Page 298 of The Blairville Legacies

I cringed inwardly the moment I realized that this was my first hug in years. Automatically, my arms went around him and I pulled him tightly against me, my heart racing.

“You're so cold,” he whispered, breaking away from the hug that I would have loved to stay in for longer.

He took off his jacket and put it around my arms.

My cheeks began to glow because I was too overwhelmed to protest.

I wasn't cold, which must have been because I could hardly feel anything except Erik's warmth and my racing heart. It was so different having him in front of me, and it made me much shyer than I already was.

“We could also sit in my car and turn on the heater,” he offered, and the thought of the two of us in his car triggered two completely different feelings. Fear and excitement.

Damn it, Julie. He is your best friend. Where were these bundles of emotions suddenly coming from?

“If you want to kidnap me, go ahead...” I blurted out unintentionally, sounding more confident than expected. “But then you'll have to accept that I'll forever compare you to Zeus.”

Now he grinned.

“Why does it sound like youwantto be kidnapped?” he joked, which put me at ease. “Haven't you had enough of my obsession with gods? I wouldn't talk about anything else all the time...”

This time I had to smile, which he replied.

How much I would love to see him without his mask now...

Erik's look became more serious. “But no, J, if you don't want to do that, we can stay here.”

He looked at me insistently.

If it hadn't been so dark, I could have seen the color of his eyes and maybe even hints of the rest of his appearance.

“I want to,” I said firmly and reached for his hand. Warmth flooded my fingertips, which seemed almost numb. He flinched almost unnoticeably, probably at least as surprised by my sudden touch as I was.

“Your skin...” he began in a hoarse voice. “So soft...and yet so cold.”

Instantly, I took my hand out of his, but he pulled it back and drew me even closer to him. And then he leaned forward.

“Next time, I will invite you to my fireplace, and you can have hot chocolate.”

Another wave of heat shot through my cheeks.

His words eased something inside me, the tension I seemed to go through life with. He destroyed itcompletely. It was the fact that he made me feel wanted. But I didn't know how to deal with it.

“You seem like a good host,” I laughed sheepishly and the right corner of his mouth turned upwards.

“Only with the people I kidnap...” He raised his hand, which held a key. “And while we're at it.” The lights of the large car next to us lit up dimly. “I'd like to take you to the underworld with this.”

He let go of my hand and opened the backseat door, only to gesture to the inside of the car.

“You can still escape from me, J.”

The tingling in my stomach intensified, making my knees go weak.

“I've always wanted to know what it's like down there...” I let myself in on his play on words and climbed into his car, not without the nervousness threatening to swallow me up.

Erik opened the front door, leaned in to start the engine, and pressed a button – the heated seats, no doubt – then he threw in his suit jacket, closed the driver's door again and got in the back with me.

Adrenaline flooded through me, and it felt...good.

I immediately felt the warmth of the heated seats and the soft, smooth leather beneath me. The car seemed rather new.