Page 99 of Balance

“So, you really don’t worship the devil?”

“I told you I don’t.” Miles rolled his eyes. “It’s the witch’s personal preference. The particulars of how they practice is up to them.”

He shook his head suddenly, as if clearing his thoughts, and his gaze refocused on mine. “Now that that’s cleared up,” he said seriously, “I need you to understand something. Yes, I’ve taken a vow of chastity before, but that was a long time ago, in the past.”

I blinked at him, my heart echoing furiously.

“I abandoned those vows a long time ago,” Miles continued—his eyes steady on mine.

“Why did you stop?” My voice was almost a whisper. The air was thick, and my skin hummed with sensitivity. Damp fabric clung to my skin, and the warmth of Miles’s body reached out to me. Rich, dark eyes held mine, and my heart began to race as his breath mingled with my own.

Despite the cold, the temperature warmed. He didn’t even have to answer me, Iknew.

Why was it getting harder to breathe?

Suddenly, he pushed back, moving to his feet and turning from me. “I’m going to air this out,” he said, holding up the blanket with one hand as he moved to the mouth of the cave. “Give me ten minutes, and then I’ll leave while you strip and get in front of the fire. Please don’t argue with me,” he interrupted before I could even start my protest. “The others will kill me if you get hypothermic; but don’t worry. I promise on my grave I won’t touch you.”

It was stupid to feel shy—after all, the boys had seen me in much less than a rough, scratchy blanket before. But still, even after Miles had returned—looking pointedly away from me as he draped the blanket over my shoulders—I found myself hyper-aware of not just myself, but ofeverything.

Our hideout was small. Between the two of us, there wasn’t much extra space to move around. The cave didn’t go back very far at all—the light from our cozy fire was enough to softly illuminate the whole area.

Which was probably a good thing. At least now we knew for certain that no bears or bobcats called this place home.

That would have been unfortunate.

I sat with my ankles crossed and knees pulled against my chest, with the blanket tucked in around me. But it wasn’t a very large blanket, and the fire, while doing its job at warming my front, didn’t do much for the cold, hard ground.

We were close to the mouth of the cave so the smoke would filter out of the space, but that also left us in the path of the occasional breeze.

I was warm enough. But what about Miles?

He sat across from me, back to the outside as he stared into the flames. He didn’t seem to be bothered by much of anything, nor up for conversation. In fact, the only thing he’d said after coming back was a gruff apology for having no food. The only other supplies, outside of the blanket and dwindling supply of wood, was a rusty hunting knife.

Still, we could make do. Everything would be different in the morning.

He’d definitely made good on his promise so far and hadn’t even thrown me a single uncomfortable glance. Which was extremely sweet of him…

But did he really have to sit so far away from me? And he was still in his wet clothes.Hewas the one who was going to get sick.

This was ridiculous. How could I explain to everyone that Miles died from being too noble?

If I was normal, this wouldn’t even be an issue. He would already be naked and under this blanket with me.

So, despite the fact I hadn’t been near a naked man—outside of Titus, who didn’t count because he was so nonchalant that I’d started to grow numb to it—in a very long time, it was impossible for me to be selfish anymore.

“You should take off your clothes too,” I said, hoping the light was low enough to hide the rising heat in my face. “This isn’t fair.”

Miles gasped, pulling back a few inches further. “I can’t!”

I sighed.

We couldn’t afford for me to be dramatic right now.

Besides, there was this other matter… Despite this being terrible forhim, it was also becoming harder for me to stay awake. I knew enough to know that wasn’t a good sign.

“I’m still cold…” I had stopped shivering some time ago. If I was like this, I couldn’t even imagine how he felt.

Miles cursed again, rushing to my side as he ran his hands over the blanket, pressing it against my shoulders and back.