Right Imperfections |✔ [Book 1 of Runaway Bride Series]

50. White Haunts Me

McKenna

I was rolling on my side again and again. From the left to the right and then back to the left. Dan had stopped grumbling and groaning in the middle of the night so I didn't have to smack him anymore. I shifted to my side again and huffed.

One dream. One nightmare. Is it a bad omen if you have it again and again?

I flipped onto my stomach and reached out for Dan only to find the spot empty. My eyes snapped open and I saw that the bed was empty and his pillow was missing. I sat up and looked around until my eyes came a full circle back to the bed.

Where'd he go so early in the morning? I glanced at the clock and it read 5:47, it was still about an hour for Dan to wake up.

"Dan?" I called loudly, hoping that he was still in the house. No response.

"Dan?" I called again, panic settling in.

"Hmm?" I heard a sleepy voice and my eyebrows shot up. I crawled to his side of the bed and there he was.

A laugh bubbled on my lips as I watched Dan sprawled on the floor rug with his pillow nestled under his head. "Dan?" I said, more softly this time.

He was lying on his stomach with his arms tucked under the pillow. "Hmm?" He mumbled again.

"Why are you on the floor?" I said as I settled on my stomach and reached to touch his naked back. He was clad only in his boxers and I could see the small goosebumps on his skin.

"I wanted to sleep," he muttered, still half asleep. I stopped making the patterns on his skin and gave it a hearty smack, "what's that supposed to mean?"

"Ouch," he groaned and I knew the sucker was lying. He didn't feel anything. "Don't act," I said, testily. He smirked with his eyes still shut. "You don't get hurt." I snapped at him.

"Baby, you wound me all the time." He muttered, voice husky and sleepy and eyes still sealed shut.

I laughed and returned to making patterns on his shoulder blade. "Seriously, did I kick you off the bed?" I asked, guiltily. I wasn't known to be a violent sleeper or for snoring but lately the dreams I'd been having I could be inclined to a little kicking and punching.

"Sort of." He answered half heartedly. "Can we have this conversation later?" He begged and hummed as he crushed the pillow close to him.

"I can't fall asleep now," I said and ran my fingers through his hair. It was funny how I couldn't keep my hands off him if I simply had a glimpse of him, it was like his body was a siren and I couldn't help but fall under its spell.

"I'll help you," he said confidently and his arm snaked out from under the pillow and wrapped around my upper body. He tugged and tugged until I was lying on my stomach beside him, the covers of the bed pulled half way off.

"Dan," I whined as he trapped me in and I couldn't move my arms. I was sleeping in his shirt which was now scrunched around my waist leaving me bare to the chilly morning air.

"My shirt." I groaned and tried to free my hands. I looked at his face and the small smile that played on it. He hadn't opened his eyes once through our entire conversation and even now they were tightly shut. I smacked his shoulder when I freed my arm but before I could straighten the shirt he pinched my ass. I whelped and then he grabbed the edge of the shirt and pulled it down, decently.

"Now sleep," he ordered and placed his chin on my head. I sighed but snuggled into him, seeking warmth. Even in the cold morning Dan's body was a tad bit hot and I wondered if it was because of his condition. He began to breathe evenly and I started to doze lulled by the rhythm of his breathing.