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I snuck downstairs in my nightshirt and slippers, passing Eros in the foyer in the same spot he had been in the other night, gun on his lap. I grabbed a bottle of water, leaning against the counter as I chugged it. Maybe I should go for the hard stuff. That might help me pass out. But getting drunk wasn’t the solution, so I walked around the bottom half of the house, peeking through the blinds.
Thora was sitting on the carpet in the living room with her eyes closed, a bunch of crystals surrounding her in a circle. The floor creaked underneath my feet and her eyelids flew open. She smiled and patted the floor in front of her.
I chuckled and sat down facing her, a crystal poking me in the ass.
“Can’t sleep?” she whispered, and I shook my head.
“It’s been hard to fall asleep lately, and when I do, I’ve been having terrible nightmares.” I rubbed my hands over my arms.
She scrunched up her nose and nodded. “I can understand why. You’ve been through a lot, Nova. You know you’re very brave, right? Going through what you did, and what you’re about to do. That takes a lot of courage.”
My eyes watered as she spoke and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep the tears from falling. I didn’t feel brave or courageous. If I was being honest with myself, I was fucking terrified. The unknown was a scary thing. Especially when you were willingly surrounding yourself with people who were out to hurt you, one way or another. “I’m really sorry about that day in the office, Thora. I was such a bitch, accusing you and not listening to reason and…”
She held her hand up and I stopped talking. “It’s in the past. It doesn’t matter. And I should have handled that differently too, so I’m sorry for that. But we’re good. There is no animosity here, girl.” She grinned and squeezed my hand. “But if you hurt my brother, I will make sure you regret it.”
I chuckled and shook my head. Sweet, innocent-looking Thora. She didn’t look like she would harm a fly, but I was starting to catch on to her. Deep down inside her was a warrior, ready to take on anyone. I could only hope that I could be as fearless.
“Oh!” She snapped her fingers and stood. “I have your phone, hold on.” She slid across the floor in her slippers and came back with an iPhone. “It’s old, but more importantly, it can’t be hacked into. Eros made sure of it.”
I grabbed it from her and pressed the button to unlock it. “What’s the code?”
She rolled her eyes. “Six nine six nine. Stupid Eros,” she muttered.
Of course it was, because a grown man who hid water guns around a house while hiding from the bad guys would obviously find a way to make this funny.
“My friend just came out with a wellness app. It’s got some bugs, but I’m loving it. It has everything from meditations, to mantras, to even tracking the hours you’re sleeping. It catches you if you’re snoring or prone to talking in your sleep.” She laughed and pulled out her phone, pressing a few buttons. A moment later, a voice recording popped up of a very sleepy Thora yelling that she wanted chocolate doughnuts with no frosting, followed by a slew of cuss words.
We fell back on the floor, laughing as she replayed it again.
“I guess I turn into a lunatic when I fall asleep.” She giggled. “Wanna try one? A quick meditation to help you sleep?”
I shrugged my shoulders and nodded. Why the hell not. I would try anything at this point. We sat up and crossed our legs, hands on our knees, while a woman’s voice guided us through some deep breathing. She then said to imagine a white light surrounding yourself, a circle of positive energy and protection. Anything beyond this circle was not allowed, including nightmares and negative thoughts.
It was actually pretty relaxing, and after ten minutes, I thought I might be able to finally sleep. Thora put the app on my phone in case I wanted to do the meditation again and hugged me goodnight.
When I got back upstairs, Cian was leaning against the table, his head hanging down. I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around him from behind, pressing my cheek against his back. His body was like a furnace, and I welcomed the heat.
“Couldn’t sleep?” he murmured and turned to face me.
I reached up and moved his hair from in front of his eyes. He looked tired, like he hadn’t had a peaceful night’s sleep in a really long time. I was sure I looked exactly the same, if not worse.
“Thora was showing me a meditation.” I held my phone up and shook it. “I’m pretty sure I’m not doing it right, otherwise I should be filled with Zen, don’t you think?” I scrunched up my nose.
He chuckled and walked me backwards until my legs hit the bed. “Perhaps you would rather be filled with something else, Nova,” he drawled, and butterflies roared in my chest. I tossed my phone on the bed behind me, catching a glimpse in the corner of the room of the dried-up rose I had found days before.
“Cian, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.” I placed my hands against his chest, my fingers brushing over his scar. His heart was beating so strong, I could feel it underneath my palm. “Those roses I was getting… you sent them?”
He lowered his eyes, focusing on my lips, and nodded. A flush spread across his cheeks, and I thought my heart would explode at how vulnerable he looked in that moment.
“But why?” I tapped my fingers against his chest. “There was no note. I didn’t know where they were coming from.”
He pushed me back gently until I was lying on the bed, and I chuckled. Sex couldn’t always be the answer. Well, maybe it could. He grabbed my leg, placing my foot on his chest. His lips brushed against the sensitive skin there and I laughed as he licked up my ankle and around my rose vine tattoo.
“This tattoo has been burned into my memory since the night you showed up at my club dressed up as Lara Croft” His voice was husky, and I tried to control my ragged breathing as his lips caressed up my calf. “I could not get you out of my mind, no matter how hard I tried.” He bit the inside of my thigh, my legs trembling.
That had been on Halloween over a year ago when I had met the masked man, Cian, who had given me the best night of sex I had ever had. But I had never heard from him again. Or so I had thought. “But why didn’t you just talk to me, ask me out?” I rasped, then moaned as he gripped me tighter and licked right where he had just marked me with his teeth.
“If I had, maybe none of this would have happened to you.” He tensed suddenly, as if just realizing what he had said.
