We chatted for a few more minutes before hanging up, and I sat in the silent kitchen mulling over my next steps. I wouldn’t be going into the office for the next six weeks, but I still needed to handle as much as possible from home. That, however, could wait until later this afternoon. I could probably fit in a couple more hours of sleep before I had to get up for the day.
In fact, Ishouldgo back to sleep since I’d only slept an hour or two next to Aria before Tibby’s screams had jolted me awake.
But instead, I headed for my office where my computer was. I wanted to tinker with my security system for a bit...then I’d go to sleep...probably.
CHAPTER 14
––––––––
As I woke up, the smellof roses and pumpkin spice co-mingled around me. My body felt heavy and warm as if I was still sitting in a hot bath and relaxing. After a minute, I realized that it was probably because of the two warm bodies that were pressed up against me on either side.
I took a quick mental check of my body, wiggling my toes and fingers and coming to the conclusion that I felt weird.
Normally, when I woke up in the morning, I ached. My back and shoulders were usually sore and tender from being coiled so tightly into the ball that I forced myself to sleep in. This morning, my body felt fine, more than fine in fact, I felt rested. My legs were fully stretched out and tangled with another pair of legs that I quickly realized were Matteo’s. One of my hands was tucked underneath the pillow that Aria had put under my head, and I marveled at how comfortable I was. I hadn’t slept with a pillow in years, not since I’d figured out that I had fewer nightmares if I didn’t sleep too deeply.
I could also usually tell how long I’d been asleep, my body feeling more or less stiff depending on if I’d slept longer. Now, lying between Aria and Matteo who were still breathing softly, I had no idea how long I’d been asleep for.
My breathing must have changed enough to wake up Matteo, because he shifted, pulling me in even closer.
“Y’wake?” The man mumbled, burying his nose in my hair and inhaling my scent deeply into his body. If you had asked me before if I loved being sniffed by another person I would have looked at you like you were insane, but now, as he breathed in my scent...I was pretty sure that it was on my list of top ten favorite things. Every time Matteo or Aria stepped close and inhaled deeply, it gave me a little thrill. I’d even caught Theo doing it once or twice, though I was sure he’d never admit to it.
“Yes,” My voice was whispery and a little bit hoarse, reminding me that I’d been screaming my head off last night, “Did I wake you?”
“Nah, it’s okay.” Matteo’s voice was still slurred with sleep but that didn’t stop him from running a hand down my spine and back up again. My skin tingled in its wake, and my breath hitched. At the sound of that, I could feel Matteo smile against my scalp as he began to knead the muscles in my shoulders with strong, sure hands.
“Teo, are you messing with Tibby?” Aria’s groggy voice came from behind me as she scooted in closer so that I was pressed more tightly between them, her chin resting on my arm as she glared at Matteo playfully. She looked rumpled, her normally sleek hair sticking up from her head in a serious case of bedhead. Her amber eyes were only half-open as she forced herself to wake up completely.
“He isn’t.” I defended, turning so that I was flat on my back between them. Matteo’s hand, no longer able to massage my back, moved so that it was flat on my stomach. My insides quivered at the heat from his palm and soon Aria’s warm fingers slid to join his, entwining together on my stomach.
“Did you sleep well?” Aria asked as she lay on her side, propping up her head on her other arm and looking down at me. The room around us was still dim, the blackout curtains along the wall, which I was sure housed a big window, were doing their job. I could just barely see a glow of sunlight outside, telling me that we’d been asleep longer than I thought.
“Is it weird to say I actually slept really well? Did I have any nightmares?” There was no way I slept that long and that deeply without having a nightmare. Absolutely none.
Matteo shrugged, “You kind of did have one an hour or two ago...whoa what are you doing?” I’d begun to sit up and move away from them, feeling guilty.
“I didn’t want to wake you guys up, I’m sorry.”
