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The deep divots sculpted on either side of his hips seem longer, giving me a map to the prominent bulge that I can see clearly lying against his right thigh.

“I am. I’m starving. I can’t remember the last time I ate.” Tearing my eyes away from him feels as if I’m being taken away forcefully by someone of authority while I reach for the one I love.

It sounds dramatic. Something you see in movies or read in books.

I’m torturing myself with that feeling because I’m yearning for him to let me lie on his chest again while he plays with my hair. No one has ever done that before.

No one has ever made me feel like this before. He’s my first…man crush? Is that a thing? And god, it’s as if my heart is fluttering like a hummingbird flapping its wings.

“Did you know hummingbirds can flap their wings up to five thousand times in a minute?” I blurt.

I can’t stand it when I do that. I can’t remember when I last felt this nervous. It’s like all the weird facts that no one wants to know come rushing out.

I didn’t even do this with my first girlfriend.

“I didn’t know that.” Alaska drops his arms from the doorframe and crosses them over his strong chest.

Goddamn, this guy.

Fucking hypnotizing me with cowboy mountain man muscles. No one would stand a chance here. If I leave, I could push him so far out of my mind and never see him again.

My breath escapes me as if I’ve been punched. The thought of not seeing him again can’t happen. The thought of leaving actually makes my eyes burn in a way that I haven’t felt in years.

“How are you feeling?” He steps closer, his shadow falling over the bed.

I stretch my hand to touch it, pretending I’m just plucking at the blanket when really, this is the closest I’m able to get to touching him.

“Oh, I’m embarrassed. I can’t believe I had a nightmare. I’m sorry you had to deal with that. Thank you. Again. For staying with me. I’m sure you had better things to do.”

“I really didn’t.”

I raise my head in surprise to see him staring at me with an intensity that has me scoot closer, like we’re magnets slowly inching our way together.

“Don’t ever apologize for having a nightmare. What you went through was fucking scary, Helios.”

“Leo.”

“Like I said, Helios.”

I roll my eyes at his stubbornness yet find myself wanting more.

“Your plane crashed, and you teetered on the edge of a cliff. I’d have nightmares about that too.”

I scoot closer to the edge of the bed, swinging my legs over until my feet are on the floor. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he says at the same time as his eyes soften.

We’re caught staring at one another again, an energy buzzing between us. The air turns hot, and another sheen of sweat threatens to cling to me again.

“Why don’t you get in the shower? I put some of my clothes in the bathroom for you already, and I’ll wash those for Soren.” The faint red glow from his contacts brightens.

Is he jealous?

No. No. That’s not possible. He can’t be jealous.

Maybe I can test it.

“You don’t have to do that. I can wash them since I ruined them with sweat.” I poke, curious if I’m right. He doesn’t seem to like talking about me wearing Soren’s clothes.