The Return
Page 29
“What…what did I say?” I asked.
His eyes held mine for a moment, and then they drifted shut. “Nothing,” he murmured.
And he didn’t say anything after that. Neither did I. Remaining quiet, I kept still as I watched him until I knew he was asleep, because his face relaxed and his lips parted. And I kept watching him. In his sleep, he looked…he looked young. Vulnerable. Not normal, because even at rest, there was an unreal quality in the angles and planes of his face, but… I didn’t know. He looked different. Still insanely good-looking, but there was a quality of humanity there, and that was a relief to see, especially because I knew my life was literally in his hands.
Chapter 10
MIRACULOUSLY, I actually dozed off during what was probably the epitome of creepy behavior—a.k.a. staring at Seth while he slept. If being a creeper was an Olympic sport, watching someone while they slept was gold-medal worthy.
I only realized I’d fallen asleep when I blinked—or at least that was how it felt—and the soft glow of morning was filtering in through the partially opened curtains.
Huh. Hadn’t they been closed when I was all but catapulted into the bed? And my pillow really sucked. It was as hard as a bag of rocks, but incredibly smooth. The pillow had a weird beat, too.
Pillows didn’t beat.
My pulse accelerated as I really became aware of my surroundings and who, and not what, I was lying on. Seth. And I wasn’t really lying on him. I was completely tangled up in him. My head was on his chest and my right arm was curled against his trim side, and my other hand was resting on the hard slab of his lower stomach. One of my legs was under his, the other curled around the top and somehow shoved between his. My thigh was really close to a part of him that it had no business being that close to.
Oh wow.
One of his hands was tangled in my hair, that must’ve come undone at some point, and somehow I’d ended up under the covers, which was not how I’d fallen asleep. So at some point, he’d tugged the covers up. How embarrassing. Because it was so obvious I’d rolled onto him and turned into a clinging parasite during my sleep.
Crap.
His chest rose and fell under my cheek in deep, steady waves. He was still asleep, so I needed to somehow disentangle myself before he woke up and discovered that I was using him as my personal Pillow Pet.
Man, I missed the Pillow Pet I’d had growing up. I’d had a ladybug that I’d taken everywhere with me, even to the lake. I’d had it with me once when Bob had showed up, and he’d stared at that thing like it was some sort of mystical creature. I wondered if my grandparents still had it stowed away—okay, who cared about the stupid Pillow Pet? Rolling my eyes, I told myself to focus. But how in the world was I going to move his hand? Or get my leg out from under his? Or not accidentally knee him in the—
A throat cleared softly.
My heart skipped a beat as my gaze darted around the room, landing on the tall, dark-skinned girl sitting in the chair in front of the desk.
Oh gosh.
Erin sat there, arms folded over her chest. She looked normal, like the girl I’d met two years ago when I shuffled into my dorm for the first time, wishing I’d had my Pillow Pet with me. There were no leathery wings or all-white eyeballs. Her skin was smooth and flawless, not charcoal gray, and her fingers weren’t sharpened into deadly claws. She looked human. Our eyes met, and my stomach hollowed as I stared at her. Everything she had told me was a lie.
“Weeell,” Erin drew the word out as she hooked one slender leg over the other. “I’d heard about his reputation, but I have to admit, I didn’t think he was this good.”
For a moment, I didn’t get what she was suggesting, then I remembered where I was and who I was lying on. Ah, awkward.
“This isn’t what it looks like.” I started to sit up, but the hand that had been in my hair slipped down the curve of my back in a slow slide that caused my breath to hitch and my toes to curl.
“It’s totally what it looks like,” came the deep voice.
Erin arched a brow.
My head whipped around. Seth gave me a lazy grin from where his head was propped up on the pillows. “You’re awake!”
“I have been.”
“For a while,” Erin added, and I twisted back to her. “We were debating on waking you up or not. Especially when you were making those noises.”
“Noises?”
Seth’s hand was a heavy weight on the side of my stomach. “Yeah, it was kind of like little whimpers.”
Heat blasted my cheeks. “I d-don’t make noises when I sleep.”
“Yes, you do.” Erin tapped her fingers on the arm of the chair. “Kind of like what a baby kitten sounds like.”
My mouth dropped open.
She shrugged. “It’s cute.”
It was mortifying.
Planting my hand on Seth’s stomach, I pushed up. His stomach didn’t give an inch. It was like pushing on a wall. Gathering up the edges of the robe, I scooted to the far side of the bed.
Seth sat up, stretching his arms above his head. Joints cracked as he twisted at the waist. As he lowered his arms, his lazy gaze swept over me, lingering where my hands clutched the robe, and then moved to where Erin sat. Then he said, “I’m hungry.” He looked at me, sleep clinging to the relaxed line of his jaw. “You hungry?”
I was always hungry, so I nodded.
“Perfect.” He swung his legs off the bed and stretched again. This time, when he raised his arms, his shirt rode up. Not that I hadn’t seen it all when he’d paraded around shirtless before, but the glimpse of hard abs still caught my attention.
