Into the Light

62

Brennen jerked his gaze to mine and blushed. "My bad, man! It was just there! Okay, I'm closing my eyes now. Goodnight." He pulled the blanket over his head and turned over. I kind of laughed and looked back at Anna. God, she was gorgeous. I couldn't blame Brennen for staring. Not really. Those tiny shorts did nothing to cover what was hidden beneath. Despite being tiny, they were also a tight, stretchy fabric that had me noticing every indention and every curve. "Get back in bed," I said. I was almost surprised by how demanding my voice sounded. I watched her reaction and felt my blood rush. Her cheeks reddened and she bit her lip. I noticed how she shifted her legs, almost like she was clenching her thighs. Fuuuuck. "I'm turning the lights off first," she replied, a little haughtily. I could already tell that she liked to be a little defiant when told what to do. I liked it. I also liked seeing her remembering who she was. Who she is. I knew that she couldn't be this shy, timid creature that I now recognized her as. No, she had fire underneath. She had just been scared into this person. She turned away from me and walked around turning the various lamps off in the room. When she reached the bathroom, she clicked it off and the entire room was engulfed in darkness. She clicked it back on quickly. "Do you mind if I keep this one on?" she asked, looking at me. "No, but why?" I asked, smirking a little. "You scared of the dark?" I was teasing, hoping to pull a smile from her. Instead, her facial features tightened. She looked anxious and stressed out. "Um, I just don't like being in complete darkness," she answered. Oh shit. I was really a dumb fuck. "Anna, of course you can leave it on. I'm sorry. Come here," I replied, and patted the spot next to me. She smiled softly, and walked slowly to the bed. My eyes caught every gentle sway of her hips, every dip and turn of her body. She climbed into bed, and I held my arm up for her to lay on my chest. When she did, I closed my arm around her and rested my hand on her hip. "You know that I would never let her get near you again, right? I would die first," whispered, before pressing my lips to the top of her head. I felt her lips curve against me. "I know," she whispered back, then pressed her lips to my chest, before snuggling back into my side. I loved the feeling of having her next to me. Of her skin on mine. My own sexual frustration was taking a tole on me, but I could handle it. I hadn't really given myself time to think about what she had been through. There had been so much that I couldn't even unpack it all. She had to be dealing with some kind of PTSD from the trauma. Hell, I would've been. I still had to figure out a way to see what she was doing with those people in her secret hospital area. I needed to help them. I needed to call Amethyst and see what she meant when she said that she couldn't fully sever the link between Anna and Lilith. There was still so much that I had to do...but that was for another day. Tonight, all I wanted to think about was Anna in my arms. I closed my eyes and yawned. It had been an eventful night, for sure. I was sore and tired, so it didn't take long for me to drift off. Unfortunately, my sleep wasn't a good one. It was plagued, once again, with nightmares of losing Anna to the Darkness. Of Lilith coming back to reclaim her. When I tried to get her to leave Lilith and to come with me, her eyes grew black and she gave me an evil smile. "Why would I do that?" she cooed, and dragged her sharp tipped nails down my chest. "When I can just keep you here and have everything that I want." Her body would then morph into Lilith, a demon, evil Anna, just back and forth, over and over again. I slapped her hand away from my body, and heard someone yell "OW! Bro, what the fuck?!" Then there was Lilith standing right in front of me. I shrank back against the headboard, trying to get away from her. "Colby! You're okay!" A soft, gentle touch was applied to the palm of my hand. Anna was here. The real Anna. Slowly, my vision cleared and I realized that it was Corey who had been in front of me. "Oh God," I groaned. Nausea hit my stomach hard. "Trashcan!" I yelled. I knew that I wouldn't be able to move fast enough with this stupid injury. Brennen was there, putting a small empty can into my hands. I held my face over it, and took deep breaths, hoping that the roiling would stop. "Are you okay?" Anna asked, putting her hand on my shoulder. I gagged and heaved a few times before nodding. "M'okay," I gasped out, before sitting back heavily against the headboard. "What was all that about?" Corey asked, holding his hand out for the trashcan. "Nightmare," I replied. "For real?" Brennen asked, smirking. "Was the Boogey Man gonna get poor wittle Colby?" I glared at him for a minute, then glanced at Anna. She was chewing on her bottom lip nervously, watching me. "Something like that," I murmured. "Well, start moving your ass brother. We got a long ride ahead of us," he replied, before snapping my blanket covered legs with his t-shirt. Corey went into the bathroom with an armful of clothes and closed the door. Brennen slid the shirt on over his head, then sat down to put his shoes on. Anna was still in that tight little outfit that she had slept in. It didn't look like she had gotten out of bed yet, either. She was sitting up, but had the blanket bunched around her legs. Too bad. "Are you sure you're okay?" she whispered, placing her hand on my arm and rubbing it. I gave her a small smile and hoped that it looked genuine. I honestly had no clue if I was okay. There was a foreboding heaviness that was hanging over me now. "Yeah," I answered. "I'm okay. Just a nightmare." "Was it- was it her?" she whispered. I shook my head. "No. Just your typical monster. Don't worry. It was nothing," I tried to reassure her.