Chapter 562 Itâs Too Late for That Deirdre was stunned. This was not what she was thinking at all! But before she could explain herself further, a new gale tore through them. Seaside towns were no strangers to strong, chilling winds. Their journey was only 100 meters long, yet it felt like they had lost half of their body warmth by the 50-meter point.
Her body shuddered on its own. Brendan felt it coursing through his arm and drew her even more closely into his chest. âAbout 50 meters left.â
They braved the weather. It was as the waitress had predicted-the rain kept getting heavier. Had they chosen to stay inside the restaurant, they would not have been able to come out.
The umbrella did a shoddy job of keeping the elements out of them. By the time they reached the car, Deirdre was wet. The first thing Brendan did after getting inside was to turn on the heater before pulling out a towel from the backseat. He passed it to her, stating, âWipe yourself.â
She thanked him out of reflexive courtesy and reached out to the manâs fingers. It felt like touching a statue made from ice.
Her fingers were already as cold as they could get, while Brendanâs fingers were pretty much cryogenically frozen. It shocked her to rememberâafter giving her his coat, Brendan was down to a shirt and a pair of pants. An attire like that in a storm? No wonder he was in no better state than she was.
Deirdre hesitated for a moment and passed the towel back to him. âNo, you wipe yourself dry. I at least had your coat. Compared to you, I wasnât that wet.â
Brendan did not take it. âI donât need it. Itâs too late for that.â
He was right. He was completely soaked.
The rain had gotten so bad that the wipers could not do anything about their visibility.
Left with no choice, the two could only sit still in his car and stare at each other in uncomfortable silence.
The heater, working as hard as it could, still did not manage to dispel Deirdreâs cold. Wet garments stuck onto her, their chilliness seeping into her skin until her warmth was gradually replaced by its freezing temperature. She covered her mouth just in time for a sneeze and shivered.
Brendan frowned. âTake off your clothes.â
Deirdre whipped her head in his direction in an instant, her cheeks turning pale.
It was the kind of reaction that clued Brendan in about his mistake. Licking his lips, he tried to explain, âI donât have any ulterior motive, okay? Iâm just saying it will help stop the cold. All you have to do is to wipe your skin with a towel, and youâll be dry. If you go on like this, youâll catch a cold.â
âIâd rather catch a cold.â
She curled into herself defensively. It would have been easier to kill her than to make her undress in front of him.
Brendan furrowed his eyebrows in concern, but he pretended to be sarcastic and mocking. âReally? Youâre pretending to be some goodie church girl at this time? Youâre acting like Iâve never seen you naked before. But Iâve done more than seen every orifice in your body, Deirdre. Iâve even touched it, rubbed it, played with it, havenât I?â
âShut up!â
Deirdre was livid, but her protest came out as a hushed, quiet rebuff. She felt even more ashamed than usual to even talk about this, especially since they were stuck in this small, cramped car. Just the sounds of their breathing together perturbed her.
Brendan could not talk her into anything. Left with no choice, he searched for any hotel nearby with his phone and found only one within a few 100 meters. The area they were in was just that remote.
He started the engine and began to drive at a snailâs pace. Once they reached the hotel, the car went silent and stopped.
Deirdre reeled out of her trance and asked, âAre we there?â
âWeâre at a hotel.â
She gave no reply. The journey to Declanâs villa from there would take two hours at a minimum-let alone on a weather as blinding as this. Given the poor road visibility, they might not be able to reach his house even if the rain stopped.
Brendan disembarked, covered Deirdre with his coat, and brought her to the main hall.
As she trembled from the cold under the coat, he produced his credit card and asked for a room.
âWeâve got only one coupleâs room left, sir. Is that okay?â asked the receptionist. âIf thereâs no objection, Iâll make it available for you now.â
Deirdre raised her head, an ashen grimace shadowing her features. Brendan hesitated for a moment, too, but they were not exactly in the position to choose.
He paid for the room and took the keycard.
Deirdreâs lips parted as if she had something to say, but nothing came out. She just took the elevator with him.