Reese went to David, curious.
David sighed when he saw the expression on Reese’s face. “You know I don’t sleep well, and I don’t want to wake you. You both have a lot of sleep to catch up on.”
Reese was pleased that David, on some level,didwant to sleep with them. Had thought about it. Reese didn’t point out he was likely to wake up regardless of where David slept, as proven earlier.
He skimmed his hand down David’s arm. “Okay.”
David looked surprised.
Mati had probably made a run at convincing him, but she hadn’t seen David’s face when he’d been trapped in his nightmare. Or felt how desperately he’d clung to Reese after. Reese wasn’t going to ask him to do anything that might make his already fragile sleep harder, or more painful.
He considered giving David a kiss goodnight on his cheek. His lips. But he didn’t know if that would be welcome. They’d had sex, by some definition, but affectionate kisses maybe weren’t what David wanted from them.
Even if Reesedidwant that.
He turned to Mati, who lay in bed waiting for him—an idea he wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to. Matilda Viveiros was waiting in bed,for him.And he loved her. Wasinlove with her, and while she probably wasn’t in love with him, she did love him in some way. He had to believe that years of trust and friendship, and the kind of chemistry that had exploded all over the couch—and in his pants, for Christ’s sake—meant the possibility for more.
He was certain about what he wanted, yet he was less sure-footed than he could ever remember being. And never in his wildest dreams had he thought he’drelishit. He didn’t want to run and hide. He didn’t want to go home. He wanted to stay with Mati, who made him feel certain. And with David, who made him feel safe.
He also wanted to talk to someone about all this. He needed a sounding board to bounce all the crazy ideas in his head off and get an honest response. Mati was often that person for him, but she, for obvious reasons, was out. And Reese would rather stick a hot poker in his eye than talk about sex with Hodges.
That left Rupert, whose head was going to explode.
Reese barely resisted rubbing his palms together with glee. He fished his cell phone off the bedside table and sent a text.
I need to talk to you. There’s a man…and Mati.
Reese could only imagine what Rupert would think of that, but for now, he was satisfied he’d started the conversation.
Sort of.
Cheap springs creaked under David’s weight, the mid-mattress support bar no-doubt digging into David’s back. Reese hated how uncomfortable that thing probably was, and how much poorer David’s sleep would be for it. He was practically gagging on the urge to ask David to join them as he lay down.
Mati lay facing him, a small smile on her lips.
“Good night,” she said, sliding her hand across the space between them.
Reese kissed her palm and held it to his chest. “Good night.”
David’s voice was low and soft. “Sweet dreams.”
Being this close to Mati, with David only a few feet away, there was little Reese’s dreams could come up with that would be sweeter than this.
Certainly, David’s dreams that night didn’t come close.
The first time Reese woke, he heard the squeak of springs and went to David’s side, fully aware, now, of the risk of doing anything to disturb him. It was entirely possible David would react more severely than he had last time, but Reese didn’t care as long as David would be freed from whatever dream held him in its grip.
Reese put a hand on David’s arm and he stopped moving, but his breathing was still too fast, his face screwed up in pain or fear. Reese rubbed his palm over David’s arm from the edge of his t-shirt to his elbow, enjoying the smooth skin and listening closely. He noticed the fleece pajama bottoms David had been wearing earlier were now draped over the foot of the bed and wondered idly what David had on under the sheets. He didn’t peek, of course, and he didn’t stop rubbing until David’s breaths evened out and he melted back into the mattress.
When Reese returned to his bed, he picked up his phone and saw it was after midnight. He snorted at the text from Rupert.
Mati is seeing someone?
Rupert was making a perfectly logical assumption. Reese was going to enjoy disabusing him of that assumption more than he should. Even half asleep, he was grinning as he typed his reply.
Yes. I am too. His name is David.
When Reese got up at three o’clock to soothe David again, there was another text from Rupert.
