“He hasn’t stopped by yet, today. My guess is he’s still resting after last night,” Emelise replied.
“Oh. I guess that makes sense.” Kylie took her dishes into the kitchen and got them in the dishwasher before she spoke again. “I think I’m going to lie back down for a little bit.”
“You know my offer stands, right? I’m here if you feel like talking.”
“I know, Eme. I just…I just want to lie down.”
Kylie felt Emelise’s eyes on her as she made her way down the hall to her room. Once the door was closed behind her she crawled into bed, curled up on her side, and covered her head with a pillow. She just wanted to sleep. There was nothing wrong with that. At all.
Remy
Remy awoke with a groan. Cracking an eye open, he glanced at the clock next to his bed. It was nearly noon. He hadn’t slept that late in years. His body ached and the wounds, that were going to take a few days to heal, made stretching the aches out impossible. At least they would be completely gone in a couple of days. If he was human, he’d have damn-near died from his injuries.
Thinking about the fight turned his mind to Kylie, and that had him tumbling out of bed regardless of how much he ached. He suddenly needed to check on her. He needed to know she was okay.
After a quick shower, during which he hissed and cursed every time one of the deeper gashes was hit by the spray, he fixed himself a cup of coffee and headed over to his Alpha’s home to check on his mate.
Emelise answered on his second knock. “Morning, Remy. Wow, you look like shit. Didn’t sleep well, I take it?”
Remy chuckled. “Not really, cher. Is Kylie awake?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure. She had a nightmare in the middle of the night and I don’t think she fell back to sleep. She was up a little while ago but she said she wanted to lie down. You can go ahead and check on her. First door on the left.”
“Thanks.” He stepped into the house and made his way to Kylie’s door. After a light knock he waited for a response.
“What’s wrong, Eme?”
“It’s me, Kitten. Can I come in?” There was such a long pause he was worried she was going to tell him no.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Remy opened the door and stepped inside before he closed it behind him. “How are you feelin’, Kitten?”
Kylie shrugged her shoulders. “You’re the one who was in a fight. How are you feeling today?”
“I’ll survive. It’s no’ting I can’t heal from.” He moved slowly and sat on the edge of her bed, close enough to touch her. His hand lifted to her cheek and he paused when he saw her flinch. “You know I’d never hurt you, yeah cher?”
Kylie swallowed and nodded. “I know, Remy. It’s…I can’t control it. I went through five years of hell. You can’t expect me to just suddenly have a different reaction to being touched.”
Remy wanted to argue with her but he knew she was right. “I know, cher. You need time. Just as long as you know I’m not gonna hurt you, dat’s good enough for now.” He studied her a moment. “Emelise said you didn’t sleep well. Have you tried to take a nap?”
“Yeah, I tried. It didn’t work. I’ll be fine, though.”
“Why don’t you try while I’m here? Dat way, if you have a nightmare, I can wake you up.” He watched as she seemed to have an internal battle over his suggestion before she nodded. He sat there on the edge of the bed while she curled on her side. One hand rested lightly on her shoulder before he started rubbing soothing circles on her back.
Soon enough her breathing slowed, and the tension in her body drained away as she drifted off to sleep. “I’ll always watch over you, cher,” he murmured to her sleeping form. He knew if he said it to her out loud she would dismiss his feelings so for now he would keep it to himself.
