Evolution

Chapter Thirty Four: Bitten

Jesse
Any minute now, I was going to have to get up and remove myself from the woman sound asleep on my chest. I didn't want to move, I didn't want to disturb her.
I traced the tips of my fingers down the soft tan skin of her arm, starting at her shoulder, moving to her petite hand on my sternum. Her breathing was slow, slower than I had ever seen it before. Every time that I had focused on her breathing, it was shallow, fast, absent. On some of those occasions, I found myself wondering if it were because of me being so close to her.

Light poured from the small triangle window a few feet off of my feet. It was nearing six in the morning, which meant I would need to be dressed, hustling all of the others out the door within an hour. Thankfully, the sun was on our side for the final day of our journey.

Regrettably, I shifted my shoulders, hopeful that I could squeeze myself out from Morgan's grip before she would wake, but she was vigilant, even in her sleep.

Her eyelids began to twitch, her fingers stretching out on my bare chest.

The more I moved, the quicker she woke.

"Sorry" I grumbled as she leaned up on her elbows

She gave a yawn and rubbed her eyes, erasing the night. She hadn't slept the way she had last night in years, I could see that.

"What time is it?" She groaned, squinting at me

"Time to go" I replied, running a hand over the side of my face, my eyes tracing involuntarily down her neck where the edge of her shirt remained.

Suddenly, her eyebrows creased as she sat up, arching her back forward

"What the matter?"

"I don't think my body is used to sleeping for such prolonged periods of time" She told me, tilting her head towards me over her shoulder.
I wished I could pull her back down with me, feel her fingers against my skin, in my hair. I wished we could relive the night, the night that had ended in us falling asleep on a dusty duvet on the attic floor twisted together as we fought self-control.

"You fell asleep pretty early" I told her, standing, searching for my t-shirt

"It's weird" She mumbled, pulling her hair up with her hands, twisting the loose strands into a high ponytail.
I forced my eyes away from her, each movement she made sending a rush of adrenaline through my body.

I pulled my shirt over my head and pulled my boots back onto my feet.
Morgan stood against the small triangle window, her face peering out into the sunrise. She gave a sigh.
I slowly moved towards her, wrapping my arms around her, burying my face into her neck. Her skin was warm, supple and smooth. I closed my eyes, wondering how I had ended up in the position I was now in.

I was entranced by a woman that I had not yet slept with, a woman that I had met under such unusual circumstances. What I found even more so difficult to understand, was that I didn't care about sleeping with her, I didn't care, just being near her, it made me feel things that I hadn't ever felt before.

"Jesse?" She asked, tracing her fingertips over my arms around her waist

I gave a small nod in response

"I don't know if I'm going to cope when I'm in this new Canadian camp"

"Whys that?"

She shrugged against me "I don't do well around people if you haven't already noticed"

I pulled my arms from her, gently turning her around to face me "If you haven't yet noticed, you aren't the woman you were when we first met, you've broken your own rules, even your own most cardinal rule, remember?"