The Unexpected Journey- A Sterek Novella

5. Passion and Shadows

Stiles awoke slowly, hanging onto those brief moments between sleep and awake when everything with the world seemed right and nothing could harm him. He felt a cocoon of warmth enveloping him and instinctively snuggled into it, hoping to stay asleep just a little bit longer. As the haze of sleep dissipated he became increasingly aware of strange bits of reality seeping into his consciousness. He felt a hand on his chest that didn't belong to him, his back was pressed into something solid in his bed, and as the last clinging tendrils of sleep drifted away he was suddenly aware of a warm breath on the back his neck giving him goose bumps.

                Stiles tensed as he came fully awake and realized he was lying on his side with someone pressed up against him, well more like wrapped around him if he was honest. Arms surrounded him; one was on his chest with a hand over his heart that was beginning to beat wildly, while the other lay across his stomach, so low a thumb was hooked in the waistband of his jeans. Stiles legs were folded and entwined with another pair, one heavy jeans clad leg thrown casually over his. He tilted his head to stare at his own hand resting calmly on the one over his heart and started counting fingers. After reaching ten, every time, three times in a row, he realized he really was awake and he really was in bed with Derek snuggled up to him intimately.

                Stiles knew without looking behind him it was Derek. He saw the corded muscles in the arms around him, the light dusting of black hairs on his arms glinting in the morning light, but what convinced him the most was the scent of earth, dark green and rich, mingled with a musk that only belonged to Derek. It was so strong laying here next to him, Stiles wondered if he had developed his own wolf-y sense of smell overnight.

                Stiles brain frantically ran through a multitude of scenarios that would have ended up with him waking up in this situation, but none of them made sense because he would only get the idea halfway formed before his brain would just randomly scream at him, 'Derek Hale is in my bed... with me!'.

                He tried to move as carefully as he could to try and extract himself before Derek woke up but as soon as he made the slightest movement Derek's arms tightened around him and pulled him in impossibly closer. The breath on the back of Stiles neck sent shivers down his spine as Derek nuzzled into his neck until Stiles could feel Derek's lips actually brush against his neck making the hairs there stand on end.

                Stiles was at a loss on what to do. He wasn't sure he was ready to face a confrontation with Derek about what this meant. What was he doing here? What was he doing in my bed? ... 'Oh my God,' his brain hit a brick wall and ceased to process any thought other than he could suddenly feel where Derek's hips pressed into his, an obvious bulge was forming and pushing against his back through his jeans.

                Stiles' was unable to keep the startled squeak that built in the back of his throat from slipping past his lips at that awareness. The arms cradling him suddenly tensed at the sound and the air in the room thickened with tension as Stiles realized the sound must have woke Derek up.

Neither one of them moved.

Stiles was afraid to speak, not knowing what he would say even if he did.

Derek woke with a start at the stressed sound so close to his ears, and instinctively tensed waiting to figure out what had made it. His brain quickly caught up with the situation and he realized he must have been so drained from trying to bring Stiles out of his nightmares he must have fallen asleep and now Stiles was awake and there was no way he was going to be able to sneak out of his room with none the wiser this time. Stiles was ridged in his arms afraid to move obviously, and who could blame him since Derek had his damn morning wood pressed so tightly against him there was no way Stiles had missed it. Derek realized how tight he was holding onto Stiles and knew he should let go immediately, but for some reason he couldn't make himself do it.