Twice Tempted: Between Two Alphas (Mia and Cameron) novel Chapter 98

Chapter Ninety-Eight

The car isn’t much safer than the cabin, but it’s a lot more pleasant.

Eric steers the truck a few dozen yards away from the cabin, deeper into the trees.

I rifle through the supplies, hoping there’s something warmer in there than the coat. Without the heat on in the truck, a parka isn’t going to cut it.

There are two sleeping bags--decent ones. I toss one to Eric and take the other for myself.

In the passenger seat, I kick my boots off and shove my feet into the bottom of the sleeping bag. I wriggle it up over my hips, and then recline the seat as far as it goes and pull the bag up to my shoulders.

Eric tries to do the same, but his size is a problem. He can’t maneuver into the bag with the car door closed. The steering wheel is in the way, and his shoulders and knees knock against the side of the car.

With a frustrated growl, he flings his door open so he has more room to work.

Precious heat seeps out of the car, but I keep my mouth shut.

Enclosed in the car together, there should be enough warmth to get us through the night. We just have to get through the night.

Finally, Eric shuts his door again, the motion bringing an icy gust of air across my face. I can’t help shivering, so I tuck my face into the sleeping bag to disguise the sound of the fabric rustling.

It’s silly to be so self-conscious about being cold. Eric knows I don’t have my wolf. But it’s embarrassing.

And it’s a reminder of the worst time of my life.

I’ve come a long way since then.

I am not the broken, defeated girl I was before. I can stand on my own again, thanks to Philipe.

But I can’t stop shivering.

The minutes tick by and I lose more warmth every second.

“Ashley. If you’re cold, say so,” Eric grumbles from the other side of the truck.

“I’m fine.”

The sound of a zipper rips through the air.

“What are you doing?” I ask, even though I can clearly see what’s happening.

Eric has unzipped his sleeping bag, and now he’s stripping off his clothes.

“I’m keeping you alive. Unzip your bag,” he says tersely.

I stare at him, dumbfounded. He sighs, exasperated, and reaches over to unzip the sleeping bag. In a few quick motions, he connects the two and climbs into the passenger seat beside me.

“There’s no room,” I argue, but he ignores me.

He shifts, black and grey fur blocking out everything else. Eric’s wolf is enormous—he takes up every spare inch inside the truck, blanketing me in his fur.

And his warmth.

I have no room to do anything but nestle against him. Like it or not, the contact brings me comfort and soon enough, I stop shivering and my eyes drift shut.

ERIC

I wake up too soon.

I’m surprised I managed any sleep at all, given the circumstances.