In the Stars

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Eye of the Storm

Charlotte woke up at four in the morning and couldn't get back to sleep. Try as she might, she couldn't settle her head.

Dawn approached. It was the glorious moment between night and day when time seemed to stand still. All was quiet. Even the dust motes seemed to pause in the motionless air.

She slipped from her makeshift bed and tiptoed up the stairs. At her bedroom door, she hesitated for a moment. She didn't hear movement coming from the guest room. What would it harm?

Pushing the door open, it took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Then the lines of the furniture came into focus and she was able to make out shapes.

Owen was still in the same position she left him in; on his back, his arms loose at his sides, his lower body turned a bit. She was happy to see his breathing had slowed into a rhythmic pace.

Matisse had made a bed for himself in the crook of Owen's knees. He looked up upon her entrance and mewed once in greeting.

She moved towards Owen's head. She couldn't get enough of his face. Seeing it in the flesh fascinated her.

She could barely make out the outlines of his tattoos, the way they covered his arms in a haphazard pattern. She could, however, see he was just as built in real life as in her dreams. A chill traveled from the base of her neck to the bottom of her spine.

Reaching out, she felt his cheek with a gentle touch of her finger. It was warm, firm. Real. For one crazy moment, she thought she might run her hands all over his body. Luckily the compulsion passed before she reacted to it.

Sitting down next to him on the bed, she hoped the pressure at his side wouldn't wake him. All she wanted to do was stare at him for the next few hours.

The link was still there. If anything, it had gotten stronger. Seeing him on that pedestal, powerful but defenseless at the same moment, had shifted something inside her. Now, all she wanted to do was be with him.

Turning her head, she stared out the window at the street lamp. It would blink off soon, as the sun made its claim on the light. She had to get herself together.

When she turned back to him, she almost shouted. His eyes were open, staring at her with the intensity she had come to know as his. They twinkled through the darkness.

"H, hi."

Is that the best you can do?

Owen blinked several times. When he didn't respond, she thought maybe he wasn't fully aware yet. Starting to feel like a trespasser, she shifted with discomfort.

"Can I get you anything?"

When she felt his hand travel up her thigh, her shock numbed her at first. Then his callused palm began to knead her leg. "Uh, I think maybe-."

"Melanie."

His voice was husky. When she heard the name, it took her a few seconds to realize she knew who he was talking to. It took another few seconds to put two and two together.

"Right...I think I should leave."

The flush of sudden arousal was replaced with the heat of embarrassment in a second. Not knowing how else to handle the situation, she got up swiftly, almost stumbling over a pair of her own shoes on her way to the door.