Page 66 of Somnium

Once there was enough light to see by, Cadi searched through the cupboards until she found a small stack of plates. She then followed behind him and slid them beneath the candles to protect his furniture from any runaway wax. The harsh scent of sulfur drifted in the air as she crouched beside the box of candles to fill her arms to begin placing some around the kitchen and dining room.

Just as she lit the last one and rested it on the counter next to the sink, Elias stepped behind her, the warmth of his palm pressing against her back in quiet reassurance.

“I’m going to set a few in the bedroom,” he said, kissing her temple as he passed.

“Want some help?” Cadi asked, shaking out the match in her hand before she tossed it into the sink with the others. Elias stopped, turning to fix her with an incredulous look.

“If I ever say no to you offering to come to my bedroom, I’ve been replaced by a pod-person.”

He shot her a flirtatious grin, then disappeared. Cadi laughed, double-checking that all the kitchen towels were a safe distance from any flames, then turned to follow him down the hallway.

By the time she got to the bedroom, he was already busy arranging two candles on one of the nightstands, so she grabbed the other pair from the bed to mirror his setup on the other side and cast the room in a soft glow.

Cadi stepped back to take it in. The dancing flames made every inch of his apartment feel warm and peaceful, almost sacred. Turning to face the glass, her eyes grew wide at the sight of the trees hundreds of feet below bending and swaying in the violent wind; it was nothing like the calm she felt inside the glass walls.

Elias’s hands slid around her waist, pulling her close to kiss the tender skin beneath her ear. He let his lips linger just a moment longer than necessary, and her eyes drifted closed as she leaned into his touch with a lazy grin. It wouldn’t have been much of a stretch to say he was definitely enjoying the storm.

They stood there for a moment, neither of them speaking, just watching the chaos outside until Elias’s voice mingled with the silence.

“So … you aren’t afraid of storms. What are you afraid of?”

Cadi stiffened, an involuntary response that she prayed he didn’t feel. She stayed quiet, pretending to think while her thumbs traced against the backs of his hands.

There were plenty of things that scared her—spiders, bears, being buried alive. But none of those things haunted her like the fear that she carried every day. It clung to a part of her that she kept carefully concealed, behind walls built over years of disappointment and pain. Walls that Elias now stood in front of, patiently waiting for her to let him all the way in.

Maybe it was the strength of his arms as he held her, or the gentle way his voice seemed to wrap around her like safety, but she didn’t want to hide anymore. Not from him.

Her heart raced as she pulled in a deep breath, closed her eyes and forced the words past her lips before they could falter. “That I’ll never be enough. But also, that I’m somehow just too much.”

She felt him move behind her, felt his questioning stare settle against her skin.

“For what?” he asked.

Turning her head to face him, the air caught in her chest at the way he wasn’t just looking at her, but was really, truly seeing her. It stirred something deep, a whisper of hope that maybe she could show him her broken pieces. That maybe he would stay.

“For anyone to truly love me.”

Elias went still, pain filling his eyes as he stared down at her. Heat flushed against her neck, but she wouldn’t let herself look away from him. She let him see her cracks, her fear, her truth, and relaxed into him when his hand lifted to frame her face.

“Cadi,” he said softly, “you are so much more than enough, and you could never be too much.” He paused, his eyes searching hers. “Not to me.”

His words left no room for argument or question as he leaned forward to press his lips against hers. She breathed him in, the scent of his skin mingling with the smell of wax, and she didn’t know what was melting faster: the candles, or her.

Elias pulled back, his thumb brushing against her cheek. Her pulse pounded as she watched a slow smile spread across his face and a new light shift into his eyes.

“There you are,” he whispered, before he once again pulled her face to his, this time with a fierceness that left her aching.

Cadi lifted her hand to the back of his neck, holding him against her and letting her fingers dance across his skin. Elias pulled in a sharp breath as he moved to grip her hips, twisting her around before easing her back against the window. His kisses grew more urgent, his fingers skimming against the skin at her waist, teasing her with silent promises.

Her fingers flexed against his shoulders, and she pressed her body closer to his while her other hand traced a lazy path against the line of his jaw.

Elias trembled, breaking the kiss to look at her with heavy eyes. A deep desire that reflected her own simmered just beneath the surface, barely contained, and she knew …

He was done holding back.

“If you say stop. We stop,” he whispered.

Of all the things she wanted him to do at that moment, stopping didn’t make the cut. Cadi shook her head, her voice trembling. “Don’t stop.”