Love Bites

LOVE BITES Chapter 39 : Paranoia

A/N: Nikki's graduation dress is attached above and will be explained in the chapter :)

Chapter 39 : Paranoia

I wasn't sure what woke me up. I just... did.

And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't fall back to sleep.

Growing tired of looking at the same old wall for the last hour, I rolled over in my spot on the bed beside Alastair. It seemed I took up a mass amount of space compared to him. My legs and arms were sprawled everywhere, above the blanket in some areas and draped over him in others.

Poor Alastair was close to falling off the edge, and warmed by only the corner of the blanket.

I barely slept alone anymore. My clothes and things remained in my bedroom, but the nights were tender and precious in Alastair's arms. I slept better with him by my side  — tonight being an oddity. His bed had become ours, and I'd become so use to his scent lingering in the sheets that sleeping anywhere just didn't feel right.

Over the hours spent tossing and turning my eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness. Tucking an arm beneath my head I gazed at the man dozing restfully next to me. His face was turned away from me, the blanket disheveled across his bare back and giving me a clear view of the lean muscle strewn across it. His chest lifted with slow even breaths. I tried to match it with my own.

Alastair slept soundly, neither haunted by nightmares nor angelically peaceful. It seemed the kindness my parents showed him as an infant saved him from the traumas of his past.

I admired the way his dark hair curled at the nape of his neck. It's gotten longer, I thought.

Reaching out a hand, I tangled my fingers in his soft locks and brought my face close to his, breathing him in. For a few minutes I stayed just like that, up until the point I felt him stir. He found my hand and entwined our fingers, sluggishly lifting his face from the pillow to peer at me  through the dim moonlight filtering through the open window on the far side of the room.

"Can't sleep?" He asked, his voice a little scratchy and hot as hell.

I gave him a half smile, propping up the dark bangs hanging over his ash mauve eyes and traced his jawline. "I just woke up," I lied.

"Want me to cuddle you?" I didn't need to see to know he was grinning.

"Actually, I need a drink of water. I'll be right back." Kissing his hand, I crawled out of bed.

He nodded and fell back on the pillows in exhaustion, eyes drooping closed. "Okay good. Because need I remind you that it was you complaining it was too hot earlier."

Shaking my head in amusement, I slipped out the bedroom door and just like I'd told him I would, I tiptoed downstairs to get a cold glass of water. I didn't hurry back afterwards though, mostly because I knew one drink wouldn't fix my state of awareness. I wasn't tired, it was as simple as that. Mentally? Yes, I was exhausted, but physically I just couldn't lay still.

I sauntered through the long empty hallway in the direction of our room, my hand on the wall to steer me through the darkness. The skeletal branches of the trees scrapped dauntingly against the exterior of the manor and white flakes of snow flew past the high windows lining the end of the hallway. Their shadows, cast by the blue moonlight, dotted the wall my fingertips gently trailed. The surrealism of it engulfed my attention and brought my focus to the last door in the hallway that always remained shut.