Chapter 40: The Softest Piece
WINTER TERM - February 2nd
I didn’t know what had woken me.
It was still dark, still night. My room, as always, was darker than Aries’s. The curtains drawn shut. Aries lay beside me on the bed, hot to the touch, still bare. Comforting, close, mine. I should have noticed that I couldn’t hear his snoring.
I wasn’t thinking.
I was far more focused on the heat of him, his body, how he’d kicked the sheets, and I’d taken to curling around him to warm me instead.
It didn’t even occur to me until I heard her voice that we weren’t alone.
“Miss me, love?”
A whisper, right beside my ear. I felt the hiss of her breath.
Ianthe.
I tried to sit up, only for her pale hand to press me back down onto the bed.
“Shh… You’ll wake him if you’re not careful.” She dragged her nails down my bare chest. For a second, I couldn’t breathe. Her hands drifted, avoiding Aries and she stepped closer to the foot of the bed.
I’m in a dream. I knew this. It didn’t make her less real. It didn’t make the thought of her touching Aries less sickening.