart, Vesper. That’s why I don’t understand your actions today.”
“I don’t know either. And honestly,” he pulled his mouth to the side, “I’m glad you had the guts to free him. Besides the chaos you likely unleashed, Arborius didn’t deserve that fate.”
It was a snap judgement, like when she had freed Aera and provided their fair share of headaches. Hopefully, this wouldn’t bring the same results.
