Sleepwalker Wolf

Accidental I Love Yous

Travis

The nurses came to check on me a few times during the night, trying their best not to wake me, but my instincts are on high alert after being injured. I almost growled and snapped at them the first few times until I was able to calm myself down. Val didn't rouse once. Her head stayed nestled against my shoulder the whole night. It wasn't until after I got used to the nurse's frequent visits that I was able to fall into a deep sleep.

I wake how I end up most mornings, soft fingers in my hair and my nose tucked between my two favorite things. The only difference is that my legs are resting flat on the bed instead of wrapped around my girl.

Looking down at my bum leg, I glare, angry that it's keeping me from a proper wake up. Val laughs softly from just above me, carding her fingers through my hair again. When I glance up at her, she looks rested, but still a little worn. Guilt ripples through me, knowing it's my fault.

"Believe me, you tried to wrap that leg around me. I had to pin it down. You kept whining in your sleep," she whispers.

"Well, of course I tried. Waking up wrapped around you is one of my favorite things," I whisper back, nuzzling my nose back between her breasts.

"Trav, we should probably talk about what happened on the phone the other day," Val murmurs in a vulnerable, unsteady voice, her fingers reburying in my hair to hold my face against her chest.

Sighing, I press my fingers into her back, so she won't be able to get away if she reacts badly to what I say. "It was an accident, but..." I trail off and take a deep breath. It's more nerve-wracking to say than I expected it to be. "It wasn't untrue. I'm pretty sure I love you."

Val gasps and tenses in my arms. I'm waiting for the sting, for her to tell me she can't say the words or that she doesn't love me yet. I know she cares for me, and I understand that it's difficult for her to express it due to her childhood, but it won't make it hurt any less. There isn't much that can make knowing the woman I love doesn't love me back make that little hole in the pit of my stomach go away.

Pulling my face away from her, Val looks down at me with pensive eyes, like she's trying to read my mind. "I'm pretty sure I love you too."

After that, my mind goes a little numb. I had fully prepared myself for rejection, I'm left with not knowing what step to take with the knowledge she did love me. My chest feels tight and there is an embarrassing sting in my eyes from the warmth that floods to the tips of my fingers.

"Are you going to say something or just stare at me?" Val asks, her voice a little irritated.

I study her a little, taking in the little bird's nest on the side of her head from sleeping in one position all night and the way her eyes look like pools of gold and copper in the morning light. As I do, a slow grin pulls at my lips. I crane my neck up to capture her lips with mine, trying to show her just how much I love her.

Between kisses, I growl, "Stupid... goddamn... leg!"

She laughs, the sound like warm honey on my senses. "I know, sweets, but there's be no twisting in the sheets until after your better. You were shot yesterday, it's totally okay to take it easy for a while."

I grump for a moment before remembering that we were planning on going to Libby in a couple days. Now because of some stupid hunters and my stupid self, it's unlikely I'll be able to go. There's no doubt in my mind that Val will go whether I'm with her or not, even though I would prefer she waited a couple more weeks until I could go with. Just thinking about her in a town with wolves I don't know and possibly meeting the man who abandoned her as a child has me growling low in my throat.