Annabelle ♡ Regulus Black ♡

CHAPTER FOURTY TWO

(Guys we are back to Annabelle's pov) 

A loud voice jolts me awake. "Yo, Black! Up and at 'em, buddy. Gonna sleep through breakfast?" A soft groan resonates beside my ear, and my eyes snap wide open. I find myself staring into a necklace that dangles from his chest—a black rose, strikingly similar to the one I possess.

"Buzz off, Rosier," Regulus mumbles, his gravelly morning voice making me shiver, as I feel his chest rumble against mine due to our proximity. 

Rosier cackles. "Ooh, who ya got in there with ya? Must be someone special if you're letting them sleep over." his tone teasing.

"I swear, Rosier, if I get up from my bed, it will not end well for you," Regulus retorts, a threat laced with the irritation of being disturbed. "Alright, alright, no need to get your knickers in a twist." Rosier's mischievous laughter fades down the hall.

Regulus turns his attention to me, "I am sorry he woke you up," His fingers comb back the tangled hair from my face, and in a fluid, gentle motion, his fingers become entangled in my hair, his large hands cupping my face. "It's okay," I whisper as I take a deep breath, inhaling the scent of clean linen and his earthy-musky mahogany cologne.

His fingers delicately guide my face until our eyes lock, and I'm caught in the depth of his gray eyes. His tousled hair and sleepy smile short circuit my brain, and maybe that's why I say what I say next, "In my dreams it was always my bed, but this isn't so bad either." His eyes blow wide and a blush, subtle as the first blush of dawn, paints his cheeks and neck. I clamp both hands over my mouth in horror. What is wrong with me?!

"What?" he utters, a mix of surprise and confusion, mirroring the whirlwind of thoughts in my own mind. Why on earth did I say that out loud? Panicking, I reply, "What?" It's a feeble attempt to recollect my scattered wits.

"You just sai...what?" he repeats, his mind seemingly as scattered as mine. An awkward laugh escapes me as I instinctively shield my burning face with my hands. "Um...just pretend you didn't hear that," I mumble through my fingers, the desire to vanish into thin air growing with each passing second.

Peeking between my fingers, I witness his cheeks tinted with a rosy hue, his attempts to articulate met with an equal struggle. Apparently, my sleepy musings managed to throw us both into a state of disarray.

"I, uh..." he starts, a throat-clearing precursor to the attempt to piece together coherent thoughts. "Well, that's...certainly a mental image I won't forget anytime soon."

"Ugghhh," I groan, pulling the blanket over my head in a futile attempt to hide from the mortification. "Let's just rewind to five minutes ago, when I wasn't making a complete fool of myself."

A deep chuckle interrupts my self-imposed exile. He pulls the blanket off my face and I look at him sheepishly, as he smiles at me, his amused eyes crinkle at the corners. "It wasn't so bad," he cradles my jaw, "Kind of nice knowing it wasn't only my dreams getting out of hand." He winks, and my heart cartwheels. Maybe this hot mess has potential after all?

My face burns hotter than lava. "Yeah, uh, I should probably get going..." I start to slide out of his bed.

His hand darts out, fingertips grazing my wrist. A shiver races down my spine as his touch ignites a fire within me. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, princess."

I freeze, pulse kicking into a rapid rhythm. "Why not?"

He grins crookedly, a mischievous spark dancing in his eyes. "You are in a Slytherin's dorm room, to be precise, in my bed. If you leave now, people will know. Do you want people to know, Darling?" The use of the nickname, uttered with a mysterious lilt, sends subtle shivers through me, and I shake my head no.