Still Waters hide the deepest secrets

Jefferson

Dillon

I smile down at my sleeping mate. "How did she fall asleep like that?"

Shay shrugs, her eye never moving off the screen. "Don't know. Never seen her sleep til she came here."

"I don't think she slept much before she came here period," Oliver says.

"How do you figure?" I ask.

"She generally left the gym about midnight, and it was a half an hour walk to where I left her. School starts at 7, but I'm sure she walked, which means she had to up and out by six at the latest. That's max, five hours a night."

I frown, both at her treatment by her mother and the fact I hadn't noticed. "So, more realistically, three or four."

Oliver nods, "But it didn't seem to slow her down much. Maybe she doesn't need as much, her being a supernatural and all."

He's right, most of us supernatural beings required less sleep than ordinary people. But even so, she fell asleep in my arms in minutes.

"She trusts us," Jagger points out. "Enough to sleep in our arms."

"I hadn't thought about it that way," I tell him.

"Don't feel bad. This time I helped her," Jagger tells me.

"How?"

"Not exactly sure, but she needed calming, and I sent it to her along the mate bond. I didn't know it would put her to sleep."

I sit there enjoying just holding her, the movie plays but I don't notice the screen when I'm enjoying the view of my mate on my lap. She starts to fidget, and I slide the hand resting on her hip under her shirt and rub circles on her lower back. She sighs and settles.

"Why did we watch that?" Kyle groans as the lights come up. "I'm going to have nightmares for weeks."

"You can sleep with me," Shay teases. "If you're afraid of the dark."

"Where are you sleeping, anyway?" Kyle asks. "Because I'm not walking you home after that."

"You don't have to," I say and kiss Nix's forehead but when she doesn't stir, I just stand up with her in my arms. "Come on Shay, we might as well hit the hay. Nix isn't waking up til morning."

"She's staying with you two?" Kyle asks. He is aware of where I've been sleeping.

"Not like that," Shay shoots out.

Kyle chuckles at her, "You won't fit on the bed. I have a king. Wanna share?"

"Will you stay on your side?" Shay asks.

I watch Kyle blush. He never thought she'd even think about it. "No."

She laughs, "Then, no."

Oliver winks at her, "I can stay on my side, and I have a California king."

She turns to Oliver, "You don't mind?"

Oliver shakes his head, "I'm single until I find my mate."

"Me, too," Shay smiles and turns to me. "Will her dad be mad if I don't use the guest room?"

"I doubt it," I tell her. "But maybe Kyle wants to sleep in it." Brandon suggested I sleep there instead of sharing with Nix, but it was clear Nix couldn't sleep without me. And, I had no problem telling him I was sleeping with my mate in her room, or I'd just move her into mine. He might not like it but mate bonds trump parents. Not that he fussed much, he liked the idea that I was her mate. Kept her here with us and protected from her mother. Now we just had to wait until Thursday. Although I still worry, Nix might make me wait to mark her until Sebastian returns. Once Lorelei escaped from her cage, mating would happen with both sides of the mate bond open. Marking was another question mark. I would be happy just to mate her.