There was a moment of silence, then: ‘Yes?’
‘It’s rather cold, Sir.’
He didn’t move an inch, didn’t even turn to look at me. ‘I had observed that much for myself.’
‘The others are all huddling together.’
‘Indeed?’
‘Against the cold, you know. Huddling together helps keep the cold away.’
‘Is that so?’
‘Yes.’ I cleared my throat again, and waited for a moment, giving him the opportunity to continue. He didn’t, preferring rather to lie stiff as a stiff and glare up at the stars. I cleared my throat for third time. It felt incredibly dry. ‘So… I was wondering… why don’t you?’
Now he did turn his head, very slowly, very deliberately. When his eyes met mine, I had to shiver again.
‘Excuse me?’
I licked my lips. ‘I said why don’t you huddle together with, um… someone? Or cuddle, whichever you prefer.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘I don’t cuddle.’
‘You don’t?’
‘Most certainly not!’ he proclaimed to the night sky, his voice cold and powerful, as if he were sitting in his office at home, and not lying in the desert freezing his toes off. ‘And I do not huddle either! I absolutely refuse to participate in such an undignified activity. The cold is not life-threatening. I shall not succumb to improper behaviour merely to decrease a temporary discomfort.’
Before I knew it, my hand had moved. We lay not far from each other, and it reached out, crossing the distance and coming to rest on top of his arm.
‘Even with your wife?’
His arm shifted almost imperceptibly. ‘You are not really my wife.’
‘Do you mind keeping up the pretence until it’s not so freezing anymore?’ I lifted an eyebrow. ‘Or would you rather that I go huddling and cuddling with one of the other men out there?’
His arm flipped in a startlingly fast movement, and his fingers closed around my wrist in an iron vice.
‘Stay - right - where - you - are!’
No matter how icy his voice was right then, somehow it managed to make me feel warm inside, warmer than a thousand campfires. His eyes gleamed in the dark, sending a shiver down my back.
‘Oh, really? What will you do if I don’t?’
He moved. I barely had time to see his shadowy form rear up above me, casting a shadow worthy of a Titan, before he came down on me. His weight drove the breath out of me for a second, and that was all the time he needed. His arms encircled me, and we rolled to the side, wrapping us up in our blankets and clothes until they were an inseparable tangle. When we came to a halt at the foot of a small dune, I was still out of breath, and not just because of the impromptu wrestling match. My blood was pumping fast, and I felt tingly all over.
‘Let go!’
‘Why?’ His cool voice slid into my ear, smooth and seductive. ‘You wished to engage in huddling and cuddling, did you not? Well, we are.’
I tried to push him away - but his arms were so tightly wrapped around me, pressing my arms to my sides, that I couldn’t even try. So I thumped my head into his chest instead.
‘This isn’t cuddling!’
‘Why, my love?’
‘Because I want to strangle you!’
‘Let’s say it is a new version of cuddling - modified and improved.’