I searched his face again. He was awake now. His half-lidded eyes gleamed with desire in the darkness.
Biting the inside of my cheek, I triedreallydamned hard to ignore the slow heat building between my thighs.
“Sorry,” I said, my voice coming out in a rasp. “Thought you were sick or something, so I was just checking on you.”
“I’m not sick,” Poppy murmured.
He looked straight up at me. Something about his decisive comment and gaze sent a shiver rippling down my body.
I cleared my throat. “Good. Uh, I gotta go to the bathroom real quick, do you want some water or—”
“I was having a dream about you.”
That stopped me dead. A lump formed in my throat. I swallowed it nervously.
“Yeah? What kinda dream?” I asked, already suspicious of the answer.
Poppy held my captured wrist closer to his body, as if cradling a precious object. When he spoke, it was quiet and fragile, the question meant only for my ears.
“Do you remember? The night you first saved me?”
I felt an uncanny sensation. Was I sharing the same dream with Poppy? How was that even possible?
“I could never forget that,” I stated.
Poppy ducked his gaze. His eyes were hidden beneath his pale lashes. “Do you remember... what came after?”
The creeping heat now rushed to my face, darkening my cheeks and ears. I knew what he meant. Not the tragedy that came the next morning, but that special night we shared together, when we thought everyone was safe.
“I’d never forget that, either,” I growled.
I saw the bittersweet creases edging around Poppy’s eyes. He must’ve shared my feelings—he contained the memory of our shared night, as if protecting it in a glass jar, focusing on it instead of the darker memories that came before and after.
Wanting to be closer to him, I sat on the edge of the bed. Poppy glanced up at me. The desire in his gaze was still there.
“Viol,” he murmured. He gripped my wrist slightly harder, enough to send a shudder up my arm. “Um...”
My heart leapt into my throat. I swallowed past its thundering pace.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Will you... lie with me?”
Poppy’s words made me dizzy. If I wasn’t sitting down, I might’ve collapsed.
“What?” I repeated, sure I’d misunderstood somehow.
He blew out a soft breath and traced his fingers lower on my wrist until they tickled my palm.
“Will you please lie in bed with me?” Poppy asked.
There was no mistaking his request this time. It was crystal-clear. There was no room for misinterpretation, and no turning him down.
My heart thudded so hard I nearly choked on it.
“Yes, I will,” I replied.
Poppy smiled, looking relieved and excited. He inched forward to make more space for me behind him.
