“It was a nightmare,” I told him.
He nodded, his head tilting to the side. I could feel his worry. It was in the gentleness of his touch and the brightness of his blue eyes.
“I’m okay.” I wiped my hair back from my face as my breath shuddered. “I promise. I’m all right.” I swallowed, looking past him because looking him in the eye was difficult. “I have them all the time. Nightmares. I know I shouldn’t. It’s over, and I should be grateful.”
Jinx’s hand curled around my jaw, and he turned my head so I was forced to meet his gaze. His mouth opened, and I thought for a second that words were going to come out, but they didn’t. I could tell he was at a loss because he wanted to ease my fear with his voice.
“I don’t need you to talk,” I assured him. “You’re here. That’s all I need.”
I proved it by sitting up again and sliding my arms around his neck. Slower now that the panic had abated. I held on tightly, letting his strength and heat wash away the last vestiges of the dream. I’d felt him in my dream. His presence had been reassuring even though I hadn’t realized he was there.
“Don’t go,” I whispered. “Stay with me, please.”
He nodded as he peeled my arms from around his neck and settled me back on the bed. He joined me, sliding his arm under my head so I could press up against him. I held on, afraid to let go.
Jinx kissed my forehead, and that was all it took. That sweet gesture sent a wash of warmth under my skin, replacing the bone-chilling cold of fear with something else.
“Stay here with me, Jinx,” I whispered, pressing a kiss to his chest.
His arm tightened under my head, and he pulled me closer.
I pressed another kiss to his chest, but I didn’t stop there. I couldn’t. Since our make-out session earlier, I’d wanted to feel more of him. But he’d been so gentle and sweet that I’d ended up leaving him, insisting I was tired. I’d been shocked by my feelings for him, surprised that I’d wanted what he was offering more than I’d ever wanted anything else. And I wasn’t talking about sex. I was referring to the intimacy that came with slowing down for a moment and just breathing. He’d forced me to do that by not allowing me to seduce him, and it had scared me. The intensity of what I’d felt had scared me.
I kissed along his collarbone, then up his neck, along his jaw, shifting so that I was practically covering him as I sought his mouth.
“Make love to me, Jinx.” I breathed the words between us, hoping he would feel my need, my desperation. It was a hunger, but not the same as what I usually felt. I wasn’t merely seeking an orgasm.
I wanted to feel him. I wanted to be as close to him as I could possibly be.
And I couldn’t wait any longer.
* * *
Jinx
I was falling.
That was the only way to describe the feeling of being with Laikyn. Like stepping off a platform at thirty thousand feet and being battered by the wind while your insides were topsy-turvy and you plunged headfirst toward the ground.
Only there was no fear of death, only a sweet rush from the adrenaline and the knowledge that everything was right in the world. If only for that one precious moment.
Crawling in bed with her hadn’t been my intention when I’d shot out of my bed at the piercing shrill of her scream. The sound had sent chills down my spine and put my body on high alert. I hadn’t thought about the danger as I bolted out of my room and across the hall to find her flailing on the bed, clearly trapped in a nightmare. It had taken what felt like an eternity to wake her, and for the first time in my life, I’d hated myself for being unable to speak. I’d tried to say her name, but the sounds never came, so I’d touched her, gently shaking her in an attempt to pull her out of it.
The sight of her tears had nearly ripped me in half, but then she threw her arms around my neck, and she managed to put me back together with her touch alone.
But this…
“Please, Jinx,” she whispered against my mouth. “I want to feel you.”
Walking away from her wasn’t an option. I would not allow her to think I didn’t want her because I did. And the thought of making love to her … it was the same rush as launching out of an airplane.
When her lips sealed to mine, I welcomed the kiss, sliding my tongue against hers as I slipped my hand under her tank top, slowly peeling it from her body as I shifted closer, hoping to soothe her with the heat of my body. She wasn’t trembling anymore, but I knew from experience that the nightmares lingered longer than you wanted. She was using me as a distraction, and I was okay with that.
I broke the kiss so she could pull the tank top over her head, my gaze sliding lower, over the rounded curve of her smooth shoulder, the swell of her breast, the peak of her nipple. Before I knew what I was doing, I cupped her breast, gently rolling her nipple between my thumb and forefinger.
I met her gaze, seeking permission as I leaned in.
“Yes,” Laikyn whispered, her hand on the back of my head as she urged me closer.
