The Secrets Between Us | ✓

|11|

Sleep never came so early and when it did, she was restless, tossing and turning in her bed until the sun peeked through the window. Only a few days she was granted with a sweet slumber was when her body was immensely tired and drained of every ounce of energy.

Today was, however, different. Anaya felt like she effortlessly had the best sleep in ages when she slowly drifted into consciousness. The first thing she felt was warm, the kind of searing heat that melted her insides. She remembered being pressed against Cy and that brought a faint smile to her lips as she snuggled further into him, only to feel hard, rigid muscles instead of the soft fur she had expected.

Startled, she inched away but a pair of strong arms tightened around her midriff and pulled her closer. Her eyes snapped open at that, widening in horror. But when she saw Icarus in her bed, his face a mask of pure bliss, she felt like melting into a puddle. For a moment, she just admired his face, her fingers itching to trace his rugged features. She blinked several times to make sure he was real because how could someone be so perfect? Just when she was about to brush his hair off his forehead, he started to stir and she quickly retracted her hand, willing her mind to stay put.

Slowly his eyes fluttered open and a slow smile spread across his lips at the sight of her. "Hey."

"Uh, hi," she said, forcing a smile to her face.

"Are you okay?"

His voice sounded softer now but it still was a bit rough and raspy at the edges which made her wonder for how long they had been on the bed. Sharing a bed with him should have felt inappropriate, for she had never been romantically involved with a man. Heck, she hadn't had a guy friend. But she felt otherwise. This, right now, made her feel like she was going deeper and deeper with this stranger, somewhere intimate, despite him being a wolfman who had practically kidnapped her. And what shocked her was, no warning bells were ringing in her head.

He touched her face, his fingers grazing her cheek as he stared down at her for an answer. His eyes held a tornado of raw emotions which she couldn't quite decipher but she knew he would do anything to protect her from the world. She could just feel it. No one held her the way he did or looked at her the way he was doing now. That tenderness and affection was foreign to her.

She gave a small nod, easily understanding the underlying meaning of his question. He was asking if she was okay with the newfound information. Of course, she wasn't. The truth wasn't ordinary. If she told anyone about it, they'd probably laugh at her. It sounded like something out of a fantasy book but in her case, it was very much real.

She definitely needed time to adjust to it but she couldn't help accept Cy already. He was a big softie, a contrast to his lethal size and blazing eyes, and she liked him a lot.