Page 56 of Fractured Fate

Aiden didn’t even believe in hell, but if it existed, this was it. It was the only way to describe his predicament.

At some point in the night, Charlotte had kicked the covers off and buried him in them—which had him sweating and sticking to the sheets. Not how he wanted to wake up from yet another nightmare.

But that wasn’t even the worst part.

She apparently became possessed in her sleep. Currently, he had five tiny toes with pastel purple nail polish in his face. She lay turned with her head at the foot of the bed, one arm on the bed above her head, the other hanging off the end. Her legs were spread eagle, with one across his chest placing her foot in his face, while the other foot rested on her pillow.

He attempted to shift away, but she kicked her foot out, jamming her toes into his nose. He had to bite the inside of his lip and grit his teeth to keep from yelling out and waking her.

He lifted his hand and gently gripped her foot to avoid another incident, moving it from his face so he could slide out of bed. Placing her foot on his pillow, he stretched, making his back pop.

Her thrashing in her sleep had pulled aside the curtain on the bedroom window, allowing ambient moonlight to illuminate the bed.

The apartment felt cooler than it did earlier when they were awake. With the lights off, and the lack of activity, the air conditioning didn’t have to work as hard to cool the space. Still, being buried under an entire comforter and the matching sheets next to another heat-generating person had his skin soaked. Sweat ran down his spine.

He crept on silent feet to the bathroom so as not to wake her and closed the door behind him before turning on the light, squinting as he adjusted to the sudden brightness.

After relieving himself of his full bladder, he moved to the sink. Splashing water on his face, he peered into the mirror, checking his nose for blood. The girl had one hell of a kick. He wondered if she played soccer back in high school.

Shaking the thoughts, he dried his face and took in his surroundings.

She kept her bathroom neat and tidy. The counter space didn’t compare to what the larger ensuite bathrooms Blackthorn Academy gave their students. The space accommodated only a sparkly toothbrush holder, a wide-tooth comb, a few hair ties, and a small black bag adorned with silver stars and moons, which he assumed contained cosmetics. A purple hairdryer hooked over the towel rack had a strange round attachment on the end like a trumpet with teeth. He wondered what she used it for.

He folded the towel he used for his face and put it over the larger towel on the rack to keep her space neat. The black towels matched both the cosmetic bag and the shower curtain, which had the same silver celestial design. Even the toilet seat cover and floor mat were black.

When he helped her move in months ago, he noticed her penchant for celestial decorations. Even her comforter followed the same stylistic choice in black with white moons, planets, and constellations.

The entire apartment held her personal touch, and he hated that someone had violated her space even a little.

Tomorrow, he needed to revisit the conversation about returning home. It wasn’t like she couldn’t get a place in Rosebrook Valley and give it her personal touch. Hopefully tomorrow she would be in better spirits to have that conversation.

Either way, if he wasn’t returning home straight away, he needed to find a local clinic with Vasirian on staff. He hadn’t had blood since before the drive up to Athens yesterday morning. He’d never gone twenty-four hours without blood, and it would push his limits to wait, but she needed him.

He rubbed his tired eyes. He needed a decent night’s sleep. It wasn’t even her fault. If he hadn’t had the nightmare, he wouldn’t have stirred at all, even with her thrashing.

Turning off the light, he returned to bed.

Charlotte had moved from her position and now was at risk of rolling off his side of the bed.

Scooping her up bridal style, he put a knee on the bed and leaned down to place her gently on her side of the bed, brushing a few curls from her face as he released her.

He stood, looking down at her sleeping form.

She looked beautiful lying beneath the moonlight, her fair skin on display in her dainty sleepwear. He didn’t think she wore it because of him, but more to stave off the heat.

His eyes trailed down across her hip and over the expanse of her legs, giving her his appreciative perusal like she’d given him earlier.

If he were more poetic, he could articulate how lovely she looked in that moment, but the best his sleep-deprived brain could conjure was how her skin looked smooth and decadent—like the filling of a Cadbury Creme Egg.

He immediately cringed at the thought. Not creepy and inaccurate at all. His stomach growled, and he rolled his eyes.

Riley had given him a Cadbury Egg from her candy stash before he made the drive north, and now his stomach hijacked his fatigued mind. Great.

Charlotte’s skin was smooth, yes, but it looked nothing like yellowy goo.

Pushing aside the ridiculous thoughts, he fixed the twisted bedding and climbed beneath, gaze drifting around the moonlit bedroom.

As soon as his head hit the pillow, she shifted and threw her arm across his chest, hitching her leg over his hip.