Rivals

CHAPTER 24:

Rebecca

I have been in Russia for three weeks now.

That's three weeks that I have not yet strangled Killian. And that's mostly because he's been MIA, well, at least to me he has.

For the first few days I didn't see him at all. Not in the morning, at night, never! It's almost like he wasn't even staying at his grandparents house.

That is until he decided to reveal himself like a grand magic trick.

At night, I would fall asleep before him, but when I would wake up, it was almost as if he never slept in the bed at all.

I would go down in the kitchen every morning for coffee and he'd be there chatting with his grandparents and dressed in a suit, ready for a business meeting of some sort.

As soon as he'd see me, he'd make a big deal about me waking up, give me a hug and a kiss and then he'd be gone until the late afternoon.

He felt like a ghost at night and I was starting to think that he didn't even sleep in the same room as me.

All my suspicions came to a halt this morning though.

My eyes stayed closed as I woke with a warmth circulating around me. I felt as though I was being cradled like a small child, protected in some way, as soft snores were tempting me into falling back into a deep sleep.

And I almost did that exact thing until I felt myself being pulled closer to a comforting warmth. My eyes fluttered open and I was facing Killian.

His eyes were closed and his hair was flopped across his forehead, but when I tried to move, his arms tightened around me and pulled me closer.

I was just about to wake him up or fight my way out of his grasp, but I looked closer at his face, his eyes especially. Under his dark eyelashes were blue and purple, like he had only gotten a few hours of sleep in the past few weeks.

I sat up slightly and tried to carefully untangle myself from his grasp, but the more I tried, the tighter his arms wrapped around me. I gave up and instead, I found myself tracing the tattoo on his arm.

The thick zig zags and curves were inked in a beautiful way on his skin.

Every time my fingers traced his skin, he would shiver at my touch, but he wouldn't wake.

What am I doing now? Why do I keep finding myself attracted to him?

"Hmmm," he finally groaned, waking up but with his eyes still closed.

"Killian..." I say but my voice cracks.

My voice caused him to tense slightly and his eyes fluttered open. They were tired and cloudy, he wasn't yet fully aware of what was happening.

For a few seconds, I thought looking into his eyes was the gateway to seeing the real Killian, not the guarded person he presents to the world everyday. It was like breathing in fresh air to see him so unguarded, so vulnerable, and so human.

But when the cloudiness disappeared from his eyes, the Killian that I knew finally came out to play.

He looked down at his arms and immediately let go of his hold over me.

"Thanks," I mumbled as I jumped off the bed and jogged to the bathroom to empty my bladder.

When I came back into the room, it was like nothing happened and he was gone, leaving a freshly made bed in place.

I walked down the stairs one at a time and held my breath as I walked into the kitchen.

His back was toward me, but he was there, fully clothed in pajamas.