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For a full beat, he didn’t move. When the slight pressure graced my hip, I almost didn’t connect it to him. Then he threw his arms around me, holding me as tight as I did him.
For a long time we embraced, mourning the loss of the best person we ever knew.
Much longer than five seconds.
Chapter Nine
Water surged into my nose and mouth—a ruthless assailant grabbing and whisking me into the dark. I thrashed, clawing for the surface as the reeds tangled my legs. I wasn’t going anywhere, ever again. Through the inky darkness, a face appeared, peaceful in the permanent sleep that would be mine.
I gasped awake, heart rocketing into my throat and choking me. Dizzy and wheezing, my stomach flipped—burning with bile and fighting to eject from my system.
Shhh, you’re safe. A soft crooning whispered through my mind. Sweet and gentle, it soothed as warmth surrounded me, calming my overloaded system.
My lids fell heavily, shutting out my spinning room, drawing me back into sleep. I laid my head on my pillow, sinking into the depths.
I DON’T KNOW WHAT IT was that woke me. One moment, I knew nothing, then consciousness flicked on like a light switch, peeling my eyes open. A fact became clear to me immediately: there was someone in my bed.
Not just on my sheets, but on me. His legs weaved through mine. His arm draped over my waist and my arm over his. Face pressed to my neck, his breaths were warm puffs on my skin, bringing me back to the reality of what was happening as my mind went blank with shock.
Someone is in my bed!
Screaming, I threw out my limbs, trying to throw them off.
A grunt, then a warm hand covered my head, stroking my temple. “Shh,” he whispered. “You’re safe.”
“Cato?!”
Whipping around, I fell on the handsome face sharing my pillow.
“What— How— You can’t just—!” Words deserted me, leaving behind unintelligible shrieks. In the haze, the night before came back to me. A horrible nightmare and then something—someone—easing me back to sleep. “What the hell are you doing here!”
Footsteps thundered down the hall. “Luna? What’s wrong?”
Rafael skidded into my doorway wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and concern that flashed away when he took in the scene. “Ah, so it wasn’t that kind of scream. Whoops, I’ll leave you to it.”
Fire licked my cheeks. “You’re not leaving us to anything. Nothing happened.” I scrambled free of Cato, climbing off the bed. “Cato, I don’t even— What were you doing?”
“You were having bad dreams. I helped,” Cato said simply.
“Guarding my dreams was not literal. You can’t just get in bed with me!”
Sitting up, he cocked his head. “Why?”
“Yeah, why not?” Rafael echoed.
“You can go,” I barked at Rafael.
His reply was to grin and fold his arms, leaning against the frame. “Nah, I want to see how this plays out.”
The feel of Cato was all over me. His impressions left in my skin, hair, and in the knowledge that was the best sleep I’ve had in months. It made it even worse.
“Because spooning is something couples discuss before it happens. At least so they can decide who’s the little spoon!”
Cato turned this over. “Okay. Discuss.”
“What are you talking about?”
He gestured between us. “Let’s talk about spoons, so we can sleep.”
My jaw worked. “I said couples discuss this.”
“We’re a couple.”
Thor, help me. What is happening?
“No, we’re not.”
“Yes,” Cato said slowly. “You’re mine. I am yours. You are one. I am one. One-one makes two. Two is a couple. We are a couple.”
My mind spun following his logic. Once again, both simple and impossible to comprehend.
“I told you, Cato, you can’t call me... yours.”
“Why?”
“Yeah, why?” Rafael threw in. The bastard was enjoying this.
“Because we’re two people, but we’re not two people who make... a couple.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Cato replied.
“No sense at all,” added Rafael.
“Both of you, out.”
Laughter bouncing through the halls, Rafael strode back to his bedroom with a headshaking Cato on his heels. Somehow, I lost that round and I was the one who had no idea why.
A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER, I banged the pots around making breakfast, and not a morsel of it was for the Dumont Menaces. I didn’t know what knocked me further off balance—that I spent the night tangled in a guy’s arms and had no clue, or that said guy was so committed to my peaceful sleep, he climbed out of his bed to comfort me. It was both the sweetest and most disturbing thing anyone had ever done for me.
Wilder entered the kitchen midbite of bacon.
“Morning,” I said around a mouthful of meat.
“Morning.”
“Would you like some bacon and eggs?”
“No, thanks.” He took down a box of cereal and a bowl.
I watched the muscles in his back ripple as he fixed his food.
“Thank you for last night.”
Wilder halted.
“Even though I bawled all over you, it was nice to just... you know.”
