Avery and I were only a couple miles from Hawthorne House when she began shivering uncontrollably. It startled me, partially because she'd been fine a moment before, and partially because it seemed like a seizure rather than a fit of cold.
"Heiress?" I gripped her arm for a second, judging.
When I was sure it wasn't a spasm, I slipped off my coat and helped her layer it over her own. Although Avery tried to fight me, she was obviously too cold to succeed.
"Where are you cold?" I murmured, pulling both the hood of her coat and mine over her head.
"My ears," she said, prompting me to shelter them with my hands. "My face," she added, shuddering, "and my neck."
I paused us on the sidewalk. Somehow, our mid-winter walk had turned into a disaster within seconds.
"I'll call Oren," I offered, reaching for my phone.
Avery didn't stop me from dialing his number, nor for begging him to come rescue us.
When I finished, I took Avery's hands and tucked them into her pockets. "Curl your fists," I instructed.
Then, I took to warming her superior features.
First, I breathed warm air on her face, startling a small smile out of her. I figured, if I could only make her blush, her whole body would be a lot warmer.
So I kissed her. Hard.
And not only her lips.
Her cheekbones. Her nose.
Her forehead, her eyelids, her jaw.
Avery closed her eyes, flushed, as I continued my descent down to her neck.
"I'm betting that if I give you a hickey," I say, "your body will be feverish within seconds."
Avery exhaled, her breath a fogging the air. "You'd better get started then."
Grinning, I buried my face in her neck. Surely, her clavicle was about to receive attention it had never seen before.
Before I could continue, however, Oren's familiar dark vehicle advanced the curb. I'd only left three kisses on Avery's neck.
Growling, I murmured, "We'll finish this later."
"I won't be cold later," Avery replied.
Smirking, I yanked open the car door and helped her inside. "Don't worry," I murmured. "My services aren't dependent on temperature."
