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Once at her side, I’m uncertain if I should wake her up or wait her out, stay close, and make sure she doesn’t hurt herself. The decision is taken from me when she bolts upright in the bed.
She stiffens and stares right at me, or at least that’s what I think she’s doing. I can’t fully see her features.
“Tom.” My name is more a sob than anything else as her arms shoot out and hook around my neck.
Her slender, trembling frame clings to me wherever possible, every inch of her pressing into me. It feels like she needs me to survive.
“Hey. I’m here.” I soothingly stroke the back of her head with one hand, and my other arm snakes around her waist to hold her securely. Reassure her that she’s safe. “You’re okay.”
We stay like that, entwined, for what might only be a couple of minutes, but it feels much longer. Eventually her sobs taper off and her breathing evens out, while my mind whirrs and heart gallops. I’m unsure what she needs or if all she needs is to be held, to know that she isn’t alone.
She pulls back but keeps a hand on my arm while with her other hand, she flicks on the bedside lamp. “Tom…I’m sorry about that.”
Her voice cracks, and the thought of her broken and scared does something to me. Enrages and terrifies me. I want to help, to take away whatever scared her like that, if only I knew how.
She sniffles and wipes at the tears on her cheeks, her gaze darting anywhere but at me, and I carefully reach for her face. My fingers delicately brush a few damp strands of hair from her forehead.
“Don’t apologize. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
She shudders and dips her head to lean into me. Her arms wrap around me once more, and I relax a little at how easily she seeks comfort from me. Her warm, steady breaths coat the crook of my neck as she settles into my embrace.
My hand runs down her hair. “Was it a nightmare?”
She bobs her head in affirmation, and some of her hair catches on my stubble, but this doesn’t stop her from burrowing deeper into my chest.
I can’t help but like it. A lot. Even if it feels a tiny bit wrong to be consoled when I should be the one consoling her.
My fingers tighten gently around her waist. “Was it about the plane?”
She pulls back suddenly and scoots several inches away from me. Her gaze drops to the duvet and she nods.
“Hey.” I gently slide a finger under her chin and tilt her head up until her eyes meet mine. “It’s okay. Do you want to talk about it?”
“No. It’s always the same. I relive it except sometimes…sometimes we crash. There’s fire and screaming and…” She gets up from the bed and goes to a bag on the floor. “The doctor prescribed sleeping pills to help with the nightmares.” She stares down at the bottle she took from the bag. “I hate taking them. They make me feel out of it the next morning. Not myself.”
“Would it help if I stayed?”
Her head swings toward me, and she wears a surprised expression. Is it because we’d be crossing another boundary again? First sex followed by sleeping in the same bed and now we’re spending a full night together because… because I want to. It almost feels more intimate without the sex. Like I want to be close to her no matter how or why.
I think that’s why earlier tonight she made a point of stating where my bed was and that hers was in a separate part of the suite. I didn’t have a chance to kiss her, let alone suggest anything else.
Yet I’m the one surprised when she drops the bottle back into the open bag and inches closer. “Would you?”
“Sure.”
We get into the king-size bed in her room, and I pause with my head on the pillow. This isn’t how I offer solace with more than a foot of space between us. If this were anyone other than Leighton, I wouldn’t be second-guessing myself.
With that thought, I slide closer and wrangle my arm under her neck.
“What are you doing?” She raises her head.
My hand clasps her shoulder, and I pull her into my chest even as she questions. “Tom?”
“Hey. I want you to feel safe. You’re not alone.” I tuck her head under my chin and close my eyes, suddenly feeling very tired now that the adrenaline has worn off.
At first, she’s tense and wooden in my arms, but around the same time I drift off, her body loosens up. One of her arms drapes over my stomach, and a leg curls around my thighs.
* * *
