The Hunter's Angel

Virgin Mary

I awoke to a shout.

I shot up in bed, heart racing as I registered the loud noise. My eyes settled to the darkness, and it took me a moment to remember where I was.

Hunter's house. I was in Hunter's house.

"No! Let him go!"

Hunter's helpless cry echoed across the hall and I raced towards his bedroom, concern consuming me.

Shoving his door open, I stopped in my tracks when I walked in.

The glow of the moonlight from the window cast a sliver of light on the otherwise pitch-black room, displaying Hunter's thrashing body. He was tossing and turning in bed, eyes tightly shut as he shouted.

"Don't shoot him! Please!"

Relief coursed through me as I realized he was just having a nightmare. I thought someone had broken in.

Stepping closer, I got a better view of his face. I couldn't help but feel bad as I gazed at his pained expression - he must have been dreaming about his father's death.

My eyes dropped downward and I noticed that the sheets had fallen down amidst his hectic movements, making it very clear that Hunter was only sleeping in boxers.

The hard lines of his stomach were on full show, as well as the muscular indents further below that had me thinking about very inappropriate things.

Swallowing nervously, I moved to wake Hunter up, lightly tapping his shoulder.

He woke with a shout, eyes wide open as he grabbed my arms and tossed me on the bed, pinning me underneath him.

"Hunter! It's me, Layla," I gasped. "You were having a nightmare."

Hunter swallowed, taking shallow breaths above me as he tried to calm down. Realization flashed in his eyes and he quickly let go of his grip on my arms, leaning back. "Shit. I'm sorry."

I exhaled deeply. "It's okay. Nothing to be sorry about."

He sat back and gave me his hand, pulling me up gently.

"Do you usually have nightmares like this?"

Hunter shrugged, looking away with embarrassment. "Here and there. Didn't mean to wake you up."

I waved my hand dismissively. "Don't even worry about it. I'm a light sleeper."

He nodded quietly, the room ringing with silence.

I pushed up from the bed and stepped back. "Are you okay?"

He gave a soft smile, but I could tell he was still anxious. "I'm fine, Angel."

I moved to leave the room but his hand grasped my wrist, stopping me.

"Can you stay with me for the night?"

I turned back to look at him, eyebrows slowly raising. I glanced at the slope of his taut body, and suddenly the king-sized bed seemed way too small.

"You mean, share the bed with you?" I squeaked.

His lips kicked up and he glanced away. "It's all right. Just go back to bed, ignore what I said."

I studied his expression slowly. I got the feeling that it took a lot out of Hunter to feel exposed to someone like that.

Inwardly screaming at myself for what I was about to do, I inhaled deeply and pulled back the covers, climbing beside him in bed.

He sat straight as a rod next to me, not daring to move as he gave me a bewildered glance.