Percival novel · Chapter 8 of 24
Chapter 8: The Roof
There is a trapdoor at the top of the north tower, above my garret, that leads to the roof.
Nobody has used it in eighty years.
I know because I read the key log.
"Come with me," I said, after supper, when Hugh had let us go.
"Where?"
"Up."
Percival followed me up the steep back stairs without another question.
I turned the iron wheel on the trapdoor with both hands, and cold air and snow came down on our faces.
He went up first and reached down for me.
His hands closed around my waist, and he lifted me through.
The roof of the tower is flat and ringed with a stone parapet to the height of my ribs.
The snow had stopped falling, and the clouds had thinned.
Below us the pines went down the mountain in black ranks to the river, and above us there was a smear of stars.
The air was so cold that it hurt to breathe.
I loved it.
"You will freeze," Percival said.
He took off his black coat, a long wool one lined with fur, and wrapped it around me.
It reached my ankles.
It smelled of cedar and woodsmoke and him.
"You'll freeze," I said.
"I am a wolf. I run hot."
"Prove it."
I took hold of his shirt front through the open waistcoat and pulled him against me.
He was warm.
He was so warm that I felt it through the wool, and he put his hands inside the coat and around my back.
I kissed him in the starlight, and he kissed me back with a hunger that made my knees bend.
His mouth was hot, and the air around us was white with our breath.
I backed up until my spine met the cold stone of the parapet.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–6 of Percival are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
← Chapter 7 · All chapters · Chapter 9 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend