Safe and Sound

Chapter 2

As soon as my eyes opened, my gaze travelled all over the place, observing the unfamiliar surrounding I was in. Its general shape was ovoid, the walls below the ridge smoothly curved to the floor. The walls above arched another hundred feet up to the gigantic muddy brown rocks.

Was I in a cave?

I looked around leaning my back against the rocky wall. The darkness invaded the naturally occurring cavity of the hill. The only source of light was the hot flames of fire flickering in front of me emanating the heat in the cold surrounding. The weather outside was no different than the previous time. It seemed like the sky had finally decided to pour all of its anger on we, human beings. The cold wind blew through the mouth of the cave wavering the fire while making me shiver at the same time.

My eyes skimmed towards the fire again. No, no, not observing the flames of fire but what was beyond it. The person who was feeding the flames with the firewoods, bringing them back to life. There was he, the person, as stingy as he was but that didn't hide the fact that right now he looked hotter than the fire, colder than the wind, brighter than the flash of the lightning and more dangerous than the storm outside. Of course, I was talking about the person none other than Mr. Rikkard Ambrose himself.

He looked at the flickering fire without blinking his eyes. The cold eyes of his - which was as cold as a night in an arctic region - glared at the combusting fire. The flames of fire reflected in his pupil, dilating it infinitesimally. The firelight escalated over his clear cut face while his damp hair looked dangerously...appealing.

My eyes travelled downwards as they widened looking at him.

No, you dirty minded people, he wasn't shirtless! But-

-his wet white linen shirt clung to his toned body giving me a view that would be a sin to look for the people in the polite society. But I didn't belong to polite society, did I?

I looked at him as he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and moved closer to the fire - indirectly towards me - as he tried to dry himself with the heat. I stared at him dumbfounded. Not because I was gawping at him but I noticed something about him or rather didn't see that something on him.

He wasn't wearing his a decade old tailcoat!

Bloody Blazes!

And the realization hit me like a cold bucket of water waking me from an indeed deep sleep of mine. He wasn't wearing his tailcoat because- because, I was the one wearing it! And it was surprisingly dry and warm considering the fact that it was soaked in the rain not a few hours ago.

The tailcoat was wrapped around me perfectly guarding from the attack of the cold wind, keeping it at bay. That explained the reason I felt warm. It explained why the hell was I getting the whiff of the mint in this rocky cave. It explained why the damn hell was I inhaling his familiar scent when he was far enough from me. But didn't explain the sudden change in Mr. Ambrose's stony head.

Did his cold heart melt or did his brain officially turned into the stone and he lost it? The latter one had the greater possibility.

I shook my head when I felt something on it. I raised my hand up to touch the hair of mine but my fingers came in contact with the familiar fabric of my tailcoat.

And, what was my tailcoat doing there?

The tailcoat of mine was wrapped up and around my head in a complicated knot, keeping the cold air out and my wet hair in place. Thus, ensuring that the temperature of my body didn't rise further.

Did he do all this?

But why?

My brain wondered of all the possibilities of his surprisingly gentle behaviour. Of course, all the possibilities revolving around money. But a small, indeed a small part of my brain already knew the reason.