WMMAP - [S2] Shelter You

58: Tender Respite

Lucas' POV continues

That moment, I knew why didn't I jump and started throwing hands when I felt something around my neck.

Maybe because I knew it wasn't a knot, but it a pair of tiny arms.

Maybe it was because I was getting familiar with how these hands held me down and I felt safer with them around.

Maybe it was the way I heard the voice, my name in whisper.

It was soft... So quiet... So calming...

Maybe it was because I knew it was just her above me.

It was just Athy... I forgot she existed for a moment...

How did my mind keep wandering?

Maybe it's because I still couldn't tell the difference between reality and dream.

I ran my palm up and down her shoulder, gently rubbing, wanting to add more warmth for her. And to see if I could touch her. If she did not disappear like one of my dreams.

Right here... Our skins touched. Naked. Nothing separated us.

She was warm. I could feel her heart on my chest, beating, normally. Mine was rapid. So fast, so loud, that I felt my whole body shaking with every jump.

Her arms around my neck was like a leash on a dog. She loved to treat me like a dog sometimes, but I didn't dislike it...

Her skin was still somewhat cold, but I felt her hot breaths on my neck. It tickled for each breath she took...

I leaned down to kiss the top of her head, just to make sure that this wasn't a dream. My lips touched her hair, messy and adorable, and I knew I wasn't dreaming when she stirred a little from it. Her face pressed up against my cheek.

Her arms tightened and I... I felt my eyes softened at this moment... It made me relax into her arms further and further.

This was the closest we held each other by far. By far, the most worn-out, but I still could manage just fine.

Except for the burn forearms and back from the scratches. She could have ripped my flesh open.

But she had her fair share of my fangs and claws. She totally was asking for it this time.

I wasn't stupid to not know that she, from time to time, would Use me to tire herself out. Those time were when she either engaged or responded to me.

This time, though... It was Different.

It was an invitation... Or a challenge that said, "Show me what you're capable of."

Oh man...

The restraint, the chain that I allowed myself to break for her.

I could break her. Really. I could. This insatiable lust I had for her could break her. That why I had always held back.

I would still do.

Just a while ago, before she fell asleep on top of me, I still remember clearly... I mean...

How could I forget the way her eyes shone? It was bright even though the room was so dark. There was something so special about her eyes that I could keep staring until I saw my own reflection in there.

Her small hand touched my cheek and it shook me a bit. It caught me off guard because I was busy staring.

I wasn't sure what I was seeing, because as i said earlier, the room was dark, but her tiring smile, the bang that fell on her face shaped her face into... A much more... Older... Wait no... I would say Mature feature... A bit different. I couldn't explain how could the same person give out different vibe.