Page 258 of Sweet Nightmare

I wake up with a stupid fucking smile on my face and Artemis’s scent all over my skin, my sheets, my pillow.

Fuck, I can still taste her.

One turn of my head, and flashes of last night come rushing back. Her. All of her. Every fucking second of last night.

Her moans.

Her cunt.

Her eyes.

Just…her.

My smile spreads before I can stop it, taking over my entire face like I’ve lost my fucking mind. Which, judging by the way one woman has managed to occupy every corner of my head without even being in the bed with me anymore, I probably have.

I turn toward her side and find it empty.

I blink.

Then I stare at the perfectly made half of the bed.

“Seriously?”

I push myself upright, dragging a hand down my face.

My side of the sheets is still warm. Hers looks like nobody’s touched it. Not a wrinkle out of place, not a single sign that she was here.

The woman can apparently wake up after having the shit fucked out of her and still find the energy to make the fucking bed.

I stare at the neatly arranged black satin pillows and then at the blanket folded with military precision. Then at the smooth mattress on her side.

A laugh slips out.

“Cute psychopath.”

I sit there for another moment, staring at her side of the bed, trying to decide whether I should be offended that she spent the night with me and still left me to wake up alone.

I’m not.

Not even a little.

Because I’m starting to understand how Artemis’s mind works. Or, at least, I’m learning enough to recognize when she’s running from something she doesn’t know how to feel. And letting me see her that vulnerable? Letting herself stay the entire night?

Yeah. I can imagine what went through her head when she woke up.

She probably stared at me sleeping, realized she’d spent the night in my bed, panicked internally, and decided the most logical response was to straighten the fucking sheets and get out before I opened my eyes.

That sounds exactly like her.

I drag a hand over my face, fighting another smile.

I’m annoyed, though. Genuinely fucking annoyed.

Because I had plans for this morning. Very specific plans involving her tangled up in these sheets, my mouth on her skin, and absolutely no intention of letting her out of this bed anytime soon.

Instead, I get an empty pillow and a perfectly made bed.

Wonderful.