Pavla had been ill the day before. His fear of running into Drake again had made him sick to the point of even running a fever. After Nate had left him with his sitter, the boy had done nothing but sleep under the covers, knowing someone was there with him to keep the feral away. He remembered being roused several times for spoonfuls of soup but Pavla had only wanted blissful sleep.

In the night, Pavla had gasped, sitting up quickly at the feel of bare flesh next to him in the bed. Once his sight had adjusted to the gloom, relief flooded his small body to see Nate carefully sleeping on his side of the bed. The tiny Romanian took a moment to watch the handsome captain, searching the carved features of his face for something unseen. Pavla felt in his heart that this man was his safety, and gave a shuddering yawn as his fever-racked body relaxed again, shivering at the coolness of the night air.

Burrowing tightly against the warmth of his savior and new-found protector, Pavla rested his head on the man's amply muscled chest before dropping back into his fevered sleep. His last thought before drifting off was the irony of finding warmth in a man who could freeze one whole.

Pavla's next conscious action was to awake to the weight of a body landing with great force upon his own. Immediately his breathing quickened, his heart jumping up into his throat. A scream was already leaving his pale lips as wide eyes saw only the shadowed shape that loomed above him.

"NOOOOO! PLEASE DON'T LET HIM!!!"

Short polished nails dug into the sheets and the man who had, until this moment, been sleeping soundly beside him.