BETTER NOW THAN NEVER

I woke up to find myself wrapped around Ivan. His strong hands were holding me tightly against his chest which felt warm against my skin. I was still enjoying his warmth when the memory of last night came rushing back to me.

The cold, the ball of ice, the fire, the smell of burnt flesh in the air! With a shuddering gasp, I broke free from Ivan's grasp and rolled away from him.

Ivan awoke in an instant. "Ariadne, what's wrong? You okay?"

I took deep breaths as I stared at his chest which was thankfully all healed now, but the memory of what I had done was still fresh in my mind. I closed my eyes to block out the memory and raked a hand through my hair, still not getting myself.

"Arianne?" I heard Ivan call again, a hint of worry in his tone.

I opened my eyes to find Ivan staring at me and I nodded my head at him. "Yeah, I'm fine." I say before turning to look at him, "I...I just need a bath."