Page 52 of Delirium
I rolled over to the other side of the bed, only to see him sitting in the chair by the window, his eyes closed, but his entire body strung high, as if even in his sleep he couldn’t relax.
The moonlight shone from the outside, illuminating his naked torso and the gray sweatpants he wore, my mouth watering at the mere sight of him. What we did earlier in the shower maybe shouldn’t have happened, but God, I was tired of trying to run away from him.
I was tired of trying to forget how he made me feel.
Earlier, I remembered what it was like letting myself belong to him. I remembered how safe I felt in his arms, but I still couldn’t forget what he did and how he made me feel, no matter what the reason behind his actions was.
But I couldn’t leave.
Nova’s words rang inside my mind, reminding me that Belladonna wasn’t just after me. She was after my kids. While it only made sense that they weren’t safe while they were cocooned inside my womb, it didn’t register before that they were in as much danger as I was.
I hated admitting that I needed Storm for protection.
If it was only me in danger right now, I would get out of this bed and walk out of here, creating some much-needed space between the two of us. But it wasn’t about me. It wasn’t even about Storm, and I needed him as much as he needed me to get through all of this.
His words from earlier reminded me that I was his as much as he was mine. Maybe we had a long road ahead of us, but all our differences would need to wait until this mess was cleared up. I wasn’t going to just forgive and forget, but I had to swallow my pride and stay.
Now with Nova gone, I doubted that we would be facing the same things again, but we still needed to talk without shouting, without other people there, just the two of us and our truths.
“Storm.” I called out to him, getting up into a seated position.
Sheets wrapped around me, covering my bare legs, but he didn’t move. Didn’t even stir.
I wanted to laugh, because I was sure he stayed in the room to protect me, but he was in a deeper slumber than I was.
“Storm!” I called out louder. His eyes shot open, and he almost jumped out of the chair.
“Wha-what!” He stood up, grabbing the gun that lay on the side table.
The laughter tore from my lungs, my entire body shaking at the comical expression on his face. Sleep still lingered around his eyes, the exhaustion heavy on his shoulders, but he still jumped up, protecting me as if there was anything to protect me from.
“You should see the look on your face.” I chuckled.
“Not funny,” he grunted, lowering the gun as he realized that there was nothing to be afraid of. “I had such a good dream.”
“Weren’t you supposed to protect me?”
“I fell asleep, okay? You tired me out.” He looked at me, and walked toward the bed, lowering himself down right next to me. “Are you okay?”
Nodding, I answered, “Yeah. Just hungry I guess.”
He removed the covers from me and pulled my legs into his lap.
“What are you doing?” I asked, looking at him warily.
His thumbs dug into the sole of my foot, almost immediately finding the little knots aching under the pressure.
“If you keep doing this, I might never leave,” I blurted out, succumbing to the pleasure ricocheting through my body.
“That’s the plan,” he grumbled. “I don’t want you to leave.”
“Storm—”
“No, no, hear me out,” he said, looking straight at me. “I know what we discussed. I hear you and I know you need space from me, but…” he trailed off. “What Nova said about Belladonna being after our kids, it fucking scares me, Sunshine. I know you can take care of yourself, and I know you don’t need me for protection, but I’m begging you to stay here until all of this is over.”
The sincerity shining from his eyes brought me to my knees—both figuratively and literally.
I pulled my foot from him and climbed on my knees closer to him.
