28 Slow

Evie's eyes flew wide at Gavriel's statement as her cold cheeks suddenly burned hot. She could not quite respond to that and was stunned to her core. And before Evie could say a word, Gavriel reached out and began undoing the front fastenings of her gown.

Her heartbeat quickened, and the blood very quickly heated up in the veins she thought were frozen.

When his fingers moved rapidly to free the row of buttons, Evie felt like her heart was going to burst. And yet, no objections came tumbling out of her lips. She was still shivering with cold, and she felt like her toes had gone numb. Maybe, at that moment, her brain had gone numb as well due to the cold and was the only explanation why it was not screaming at her with its endless protests anymore.