Soul Keepers (Editing) #Wattys2020

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Theo appeared in front of her and Millie bit back a small cry of alarm, he was always doing that, popping out of nowhere and nearly giving her a heart attack—that is, if she were prone to things like that. She pressed her hand over her heart feeling the way it stamped against her open palm—though it was no longer her surprise that set her pulse racing, it was the man standing in front of her.

His eyes carefully studied her face, looking for signs of tiredness that he knew she felt, his gaze lingering on her lips longer than necessary. Now that there wasn't the flush of anger in her cheeks he could clearly see the strain in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his fingers reaching out and tenderly brushing back the hair that framed her face, his knuckles grazing her cheek.

Millie leaned into his touch, her body wildly aware of his mere inches from hers. It was alarming the strength of her attraction to him that only seemed to grow with his every touch, no matter how innocent. She wanted to crawl into his arms and never move. He was all strong muscle and incredible heat; it also didn't help that he just so blatantly handsome. "I'm okay," she responded though she didn't much feel like it was the truth.

"You haven't been sleeping," it wasn't a question. She shook her head, she really wasn't ready to get into all that, and she kept herself mostly sane by not thinking about it. She was putting off looking too closely at how things had suddenly seemed to spiral out of her control so quickly.

"It's not a big deal," she whispered quietly.

"Millie you can't keep doing this, you need to start—"

"I can't okay, I" she wrenched away from him, her hands running up and down her arms to ward off the cold trickling into her "I just can't. Every time I close my eyes he's right there waiting for me. Ready to... I see them," she didn't need to tell him who she was talking about "All of them. They haunt my dreams, reminding me that I couldn't save them. That I stood there doing nothing, watching as they died."

Tears ran down her cheek, her heart so heavy with guilt that sometimes she found it impossible to breathe. And it wasn't just their faces that haunted her; it was all the feelings that bombarded her when she thought of them.  She would relive everything that happened to them, every fear, each pain and the void that always came when they died.

Theo's arms came around her and he pulled her into the safety of his arms. Millie went willingly, needing to feel the warmth of him. She pressed her cheek into the hard wall of his chest, rubbing against the material; there was comfort in the way he held her. It made her feel like as long as he was with her so could endure. She breathed in deeply, fully intending to push away from him but his arms just tightened around her his chin resting at the top of her head.

It was like a blanket of darkness fell on them and she clutched unto the front of his shirt in surprise, the floor shifting from under her feet. When she opened them again she was standing in her room. He had Teleported them both here. He wordlessly gave her a gentle push in the direction of the bathroom. She cast him a look over her shoulder. His eyes were on her, hungry raking her from head to toe in a way that made her feel sexy. In all her life, she had never felt sexy. Wanted, maybe it was coveted, but no one had ever looked at her with the same intensity that Theo did.

Vampires were drawn to her because of the scent of her blood that ran through her veins. Humans were drawn to her because of what she was, so their reaction to her wasn't exactly real. It was all a part of the lure, but with Theo's smoldering gaze on her she felt female and wanted.

Shaking her head at her thoughts, she moved into the bathroom. She had been looking forward to a long bath, but she could hear him out there, hear the steady beat of his heart, and his even breathing. It felt oddly intimate, him there waiting for her as she stripped and stepped into the shower.