Page 52 of Untamed Sinner

I can feel her heart racing against my forearm. Her breathing is still too fast, too shallow.

"Breathe." I stroke her hair. "In through your nose, out through your mouth."

"I know how to breathe," she mumbles.

"Then do it."

She huffs, but she does it.

Slowly, her body starts to soften. Not much, but enough.

I wait until her breathing returns to its normal cadence before I ask, "What did you dream about?"

"Nothing."

"Mandy."

She's silent for so long time I’m surprised when she says, "Turner's house. The raid. Except it wasn't the raid. It was before. When I was—" She stops. "It doesn't matter."

"It does." I kiss her neck.

She shivers. "It doesn't change anything."

"No," I agree. "But it matters."

She shifts slightly, her head turning so she can see my face in the darkness. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because you need it."

"That's not an answer."

I shrug. "It's the only one you're getting tonight."

She studies me for a moment, then turns back, settling against me again. "You're going to stay here until I fall asleep, aren’t you?"

"Yes."

"That's insane."

"Probably."

"I'm not going to sleep."

"That's fine."

"Hendricks—"

"Stop fighting me."

She goes quiet again.

Minutes pass. Maybe ten. Maybe twenty.

Her breathing slows. Her body eases.

Then her hand comes up, covering mine where it rests on the pillow next to her. Her fingers lace through mine, and she holds on.

She doesn't sleep at first. I can tell by the way her breathing stays slightly irregular, the way her body tenses every time she starts to drift.