Page 129 of Somnium

A wide smile broke across her face, and she didn’t even try to contain the way it pulled at her cheeks until they hurt. She wanted him to see how happy he made her.

Shifting her body closer, she draped her arm over his chest and let out a low sigh when she felt his grip on her tighten in response. He held her against him, locking her in place as if determined to keep her as near as possible now that they had found their way back to each other. They lay there in the silence, a divine union of skin and breath and warmth, until a powerful rumble from Cadi’s stomach tore through the tranquility.

Every muscle stiffened and her eyes went wide as she slowly tipped her head to look at Elias. A snort of laughter pulled free at the shock etched across his face.

“Hungry?” he asked, the corners of his lips beginning to twitch.

Cadi nodded. “Turns out makeup sex works up one hell of an appetite.”

Elias breathed a laugh and ran his hand against her arm. “I’ll take that as a compliment. What sounds good? I’ll call it in.”

She lifted a shoulder in a lazy shrug, her body still in full protest against the idea of moving any more than absolutely necessary. “Thinking is hard, you pick. I’m good with anything.”

“I’ll get us a pizza,” he said, beginning to stand up. She grumbled and pulled him back down with a petulant scowl. If she wasn’t moving, he couldn’t either.

He crooked an eyebrow and settled back against the pillows.

“Tacos?”

She shook her head against his chest.

“How about noodles from that spot you love?”

She turned to look at him with a crinkled nose. Her head rose with the slow, painfully controlled breath that Elias drew in a clear attempt to contain his frustration with her indecision as another low rumble vibrated between them.

“Love, your stomach sounds like it’s about to eat itself.”

Cadi pushed out her lips and slowly walked her fingers across his chest as she pretended to mull things over. Truth be told, she had made up her mind after his second suggestion, but something about the security she felt with him provoked an unfettered urge to be a complete nuisance. A smirk curved her lips, her eyes twinkling.

“Pizza sounds great,” she muttered.

Elias shook his head, but his irritation was severely deadened by the glow of affection that shone through his stare. “Of course it does.”

He gently disentangled himself from her hold, scooted himself to the edge of the bed, and tugged on a pair of sweats before disappearing down the hall. Cadi rolled onto her back, chewing her lower lip as she shamelessly appreciated the way his body moved while he walked away from her.

After a moment, she shook her head to clear the new flood of scandalous thoughts from her mind and lifted a hand to assess the impact of their reunion on her hair. She cringed at the way her curls seemed to have taken on a life of their own, no doubt making her look like some sort of insane poodle.

Her arms flopped against the comforter as she let out a long sigh. She still didn’t love the idea of moving, but with Elias no longer in the bed next to her, the incentive to stay had decreased significantly. So, she rolled her body to the edge of the mattress before hopping up to scurry to the bathroom in a race against gravity.

A few minutes later, she ducked into Elias’s closet to snag one of his recently worn hoodies from the laundry basket. She nestled into the fleece, breathing deep when the collar bunched around her nose. A soft smile found its way to her lips at the reclamation of another piece of him, his smell once again making her feel joy instead of the twisted fear that had nearly shattered her.

Padding down the hall in her bare feet, she found Elias leaning back against the granite counter with his phone held to his ear as he rattled off their order. Cadi shuffled forward and wound her arms around his middle, resting her cheek against the warm skin of his chest. His free arm shifted to drape across her shoulders, and she shimmied deeper into his touch as the low timbre of his voice reverberated through her when he spoke. This was all she wanted, all she truly needed, and it was finally hers again. If only they could stay just like this for the next few days and emerge on the other side completely free, with Oneirios and the Order behind them, and nothing but their future together ahead.

“Perfect, thanks,” he said as he ended the call and tossed his phone onto the counter with a thunk, wrapping his other arm around her. “They said thirty minutes.”

His lips pressed to her hair, and she couldn’t stop herself from imagining all the creative ways they could pass the time. A pleasant tightness returned to the lowest part of her belly at the memory of Elias’s mouth on her in that very room and the way he’d nearly made her black out.

She shifted in his arms to peer around him at the dining room. “We should probably clean the table before it gets here …”

Elias twisted to follow her gaze. “Can’t imagine why,” he said with a sly grin, “It was perfectly fine the last time I ate there.”

Cadi landed a playful punch against his arm. “You’re gross.”

He chuckled and caught her wrist, then lifted it to his mouth and brushed his lips over the delicate skin.

“Maybe so,” he murmured against her, the devotion in his eyes making her pulse tick up. “But you love me.”

The faint scratch of his stubble was rough against her skin as she traced a finger against his jaw. She loved him. This man in front of her, holding her close, looking at her like she was the only thing in the entire world that mattered.