A Tail of Stars

A Tail of Stars - Chapter Ten

The mental wresting match continued as I watched the man of my dreams fighting demons of his own in his sleep.

“You can free him from whatever he’s struggling with,” Elizabeth said from the doorway.  She nodded at Mathias. “Just take his hand, Sweetheart.  Give him some peace.  You both deserve a little of that for once in your life.”  She set a roll and some butter on the tray with a little plastic knife and left without another word.

I watched the door for a while after she left.  Her words burrowed into my brain setting up permanent residence there.  She was right.  I was being selfish, trying to protect myself.  He put his life on the line and nearly lost it for me.

Mathias whimpered and I lost my battle.  Abandoning the stool for the edge of his bed, I took Mathias’ hand in mine held it up to my heart.  The heat was so intense and sudden I gasped but held it there, pressing his palm against my skin.

The change in him was immediate.  All of his muscles relaxed and peace spread over his features.  I hitched my leg up onto the bed and made myself comfortable, enjoying the warmth that seeped into me where our hips touched through the blanket.

Time slipped past in a blur and before I knew it the light coming in through the outside doors cast long shadows on the room, bathing it in darkness.  I could barely make out Mathias’ perfect features but I could see that he was still sleeping peacefully.  I wasn’t about to move and change that.

 

When I opened an eye and look around I found that I was curled into the side of one very warm, bare-chested man.  I looked up into Mathias’ eyes. He looked guilty smiling a sheepish smile at me. “How long have you been awake for?” I asked smiling and resting my head back against his chest.

“Long enough that if I was doing what I’m should be, I’d have woken you so you could have gone and slept in your own bed.  I also might have led Elizabeth to believe I was still asleep when she came in to check on me,” he said, not looking at all repentant.  “Oh, wait.  What I meant was, I just barely woke up a second before you opened your eyes.”  His arm wrapped around my shoulder and he held me tighter to him.  My stomach fluttered and my breath came in shallow bursts.

“How are you awake?” I asked, edging up just enough to see his wound.  It was still an angry red line across his chest but you couldn’t tell it had been a gaping tear that was probably deep enough to reach the bones below.  The skin around it was an ugly shade of purple with the edges of the bruises an equally unpleasant tinge of yellow but if I remembered correctly I believe that was a good sign.

He pulled me back down so that my view of his injuries was obscured.  “I heard Elizabeth scolding you about it yesterday.  It’s the mates thing.  Shifters naturally heal at an accelerated rate but that healing ability is enhanced by the touch of a mate that is fated to you.”

“You heard what we said?” I asked burying my head against his chest, my cheeks were blazing and I felt hot all over which had nothing to do with the contact of our skin.

“I did hear what you said.”  His long fingers slipped under my chin, tilting my head so that I couldn’t hide from his gaze.  His expression was soft and the look in his dark eyes sent jolts of warmth through my whole body.  “You remember when you were alone in the dark when you shifted for the first time and I came to you in the darkness and helped you out?”

I nodded, unable to speak for fear my voice would come out just as weak and breathless as I felt.

“Well that’s what you did for me.  Your words found me in the darkness and led me back.”