Melissa snuggled closer to Gareth, whose body radiated a heat far superior to her own chill. Though her skin remained cool to the touch, the heavy frost had long since fled her bones, driven off by the deep, steady warmth pouring from the prince's frame.
"You run as hot as a campfire," Melissa murmured contentedly. "And though you have not washed away the dust of the road or bathed all this day, you smell yet passably sweet."
The elf rumbled a deep, wholesome chuckle that coaxed a fond smile from the redhead. "I know not whether I should fall upon my knees to thank you, or turn you over my knee and spank you for such ceaseless torment."
"I torment you not, I merely speak the sincere truth," she retorted, her lips curling into a bold smirk.
"If memory serves true, the last time we sought to bathe, a certain stubborn woman could not keep her hands from wandering over my skin," Gareth countered smoothly.
