“But you’d like to?” I muttered, not meaning for it to come out as a question.
“There’s chemistry. Is there not?”
I swallowed hard. “Yeah.”
“So why don’t we chill, see how it plays out. No expectations.”
I nodded.
After all, what else was I going to do?
FIVE
ISAAC
Sunday, May 26, 2019
I heard the scream, jolted up out of my bed, my gun in my hand before I realized what I was doing, where I was.
Home. Not on the job. There was no threat here.
Setting it back on my nightstand, I glanced at the clock. Three a.m.
Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself, willing my heart to slow. As I did, I stepped out into the hall, listened for the noise that had awoken me, and when I heard it again, I glanced at the door to Everly’s room.
My shoulders loosened as my surroundings became apparent, my adrenaline waning because there was no threat to tackle.
But there had been a scream and it had come from Everly’s room.
Standing just outside her bedroom, I heard her whimper. Not wanting to intrude, I rapped on the door. When she didn’t answer, I opened it, peeked in. Another soft whimper came, and I made the decision to go in, screw her privacy.
“No, don’t,” she cried out, her words distorted from the dream that had her trapped within it. More than likely, she was reliving the traumatic events from yesterday.
Placing a gentle hand on her arm, I nudged her. “Everly, wake up. You’re dreaming. Wake up.”
Everly squirmed, kicked at the blankets.
I shook her gently, saying her name over and over until she stilled.
Her eyes opened. Startled and out of breath from the terror of her dream, she sat up, swiping her hair back from her face. Her eyes were wild as they scanned the room, looking for a threat.
When her gaze swung back to me, the wildness I’d witnessed disappeared.
“It was a nightmare,” I told her. “You’re safe here, fairy princess. I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again.”
I cupped her face, lightly brushed beneath the bruise on her face, hating that I could do nothing to heal her.
She nodded.
“Go back to sleep,” I ordered, helping her to lie down before pulling the blankets over her.
She didn’t close her eyes, but she didn’t say anything, either.
“You want some water?” I offered, not sure why I didn’t just return to my own bedroom and go back to sleep.
“No. I’m good.”
I gave her a curt nod and made my way to the door before I did something stupid, like slip into bed with her. I’d told her yesterday that she would make the first move and I meant that. Hell, I needed that.
“Isaac?”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For letting me stay here.”
Me. Not us. Last night, whenever she spoke, she always seemed to incorporate all three of them, as though they were a unit that couldn’t be separated.
“Anytime.”
Since it was too damn early to get up, I forced myself back into my bed, propped up on the pillows, then hit the button to pull the television out of the encasement at the foot of the bed. I was flipping through channels when the door that connected my room to Everly’s opened. She slipped inside, closed it behind her.
“Something wrong?” I asked, not moving from my spot.
She came to stand on the far side of the bed. “May I watch TV with you for a while?”
Saying yes was as natural as breathing, even though there was a slight niggling in my head that said this was a mistake. If I let her in my bed, there was a good chance I would never want her to leave.
“Please, my Liege.”
My eyes shot to her, my heart slamming into my sternum. Not Sir. Not Master.
My Liege.
It sounded right coming from her.
“Come here, fairy princess.” I yanked the blankets back enough for her to climb under them.
As though she had been made just for me, Everly curled up against my side, her head on my shoulder. I doubted she had a good view of the television from her position, but if she didn’t care, neither did I.
While I flipped through the channels with my right hand, I kept my left arm curled around her, playing with her hair. There was nothing sexual about our interaction, yet it felt more intimate than anything I’d experienced before.
We remained like that for the rest of the night. At some point, I drifted off, waking only when I felt her stir beside me.
Not wanting her to slip away, I pulled her in tight to me. We’d shifted positions and I was spooned up against her, her head on my left arm, my right draped over her, her ass pressed intimately against my erection.
“Good morning,” I whispered softly.
“Good morning, my Liege.” Her hand clasped onto my wrist, squeezing gently as though she didn’t want to let me go.
