Chapter 9
Winnie was out cold, snoring softly with her arm draped over her stuffed rabbit.
I slipped out of bed and slowly peeled off my nightgown, leaving just a lavender camisole clinging to my skin. My heart thudded in my chest like it might jump out.
The cabin’s outer room was barely big enough to hold the narrow bed where Ethan slept. He looked almost cramped on it, one arm slung over his head.
I crept closer, the moonlight cutting through the shutters and casting just enough light to catch the outline of his jaw. Strong. Sharp. There was a faint scar at the edge of his brow, only making him look more dangerous.
The blanket moved slightly with his breathing. He was awake. Or… something was going on.
I cleared my throat. “Ethan?”
He bolted upright like a soldier on alert, eyes sharp, deadly serious—until they dropped to my camisole.
Then silence.
“What the hell are you doing?” he asked, voice low and gravelly.
“I… I just wanted to thank you. For helping me. I thought… maybe you’ve been working too hard lately and—”
I fumbled like an idiot. Words weren’t cutting it.
So I climbed onto the bed, onto him, my bare legs straddling his. My hands shook, but I reached for his chest, mimicking what I saw in that booklet.
His breath hitched. One second.
Then his hand clamped around my wrist like a vice.
“Ow—Ethan, I didn’t mean to—”
He didn’t let go.
Instead, he pulled me closer, wrapped a thick arm around my waist, his eyes dark and burning.
Then he whispered against my ear, his lips brushing my skin:
“You sure about this, Nina? ’Cause once we start, there’s no turning back.”
I swallowed hard.
He didn’t wait for an answer.
