Sort of.
She trails a finger over a vein that stands out on the top of my hand. I wait for the urge to flinch to overwhelm me but don’t jump when she makes contact. Her delicate finger feels featherlight over my scarred skin.
I’m making progress.
“Maybe that spark is more than metaphorical.”
“Maybe,” Ava hums.
We spend another hour under the cover of night and lie in silence, watching the twinkling stars, the one next to me brighter than all those in the sky.
CHAPTER 10
AVA
I’m struckwith déjà vu when I hear whimpering sounds from outside my bedroom. It pulls me from my sleep, and I try to shake off the tiredness. The whimpers soon turn into shouts, and a loud bang has me rushing to the living room.
I search for Valen and frown when I don’t find him in his normal spot. Looking down, I see he’s thrashed so hard he’s fallen off the couch. His fingers grip at the floor so hard I’m worried that with his vampire strength, he might claw straight through to the floor beneath us.
“Valen!” I shout, desperate to pull him from his nightmare. “Valen, please wake up. You’re safe.” I approach carefully, wary of his flailing limbs. “Valentine!”
Resting a hand on the sliver of skin at his ankle peeking out from under his sleep pants, I hope it’s enough to ground him. Initially, he twitches, but he quickly settles down, and I breathe a sigh of relief. I’m helping somehow. His nightmares seem awful, but it makes sense after the trauma he’s experienced.
Just when I relax, a gasp comes out of my throat as I’m flipped to my back and laid down on the couch. The manly scent of sea salt and citrus fills my nostrils as I come face to chest with a very gorgeous set of pecs. I’m sure my eyes are comically wide as they scan upward and meet the eyes of the mountain of a man who now straddles me.
Valen keeps his weight distributed on either side of the cushion so he doesn’t crush me, which is much appreciated.
Not that I wouldn’t mind being flattened under him.
He hasn’t said a word yet and stares back at me, brown eyes flicking between mine.
At this angle I can appreciate the chiseled muscles of his torso and the trail of hair that leads into his pajama bottoms. I gulp at the visual in my head of what lies farther down, and my core clenches.
“Did I hurt you?” Valen finally asks, worry bleeding into his voice.
“No. Are you okay?”
Valen must realize the position we’re in and stands up. I immediately miss his presence and watch as he paces back and forth.
“I need to sleep somewhere else. I cannot keep waking you up with my nightmares. I apologize, Ava.” Valen flashes an apologetic glance my way and heads for the balcony.
Quickly hopping up, I follow him and lean on the balcony railing. Goose bumps pebble my legs, and I rub my arms at the chilly wind that swirls around us. For a second I wonder how he can be so unaffected by the temperature. And then remember he’s not human. Zav isn’t affected by it either. I remember Celine telling me when she gave me the lowdown on vampires.
I blow out a breath and shiver when a sudden gust chills me to my bones. A second later, a heavy blanket cocoons me, and I realize the breeze was Valen using his speed to wrap me upburrito style. The picture of innocence, he appears like he never moved from the spot where he gazes at the sky in the first place.
“You say you’re a fish out of water? I’m that and more.” Valen speaks in that raspy tone of his, and I have to admit, it does things to me. “Not only am I in a world of humans with no way of returning home, but I’m hundreds of years in the future where all I can do is try and keep up with the times.”
“Where’s home?” I get hung up on the word he uses, realizing I have no idea.
“Very far away.” Valen looks pointedly up, and I squint, trying to understand what he means.
Sighing, he leads me back inside, knowing the blanket isn’t enough to keep me warm much longer. We sit next to each other on the couch but with enough space between us that we aren’t touching.
“When my sister went missing, I knew it was up to me to locate her.” Sadness creeps into his eyes, and I resist the temptation to curl around him to give him some comfort. “The last place she was seen was on Earth, and naturally, I came to find her. She and I were members of an elite squadron where we were from, and her absence was noticeable.”
“I hate to sound like a broken record, but where are you from?” I prod, hoping I’m not being too pushy.
Valen, who’s normally statue still, seems to find it difficult to sit still now. I’m just about to tell him it’s okay and he doesn’t have to tell me when he opens his mouth.
