It's Such A Cold Night (2)

Ah, Sophie's scent was driving Nicholas crazy.

She smelled of fragrant flowers in her hair along with the scent of rain and dew and other earthly things that were so appealing to him. Her body felt so snug and comfortable around his arms.

If he moved or shifted himself just a little, Nicholas could feel something else besides her waist and hips. His fingers could graze against something else by accident.

Nicholas bit down on his lip and stared at the ceiling. He must have sent an oath or prayer to the heavens. The prince wasn't sure if he was going to praise this opportunity or pray for strength and will.

The storm continued to pour down over the roof and the non-stop pounding of raindrops echoed in his ears. If Nicholas tried to squirm or even move a little, he was afraid that he'd feel his temptation… become more exacerbated.

The man chanted boring lessons of his royal tutors in the back of his head. He suddenly remembered word by word of Sartorius Wisdom in that 500-page philosophy book he had to read last year.

Yeah.. it was one of the most boring subjects he had ever got. Sartorius Wisdom was taught to all future kings so they would know how to be good kings and rule their country wisely.

Shoot… it didn't work. Thinking about being a king only made his mind go wander to the future. It would be nice to be king with Sophie as his queen. They would make a nice couple and…

No… he should think about another more boring subject that didn't involve Sophie.

What did he need to think about so he wouldn't get all excited? Maybe he should think about the carrots growing outside of their hut, they were planted deep down the rich soil.

That wasn't helping him at all!

Nicholas hoped that Sophie was falling asleep. He could hear her breathing but it seemed to be a little fast and not relaxed at all. Was she also having trouble sleeping, like him? He wondered if she was feeling the same as him.

"Sophie? Are you asleep?" He rested his chin on top of her head and whispered to her.

Sophie shook her head weakly and bit down on her lip. She crossed her legs slightly in bed and tried not to become too distracted with how firm Nicholas' body was. She swallowed heavily for a moment and tried not to rub her legs together.

"N-no… I'm not. Now it's too hot."

"Do you want me to move away?" Nicholas asked with a small gulp.

"It'll be too cold then," Sophie whispered as she closed her eyes. "I will fall asleep, so please just stay by my side until then."

"O-okay," Nicholas was going to listen to Sophie's request because it was helping her - not because it felt so good to have her in his arms.

He exhaled loudly and then started counting again.

One carrot. Two carrots. Three carrots.

After a couple of minutes, Sophie spoke up.

"Are you okay?" Sophie asked Nicholas.

"Ngh… Sophie, I thought you were going to fall asleep." Nicholas wanted to groan because of how difficult it was to restrain his body from going through its normal physiological reactions.

"You sound like you're troubled too." Sophie leaned away from him for a moment to look him in the eye. She bit on her lip. "Is my request troubling you?"

Nicholas noticed how some of the moonlight filtered in their shack and placed her in such a beautiful light. Sophie's hair fell across her shoulders tantalizing and the way she was biting her lips was so seductive.

"Nick?" Sophie batted her eyes at him.

Dammit. She didn't realize this but when she innocently fluttered her lashes… something within Nicholas felt like it wanted to explode.

"I'm fine, I'm fine… it's just me," Nicholas took a deep shuddering breath. "Maybe this was a bad idea? No. I knew it was a bad idea but I still offered it because I wanted to be so close to you."

Sophie flushed at his words and averted her gaze. "I think… I think I know what you mean."

"Huh?" Nicholas blinked.

"I feel… funny." Sophie coughed as her cheeks had a warm rosy glow. "I was feeling cold earlier, shivering cold. But now, I feel incredibly warm? I feel hot being so close to you, and I don't dislike it at all."

"Oh." Nicholas blushed. "I see… Well, uh, is it making it hard for you to fall asleep?"

"Yes..."

"Same," Nicholas admitted.

"Then the two of us should move away from each other," Sophie pointed out sheepishly and looked down so she could stop looking into his gorgeous amber eyes. "We still have a long day tomorrow… finding wolfsbane, taking care of the garden and work."

"Yeah, we should." Nicholas agreed. He cleared his throat and forced his mind to order his body to move away.

"Then it's settled," Sophie said softly.

Neither of them made a move away from each other though. Instead, the two of them eventually stared at each other and hoped that the other one would do it… because they actually liked being in this position.

"Why aren't you moving?" Nicholas asked Sophie in a hoarse voice.

"You do it first, I'm… well… I am already at the end of the bed," Sophie shyly averted her gaze and ignored the prickling heat that seared across her belly. There was a dampness that she was feeling in between her legs.

It wasn't from the storm earlier.

"Hah… I'll let you in on a secret, Sophie. It's really hard for me to do that right now." Nicholas leaned in close to her ear. His soft breath fanned over her earlobe. "You… feel really good in my arms. It's like I'm hugging a wonderful and nice pillow."

Sophie flushed hard at his words and his breath. His warm voice somehow sent a shudder down her spine. "Well… you're so warm that I know I'll feel cold if I move away."

"Then we're back to square one," Nicholas chuckled despite himself.

"Argh, I give up. Let's just stay like this tonight, but I will fall asleep." Sophie tugged her head away from him, rolled over, and instead pressed her back against his chest. This way, she didn't have to look at his face and wonder about his lips. "Goodnight, Nicholas."

"Goodnight to you too, Sophie," Nicholas murmured.

The stormy night and cold winds kept the two of them pressed together, hot and incredibly flushed in each other's arms. It would take the two of them such a long time before either one of them actually fell asleep.

Neither of them did anything.

Both were nervous and bent on not changing their beautiful relationship as friends. Nicholas struggled with his body revealing the depths of attraction and pull that Sophie had with him.

Sophie was getting in touch with the things that she never thought she'd experience by being so close to someone like Nicholas for the first time. Sweet and unfamiliar things that made her skin flush and her heartbeat rise.