His eyes held mine for a moment, and then they drifted shut. “Nothing,” he murmured.
And he didn’t say anything after that. Neither did I. Remaining quiet, I kept still as I watched him until I knew he was asleep, because his face relaxed and his lips parted. And I kept watching him. In his sleep, he looked…he looked young. Vulnerable. Not normal, because even at rest, there was an unreal quality in the angles and planes of his face, but… I didn’t know. He looked different. Still insanely good-looking, but there was a quality of humanity there, and that was a relief to see, especially because I knew my life was literally in his hands.
Chapter 10
MIRACULOUSLY, I actually dozed off during what was probably the epitome of creepy behavior—a.k.a. staring at Seth while he slept. If being a creeper was an Olympic sport, watching someone while they slept was gold-medal worthy.
I only realized I’d fallen asleep when I blinked—or at least that was how it felt—and the soft glow of morning was filtering in through the partially opened curtains.
Huh. Hadn’t they been closed when I was all but catapulted into the bed? And my pillow really sucked. It was as hard as a bag of rocks, but incredibly smooth. The pillow had a weird beat, too.
Pillows didn’t beat.
My pulse accelerated as I really became aware of my surroundings and who, and not what, I was lying on. Seth. And I wasn’t really lying on him. I was completely tangled up in him. My head was on his chest and my right arm was curled against his trim side, and my other hand was resting on the hard slab of his lower stomach. One of my legs was under his, the other curled around the top and somehow shoved between his. My thigh was really close to a part of him that it had no business being that close to.
Oh wow.
One of his hands was tangled in my hair, that must’ve come undone at some point, and somehow I’d ended up under the covers, which was not how I’d fallen asleep. So at some point, he’d tugged the covers up. How embarrassing. Because it was so obvious I’d rolled onto him and turned into a clinging parasite during my sleep.
Crap.
His chest rose and fell under my cheek in deep, steady waves. He was still asleep, so I needed to somehow disentangle myself before he woke up and discovered that I was using him as my personal Pillow Pet.
Man, I missed the Pillow Pet I’d had growing up. I’d had a ladybug that I’d taken everywhere with me, even to the lake. I’d had it with me once when Bob had showed up, and he’d stared at that thing like it was some sort of mystical creature. I wondered if my grandparents still had it stowed away—okay, who cared about the stupid Pillow Pet? Rolling my eyes, I told myself to focus. But how in the world was I going to move his hand? Or get my leg out from under his? Or not accidentally knee him in the—
A throat cleared softly.
My heart skipped a beat as my gaze darted around the room, landing on the tall, dark-skinned girl sitting in the chair in front of the desk.
Oh gosh.
Erin sat there, arms folded over her chest. She looked normal, like the girl I’d met two years ago when I shuffled into my dorm for the first time, wishing I’d had my Pillow Pet with me. There were no leathery wings or all-white eyeballs. Her skin was smooth and flawless, not charcoal gray, and her fingers weren’t sharpened into deadly claws. She looked human. Our eyes met, and my stomach hollowed as I stared at her. Everything she had told me was a lie.
“Weeell,” Erin drew the word out as she hooked one slender leg over the other. “I’d heard about his reputation, but I have to admit, I didn’t think he was this good.”
For a moment, I didn’t get what she was suggesting, then I remembered where I was and who I was lying on. Ah, awkward.
“This isn’t what it looks like.” I started to sit up, but the hand that had been in my hair slipped down the curve of my back in a slow slide that caused my breath to hitch and my toes to curl.
“It’s totally what it looks like,” came the deep voice.
Erin arched a brow.
My head whipped around. Seth gave me a lazy grin from where his head was propped up on the pillows. “You’re awake!”
“I have been.”
“For a while,” Erin added, and I twisted back to her. “We were debating on waking you up or not. Especially when you were making those noises.”
“Noises?”
Seth’s hand was a heavy weight on the side of my stomach. “Yeah, it was kind of like little whimpers.”
Heat blasted my cheeks. “I d-don’t make noises when I sleep.”
“Yes, you do.” Erin tapped her fingers on the arm of the chair. “Kind of like what a baby kitten sounds like.”
My mouth dropped open.
She shrugged. “It’s cute.”
It was mortifying.
Planting my hand on Seth’s stomach, I pushed up. His stomach didn’t give an inch. It was like pushing on a wall. Gathering up the edges of the robe, I scooted to the far side of the bed.
Seth sat up, stretching his arms above his head. Joints cracked as he twisted at the waist. As he lowered his arms, his lazy gaze swept over me, lingering where my hands clutched the robe, and then moved to where Erin sat. Then he said, “I’m hungry.” He looked at me, sleep clinging to the relaxed line of his jaw. “You hungry?”
I was always hungry, so I nodded.
“Perfect.” He swung his legs off the bed and stretched again. This time, when he raised his arms, his shirt rode up. Not that I hadn’t seen it all when he’d paraded around shirtless before, but the glimpse of hard abs still caught my attention.
