24 Cocoon
Sera
+25 Bonus
What was I thinking going into the water? I’d never taken a swimming class in my life. Even when my mother brought in a personal tutor for both me and Lyra back at the palace, I’d mostly ditched the lessons to plan my escapes. Now I was paying for it. It felt like an hour of drowning. Hot water bombarded my nose and throat, filling my lungs until I couldn’t find the air. In the panic, my hands flailed and brushed against something underwater-something soft, meaty, and long.
Then, strong hands clamped onto my waist.
The next thing I knew, I was on my back on the hard stone ledge. I was gasping, coughing up mineral water that tasted like dirt. Fenris was over me, one hand braced on my chest to keep me steady, the other tilting my head back.
“Breathe,” he commanded. His voice was sharp, cutting through the ringing in my ears. “Sera, can you hear me? Breathe.”
I coughed again, more water spraying onto the stone. My eyes finally found his face. His dark hair was plastered to his skull, and his jaw was set so tight the bone stood out. Those grey eyes were locked on mine, waiting for a sign of life. He didn’t move an inch while I struggled for air.
The entire cavern had gone silent. I was acutely aware of how I looked-my soaked underwear was practically transparent, hiding nothing as I sprawled there like a landed fish. I knew Taya was somewhere in that crowd, watching. Mina was there, too.
I tried to sit up, but Fenris’s hand was a lead weight on my chest. “Stay down,” he said.
I pushed his hand away, my fingers slipping on his wet skin. “No.” I wasn’t going to lie on my back in front of the entire pack in my underwear. I forced myself upright, my lungs burning with every movement.
He watched me struggle but didn’t stop me this time. Someone from the crowd handed him a brown, heavy towel. He wrapped it around his waist, and only then did I realize he’d been completely naked. I’d been too busy drowning to notice the reality of his
body.
“Can you stand?” he asked.
“Yes.” I tried to get to my feet, but my legs were like jelly. My knees buckled before I could even take a step. Fenris caught me before I hit the stone, his arms locking around me. Without a word, he lifted me–one arm under my knees, the other behind my
back.
“Put me down,” I muttered, my head spinning.
He ignored me and started walking toward the archway.
“I said put me down right now!”
“Do you want to crawl back to your room instead?”
I shut up.
He carried me through the humid springs and back into the colder stone corridors. I was dripping, shivering so hard my teeth clicked, and I was painfully aware of his bare chest against my side. I could feel his heartbeat through my shoulder-a steady, heavy thrum.
“Why did you save me?” I asked.
He looked at me with a blank, cold stare. “Would you have preferred if I let you die?”
I didn’t have an answer for that. The question sounded stupid the moment it left my mouth. I just closed my eyes and tried to absorb the heat radiating off him.
When we reached my chambers, he set me on the edge of the bed. I expected him to turn and leave, but he went straight to the fireplace. He built up the logs until the flames caught, the heat starting to bleed back into the room.
1/2
+25 Bonus
I watched him move. The towel sat low on his hips, well below his abs. I could see the V-cut of his muscle and the dark hair that trailed down his stomach. My mind flashed back to the cabin-the massive slabs of muscle and the heavy slab of meat I’d seen when he stripped.
I wanted to unwrap myself from the wet underwear. I wanted to reach out and pull that towel loose just to see if it was as big as I remembered. Instead, I squeezed my legs together and looked at the fire.
Fenris came back with a stack of furs. He began wrapping one around my shoulders.
“I can handle it,” I said, trying to push the fur away.
He didn’t listen. He grabbed my hands, placed them at my sides, and bundled me in the heavy skin. He wasn’t gentle, but he was careful, moving with a deliberate focus that made me feel like something breakable. He added another layer, then another, until I was buried in furs. I let him do it because I didn’t have the strength left to fight him.
Finally, he stood over me. The room was silent except for the crackle of the wood.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Keeping you alive,” he said. “You almost died. Your body needs warmth.”
“I told you, I can take care of myself.”
He ignored the protest and tucked a final fur around my knees. I reached out and grabbed his wrist, my fingers barely meeting around the thick bone. “Stop. I said I’m fine.”
He paused. He looked down at my hand on his wrist, then back at my face. For a long moment, we just stared at each other. His eyes flickered down to where the wet cotton was still plastered to my chest before returning to my eyes. I thought he was going to kiss me, or push me back onto the mattress to finally take what the contract promised.
“Can you breathe?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Someone will bring food,” he said. “Something hot.”
He stood there for another second, staring directly into my eyes like he was waiting for me to say something. Then he simply nodded, turned around, and walked out. The door closed with a heavy click.
I stared at the wood. What kind of man saves a woman, wraps her in furs like a child, and then just… leaves?
2/2
+25 Bonus
