“All I h-heard was a b-bunch of b-b-bullshit,” I snarled. “C-cult n-nonsense.”
“It’s not nonsense. It’s…oh, Hell,” Jake growled and shook his head. “Fine—come here and lay against me. But only until you warm up—they you have to scoot away again.”
I wanted to tell him not to do me any favors and stay exactly where I was—but the cold wouldn’t let me. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so frozen and the temptation of curling up next to his big, warm body was too much to ignore.
Wordlessly, I scooted over to him and pressed my face against his broad, bare chest.
Jake made a little hissing noise and jerked when my super cold body came into contact with his hot one.
“Jeeze! Is that your nose or an ice cube?” he complained. “You really are half-frozen.”
“S-s-sorry.” I started to pull away again but he shook his head.
“No, come back, little Ani,” he murmured, nodding at me. I had the feeling he would have gathered me into his arms if he could—but of course he couldn’t, since his hands were cuffed over his head. He had been also lying on his side, but now he turned over on his back so that more of his big body was exposed. “Wrap yourself around me,” he told me. “Take as much heat as you need to warm up.”
Once again, the cold wouldn’t let me argue. I scooted close to him, pressing my bare breasts to his side and wrapping my arms and legs around his long, muscular form. Was it awkward? Hell, yes. Did I care? Hell, no. At that point I was so cold I didn’t care what I had to do to get warm again—including pressing my bare body against my stepbrother’s with complete abandon.
I pressed my face against his skin and breathed him in, taking comfort in that bonfire and fur in the forest scent that he always seemed to carry with him. Was this what Sorenson had meant about his scent “calling” to me?
No, I decided uneasily, that was just more bullshit. It was probably just my stepbrother’s cologne or deodorant I was smelling. Or else, he just had a really good personal smell—some people did. It was no big deal, really it wasn’t.
The main thing now was to warm up and that was exactly what I did.
“Mmm…” I moaned softly, as I snuggled against Jake’s supine form. “You’re so warm.”
“It’s the Were blood,” Jake said, his voice slightly hoarse. “Our bodies self-regulate our temperature so we can’t freeze. Do you think you’re warm enough, yet?” he asked abruptly.
“Just a few more minutes,” I begged. “Please, Jake—you’re so warm and I’m still freezing.”
“It’s not good for you to be this near me for too long,” he warned me. “Believe me, Ani, if your Heat Cycle comes on—”
“Will you stop talking all that Were bullshit for just two seconds and let me enjoy cuddling you?” I demanded crossly. “You’re like a big, warm, muscular teddy bear. I’d like to enjoy this experience instead of feeling guilty—okay?”
“A muscular teddy bear?” To my surprise—and possibly Jake’s too—I heard a low rumble of laughter coming from him. It shook my entire body, but in a good way.
“A warm muscular teddy bear,” I told him. “The ‘warm’ part is what counts. The muscles are nice too, though,” I added, running a hand over his chest. It was like stroking warm, living steel I decided. Very, very nice.
“You’re incredibly soft,” Jake murmured, his voice going low.
“Gee, thanks—I know I don’t have bench-press-a-truck muscles like some people, but I try to keep firm,” I protested.
“I meant it as a compliment, Ani,” he said softly.
“Well…thanks, I guess.” I shifted against him. “Jake, we have to get out of here, you know.”
“I know.” His voice was suddenly serious. “I just don’t know how yet. But I’ll think of a plan, little Ani—I promise I will.”
“You sound like my mom,” I told him, snuggling closer. “Back after my dad died, when we were so poor we had to live in a one bedroom studio apartment and we were living on mac ‘n cheese and ramen noodles, she used to promise me all the time that she was going to get us out of there.” I sighed. “I just didn’t know that the way she’d do it was to marry your dad.”
“My father loves her more than his own life—more than anything.” There was that faint, bitter tone in Jake’s voice again. I looked up at him, frowning.
“You resent her, don’t you? My mother.”
“Of course not,” he denied—too quickly, I thought. “She makes my father very happy. After we lost my mother, I never thought he could be happy again. I’m glad for him that he found his Royal Omega.”
“Then why do you sound so bitter when you talk about them?” I demanded. “Why do you look away when she talks to you and leave the room when she comes in, if you possibly can?”