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“Shit, I’m coming.” I could hear rustling in the background, followed shortly by the door slamming. “It’s not real, Silas. I promise.”
“I can’t get out,” I whimpered, still caught in my nightmare.
“I’ll get you out,” he said. I could hear him running now, his feet thudding against stairs. “I’m coming. I promise. Hang on, I’m nearly there.”
I focused on his breaths, squeezing my eyes shut once more. There was a beep as my door unlocked, and I let out a shaky breath as the first tears began to fall.
Kai always had a key to my room for this very reason.
Kai was there before my tears hit the pillow. As he’d done hundreds of times before, he lifted my covers and slid beside me. I let him haul me into his arms and press me against his chest. Let his big hand cup the back of my head like I was a broken child needing comfort.
Because that was what I was. No matter how old I got, that broken child remained inside me. The child who’d been betrayed. The child who’d had to grow up too fast.
But just like he had since the day he’d realised what was happening, Kai held me tight. Promised me things would get better.
They would. Theyhad.
In these small, dark hours, it was difficult to remember what had changed. That I wasn’t that terrified child any longer. That it was just a nightmare, a tortured reflection of what my reality used to be.
Kai continued to murmur in my ear, his grip unyielding.
Focusing on his voice, I let him ground me. Let him remind me thatthiswas my current reality.
Eventually, as they always did, the tears slowed into nothing. The darkness crept back in as sleep took over.
ThenexttimeIwoke, it was minus all the side effects. The darkness had fled, taking the seemingly insurmountable fear of the night before along with it.
Years of therapy had helped me get to the place I was today. Therapy and Kai.
He’d followed through on his promise. First when we were teenagers and then every day since.
I honestly didn’t know where I’d be without him. I didn’t like to think about it. It was too dark a path to tread. The darkness still crept in occasionally, but Kai’s light was enough to banish it to the shadows.
My head rested on Kai’s shoulder, his arm across my hip. Some straight guys might be freaked out, waking snuggled up to another man. But this wasKai. Everything with him felt…right.
I didn’t move, taking the opportunity to study him. Normally, he was guarded, always holding a piece of himself back. No matter what I tried, I could never tease that final part of him out.
But in sleep, his secrets were stripped away. His face was relaxed. The ever-present frown lines melted away into nothing. There was no denying that he was a beautiful man. Honestly, I didn’t understand how he didn’t have a queue of fans waiting to bed him after every show.
If he did, he wouldn’t be holding you like this now, would he?
I scowled, shifting slightly. That wasn’t true. I was sure Kai wouldn’t let anyone come between us.
Not even the man who holds his heart?
My shifting woke Kai. He yawned widely before a little frown appeared on his face. He glanced over at me blearily. I could tell the exact second he realised he was holding me. His whole body became as stiff as a board.
“Morning,” I said, trying to alleviate some of the tension radiating from him. “Thank you for last night.”
“Uh, you’re welcome.” His voice was so hoarse in the morning, like dry gravel being raked over. “You okay now?”
I nodded, my five o’clock shadow scratching over Kai’s skin. “Yeah. I’m sorry for waking you.”
“It’s fine,” Kai said quickly, his solemn gaze on me. “I don’t mind. You know that.”
Before I could say anything more, Kai extracted his arm and leapt out of bed. He moved so fast that my face hit the mattress, making me give a smalloof.
Kai didn’t so much as glance back, hurrying for the bathroom and closing the door behind him.
