Shiver(19)
Fiona softly closed the door behind her after delivering that sucker punch.
Soul mates?
Raven looked at Aidan. Maybe at one time they might have been destined. But no longer. People made choices that affected everything. Things too big to overcome. She couldn’t be with Aidan.
Not with the glacier that had formed between them.
CHAPTER FIVE
Aidan groaned. His body shook, shivered with cold. Was he back in the trap? No, he felt the pillow under his head. Well, if he had a pillow, he had to be lying on a bed. Where the hell were the blankets?
Right, Raven had stolen them. She’d always stolen things from him. Gum he’d carried in his pocket, dessert left on his plate. His heart.
But she’d given that back, broken and bruised.
He cracked open an eye. The sun had risen but didn’t give him any idea of the time of day. It brightened the dreary view outside the windows. Snow continued to fall. He reached out a hand, feeling for the bedcovers and felt only sheets. He glanced around and found himself naked, except for his plaid boxers. Okay. That was new. He didn’t remember stripping down.
What else had he missed?
“You’re awake,” Raven said, entering the room from the bathroom carrying a towel over her arm and a large bowl of water. “How do you feel?”
“Cold.” He eyed the bowl of water. A memory teased the corners of his mind. Had they—no of course, they hadn’t. Raven wouldn’t allow him to touch her. She definitely wouldn’t have willingly touched him.
“You’re cold?” She rushed to the side of the bed, as quick as the pan of water in her hands would allow without spilling. Setting it down, she grabbed the thermometer. “Open up.”
“I’d rather have a few blankets.”
“Not yet. You’ve had a fever. Under the tongue, or I’ll stick it somewhere else.”
He opened his mouth. She stuck the thermometer under his tongue. They waited while he froze, goose bumps prickling over his skin. Was the window opened? The room was freezing. She pulled the thermometer out of his mouth and checked it.
She sighed. He couldn’t tell if it was from relief or frustration.
“Am I going to live?”
She actually smiled as though she cared.
His heart skipped.
“Looks like.” She held up the thermometer. “You’re normal.”
He cracked a laugh, his voice rusty. “Nobody’s actually called me normal before.”
“I meant, your temperature is normal. We thought we might lose you there for a while.”
He frowned. “A while?”
“You’ve been in and out of it for two days.”
“Two days?” He ran a hand over his eyes. Two days. Had Raven nursed him for two days? He was about to ask her when the door opened and Fox peeked his head around the edge.
“How’s he doing?”
Raven gestured to Aidan with a smile. “See for yourself.”
His eyes lit when he saw Aidan. “He’s awake.”
“His fever’s broken too.”
“’Bout time.” Fox walked toward the bed. “We’ve been really worried about you.”
“You have?” He glanced at Raven.
Raven placed her hand on Fox’s shoulder. “Apparently he owns your soul now since he saved you from dying.”
Aidan smiled at the kid. He wasn’t in the mood to tell Fox that he wouldn’t want any part of his soul. Not when it was black and rotten. He shivered. “Any chance of getting a blanket now that my fever’s gone? I’m going to die from exposure in this room.”
Raven tossed a blanket over him. It felt heavenly. “Thanks.” She also went to the window and shut out the cold seeping through it. The cold room explained Raven’s hoodie and knit cap she wore. She looked adorable. What he wouldn’t give to—
“I’m sure you’re hungry, since you haven’t eaten in two days.” Raven turned to Fox. “Will you run down to the kitchen and see what you can rustle up?”
“You bet.” He looked back to Aidan. “Be right back.” Then he scampered from the room.
Raven busied her hands with straightening the items on the nightstand, her eyes downcast. “Who’s Sonya?”
The question hit him like a punch to the chest. “How do you know about her?”
“I don’t. You just said her name a few times while you were out.”
“What else did I say?” Had he confessed that he was a murderer?
“That’s all I could make out. Are you married?”
“No. Are you?”
She lifted her head and met his gaze. If she were going to ask pointed questions, then so was he. “Uh, no.”
“Fox’s father?”