Cold Shower

Nicholas threw her an awkward smile and then went to get her a bowl of soup that he had prepared earlier. The pot was still warm, so he didn't need to light the fire to warm it up again for her.

He used the wooden ladle to scoop the soup into the bowl gently and then brought it to Sophie who couldn't keep her eyes off of him.

"This is the soup I made for you," Nicholas said softly. "I hope it's edible…"

Sophie smiled and nodded. She wiped the single tear from the corner of her eye and accepted the bowl from Nicholas' hand.

She was so relieved when she heard from him that he didn't think she was less than him. He didn't mind their difference in status. In fact, he wanted her so badly that he had to hold back himself from acting on his desire for her.

"Thank you," she said softly.

When their fingers touched, both felt electric and instantly looked at each other's faces. Their eyes locked. Both had the same longing in them.

"I will learn to make a better soup," Nicholas said with a nervous chuckle. "I hope for your guidance…"

He was not lying when he praised her cooking. Sophie was truly talented. She could make their very simple ingredients into delectable dishes. Nicholas liked everything that came out of her beautiful hands.

Sophie raised the bowl to her face and closed her eyes to smell the fragrance. Her lips curved up in a smile.

"It smells so good." She opened her eyes and looked at Nicholas gratefully. "I love it. Thank you for making this for me."

Nicholas swallowed. Why did her gesture to inhale the soup look so damn hot?

He could feel his pants tighten and his penis started throbbing. This was only making it worse!

Everything she did was sexy and alluring. Nicholas didn't know if he could even keep staying here with her. What if he kept getting aroused by whatever she did, no matter how innocent it was?

Gosh.. he felt like a pervert. This was unacceptable! Sophie was a respectable woman!

Nicholas blamed himself for his unholy thoughts.

"Please eat.. I will take a cold shower now," he said quickly before he turned around and walked through the door. Then he gently closed the door behind him.

Sophie didn't turn her eyes from the door until a few moments later. Her heart was filled with warmth when she finally looked down and see the soup in her hands.

Nicholas must have never worked a day in his life, yet he cooked for her, and he had been helping around the house doing so many chores. He even fixed that leaking roof and the holes on the wall because they made Sophie feel cold at night.

She was convinced that Nicholas was honest with his feelings when he said he was in love with her. The beautiful girl smiled to herself and started drinking her soup with a spoon.

She was in love with him too.

Not because of his status and wealth. Sophie didn't even know his family, except the fact that he was Lord Ferdinand's nephew.

She didn't care if he was a peasant like her. Heck, she didn't even mind that he was a lycan which was considered as monster by other people.

To her, he was not a monster. He was a really good man who was so kind to her and cared about her. Sophie felt protected and loved whenever he was around.

***

Meanwhile, Nicholas kept drawing water from the well and pouring it onto his head to wash away his unholy thoughts.

Even though the night was so cold and this water should have made him shiver, the fact that he was a lycan made him have a much higher tolerance for cold. This was not enough to cool him down.

So, he drew more water and washed until he could stop thinking about Sophie. Finally, he stopped and sat by the mouth of the well. It's been almost one hour. Surely Sophie had finished the soup and had already gone back to sleep.

Nicholas raised his hand and felt the air. The temperature at this hour must be bone-chilling for Sophie. Uff.. suddenly he felt worried. What if her fever got worse?

Nicholas quickly took off his wet clothes and hung them to dry at the makeshift hanger they put at the side of the hut. He took a clean towel and wrapped himself in it. In his hurry, he forgot to bring out a fresh set of clothes with him.

Well, he could just go in and get his clothes from his luggage since Sophie must already be asleep.

The man opened the door lightly, careful not to make a sound so he wouldn't wake up Sophie.

"Nic..."

Nicholas' eyes bulged and he halted his steps when he saw Sophie standing by the bed. She had heard him walking in and immediately got up from the bed.

She looked much healthier now and the blush on her cheeks was clear even though the only lighting in the room came from a single candle by the windowsill.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" Nicholas asked worriedly. He came to her side immediately, forgetting that he wasn't wearing any clothes, just that towel around his waist.

"I-I can't sleep..." Sophie admitted. She suddenly felt her heart pound so hard when Nicholas's cold hand touched her temple to check her temperature. She no longer had a fever, so the man let out a sigh of relief.

"Ahh... I am glad you look much healthier," he said softly.

He gazed at Sophie and suddenly his heart skipped a beat. She was looking at him with longing in her eyes. Nicholas swallowed.

This must be his imagination.

His unholy thoughts.

She couldn't be having that look in her eyes. Longing? For what? Him? Stop fooling yourself, Nicholas.

Sophie bit her lip and batted her eyes. She looked oh so alluring.

Nicholas stepped back and got ready to take another cold shower, but suddenly a small hand had gripped his wrist. He looked at Sophie's hand on his wrist, and then at her face with a confused gaze.

"Sophie...?" He swallowed hard.

Sophie exerted all her courage and pulled Nic toward her, and then she tip-toed and gave him a deep kiss.

.

.

__________________

From Missrealitybites:

So, I plan to lock this book tomorrow and I want to get to the exciting part first. The exciting part is the appearance of Leland in Blackwoods forest, near Sophie's hut! Yeay!

However, it's around 10 chapters away from this one. So, my job is to publish all the chapters I have before this book is locked in that special chapter, thus giving you a nice mass release. I already have the 9 chapters ready but I need that one chapter to bridge all of them together.

As you can guess, it's the snusnu chapter(s).. ahahaha... Yeah, I know you so well now. You must want option 1, instead of option 2.

So, I will go with that one. I am still writing it, so please be patient. I will keep publishing chapters for the next few hours until all 10 chapters are out. Just wait. xx

PS: I am uber busy now so I couldn't reply to comments yet. I will get back to you soonest.