First You Fall

Chapter 32

Niall pushed his feet under the covers on Maisie's bed and burrowed under the sheets. He shivered slightly. Had he known Maisie was one of those people who kept her air conditioning on year round, he would have brought something more substantial to wear to bed. Like a down sleeping bag. But as it was, the fall months were upon them and Maisie's house was freezing, leaving Niall with only the option of cuddling under the ice cold sheets until they warmed up from his body heat.

Maisie walked out from her bathroom, rubbing lotion on her hands. She smiled when she spied a quaking Niall in the bed,

"Cold?"
He gasped in a breath,

"Yes. Jesus Christ it's freezing in this house."

"You could turn the air off ya know." Maisie answered dryly.

Niall jolted a bit as a severe chill hit him,

"I ain't gettin' outta this bed again. I just got it warm under here."

Maisie rolled her eyes,

"Alright, I'll go turn it off."

Niall's teeth chattered as she walked out of the room,

"Thank bloody Christ."

Maisie enjoyed these moments with Niall. It had been two weeks since they'd said they loved each other. Since then, they had fallen into a quiet contentment with each other. Neither of them really pushed the idea of sex. Maisie figured they were both still a bit gun shy about it. But she wasn't in any hurry.

She tapped at her thermostat, waiting until she heard the air turn off before making her way back to her room. She snickered when she saw Niall still shivering under the covers when she walked back through her door,

"I turned it off."

"It's still cold!" He protested.

Maisie shook her head. She opened the windows, allowing some of the warmer night air into the room,

"That's the best I can do short of putting a space heater under your ass."

Niall shook his head, poking his arms out while his hands grabbed for her,

"Not the best ya can do. Get over here and warm me up."

Maisie took the last sip of her water, toed her slippers off, made sure she had her alarm set and hooked her phone to the charger before she heard Niall groan,

"Christ, you're killin' me woman."

Maisie crawled up onto her bed,

"I'm not cold." She announced as she turned her back to him. She pushed her feet under the covers and then snuggled her back into his chest. Regardless of whether or not she was cold, being cocooned in his embrace was the perfect way to end her day.

Niall tucked his chin into her neck and closed his eyes. He toyed with the rings on her fingers while he impatiently waited for his body to warm up,

"Kyle suggested a double date tomorrow night." He commented once his teeth stopped chattering.

"Sounds good." Maisie answered.

Niall pressed his lips to her neck,

"I didn't even ask how your day was." He said, his voice low.

Maisie snuggled into him further,

"You can now."
"How was your day?"
She reached down, threading her fingers through his as she pulled his hand up to her mouth where she pressed a kiss to his knuckles. She was about three seconds from falling asleep she was so comfortable,