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Purple.

Green.

Purple.

Green.

I’m on the dance floor but where is Dalton?

The bass of the music pumps through my body.

Too loud.

So disorienting.

I’m in a bathroom and everything is spinning.

I stumble.

Water.

I need to splash water on my face.

Someone else is here.

I can’t see them.

“Lennon.”

My eyes snap open and a quiet gasp slips past my lips, heart thundering in my chest. The dream bleeds into reality as I stare up at the industrial ceiling of my bedroom. In my apartment.

I’m home.

I’m safe.

God, that felt so real.

But I have no idea if I’m remembering things from that night or if my poor brain is just trying to process the whole damn thing. I release a breath and thread my fingers through my hair, giving it a tug.

This whole damn thing is maddening.

I suck in another breath and turn my head. Dalton is sleeping peacefully beside me, one arm under my neck and the other thrown across my belly.

I smile, rolling toward him.

He looks so different like this. When Dalton is awake, there is an edge to him. He’s always on alert, always scanning each room we walk into, looking for a threat that usually doesn’t exist. But in sleep, he looks so much younger, so carefree and I long to see more of this side of him. It’s come out a few times when he’s feeling playful but I want more. As I watch him sleep, I reach up and gently trail my fingers down his cheek and over his jaw. He releases a breath and the arm around my belly tightens, pulling me closer, but he doesn’t wake.

I won’t ever admit this to him but I’m glad he was here last night.

Not because I needed him here to protect me.

Okay, maybe a little because of that.

But also because for the first time since Wednesday night at Voodoo, I finally got to relax without looking over my shoulder.

We ended up ordering Chinese and watching bad movies, laughing and making fun of the terrible plot points until both of our stomachs hurt. Our laughter somehow turned into making out on my couch like a couple of horny teenagers. Then, Dalton carried me to bed and fucked me like I was the only woman on the planet, or the only woman in his eyes, at least. I felt completely worshipped, adored and thoroughly satisfied.

Something I can’t remember ever feeling before.