Clay lifted his head, tilting it just so, questioning me.
I ignored him for the moment and shimmied out of my second layer of pants trying to stay under the covers. The pants soared through the air landing next to the shirt.
“Clay, will you keep me warm tonight?” I’d barely whispered the words when he jumped off the bed.
A moment later, he pulled back the covers and joined me. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest… bare chest. I sighed and pressed my face against it, warming my cold nose. My free arm, I wrapped around his waist while I tucked my feet under his calves. He grunted slightly, but didn’t loosen his hold.
“No more fur at night. Deal?” The blankets and his chest muffled my voice, but I knew he heard me.
He kissed the top of my head, the only part exposed.
I smiled knowing it meant yes.
The next morning my cell phone rang, waking me. Still wrapped in Clay’s warmth, I didn’t move right away. He reached over me plucking it from the bedpost and handed it to me. Only Sam and Rachel had my number.
I could hear movement in the house and looked at the display, expecting Sam’s number. Instead, it was one I didn’t recognize.
I answered with a questioning ‘hello’.
“Gabby, I found her, but…”
“Luke?” I asked. I hadn’t heard from him since we’d left the compound.
“Yes. I understand you think she’s important, but she’s not even eighteen. How am I supposed to get her to come with me?”
I sat up excitedly knocking back covers in the process and exposing us both to the cool air. Clay grunted a complaint.
“I can’t believe you actually found her! I need to talk to her. If she’s like me, which I think she is, you had better bring her to the compound. I hate to admit it, but the Elders need to know.”
“Fine. You better be there when we get there,” he said with an edge. The line went dead.
I pulled the phone from my ear to look at it, puzzled. Luke never had an edge. Slowly I grinned. Had I been right? Was he now dealing with his potential mate? Smiling hugely, I hoped she gave Mr. Confident a little hell.
Chapter 17
With the freeze came the night Rachel thawed toward Clay, the man. A heavy snow started to fall just as Clay and I went to bed. Asking him to sleep beside me every night was the best decision I ever made. I finally understood that I determined the pace of our relationship. He’d waited patiently for me to invite him in and would wait patiently for the next step, whatever I decided that would be.
For the second time in the same week, my phone pulled me from my warm cocoon, this time displaying a number I recognized. Rachel wanted to let me know she’d planned to come home instead of going to Peter’s since we were closer. She’d caught on that Clay spent the night now.
Clay, hearing her plans to come home, got out of bed. Puzzled, I watched him dress in warm clothes. He left the room. Listening, I followed his progress to the kitchen. The back door opened and closed. A minute later, I heard the scrape of a shovel on the driveway. I smiled and burrowed in, moving to his warmed spot.
The sounds of the plow going past the house scrapping the road in an otherwise silent world kept me awake. He stayed out there until she came home, keeping the entrance to the driveway clear. I heard her thanking Clay as they came in together. He didn’t say anything in return, but I imagined he gave her one of his rare nods.
When he came back into the bedroom, I flipped back the covers for him and moved out of his place.
“I was just keeping it warm for you,” I lied.
He laughed and curled around me. Even after being outside so long, he still warmed me.
My lids grew heavy and he kissed the top of my head.
With the long holiday around the corner, I needed cross a few things off my mental checklist. First thing, I needed to do: Pin down my next victim for a power swap. After that, I needed to talk to Sam and hope for answers.
I’d planned to test my ability on Rachel before I went back to the compound, but Clay watched me closely. Since he knew something happened when I touched other people, he subtly kept everyone out of reach. I pretended not to notice so he wouldn’t become even more suspicious.
My luck turned in my favor when Rachel texted me asking to meet her and Peter for lunch. Having just left my morning class, the timing couldn’t have worked better. She suggested a small ma and pa diner close to the campus. The same one Clay and I had walked too so long ago for our sunrise breakfast. I quickly agreed rushing over the scrapped sidewalks to my car.
I drove the few blocks to the diner cautiously. The salt on the roads made everything slushy and my worn tires liked to slide when I least expected them to. Easing into the crowded parking lot, I snagged a spot near the door.