After Dusk

Chapter Thirteen

The early morning sunlight presses against my closed lids, threatening to pull me from my peaceful slumber. I snuggle closer to the pleasantly warm body that's wrapped around mine. One of his hands is tangled in my hair, while the other rests on my hip. He moans in his sleep, his strong arms tightening around me protectively. I relax as the cool glass of the window presses against my back.

Wait, window?

My eyes snap open and I lift up my head, heart pounding in my chest. Sound asleep, Declan holds onto me almost possessively, like it's the most natural thing in the world. I slap a hand over my mouth the quiet the gasp that escapes and quickly look over to Theo's bed, fearing that he'd caught me in Declan's arms.

Theo rolls over in bed and throws an arm over his eyes, still asleep. I sigh in relief. My heartbeat slows a little, though I'm not out of the water yet. I ease myself up and try to pull away from Declan but his arms tighten around me. I look up in surprise to see Declan's sleepy eyes gazing down at me with a raised eyebrow.

With wide, angry eyes, I pull away from him and, this time, he lets me. I open and close my mouth, trying to find the words to tell him . . . I don't know what to tell him, but nothing comes out. He tilts his head to the side as he looks at me, daring me to tell him that last night was a mistake. In so many ways, it was a mistake, but in others, it wasn't. And gods help me, but I don't regret it. Unable to stay in the same room as my sleeping boyfriend and the man who seems to have captured a part of my heart, I grab my bag and rush into the bathroom. After locking the door, I collapse onto the ground. I drop my head into my hands, drawing in a ragged breath.

What the hell is wrong with me? I scream internally. How could I fall asleep in another man's arms when my boyfriend was just a few feet away? He could have seen us! I've never been this way before, so why am I acting like a total harlot now? Theo would be so hurt if he'd seen me sleeping in Declan's arms. He would be even more hurt if he knew that a large part of me has no regrets about doing it. I thump the back of my head against the door.

That can never happen again, I decide calmly. I just have to nip this at the bud and everything will be okay.

With renewed determination, I haul myself up off of the floor and force myself to get dressed. I brush my teeth swiftly, afterwards throwing my hair up into a messy bun, no longer okay with it. Letting my newly demigod side out is dangerous. Human Laila wants to be with Theo, but demigod Laila wants Declan. I need to push back that part of me. I can't let it win.

I take a deep breath and open the door.

Theo sits up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His biceps flex deliciously under his sun kissed skin as he does so. I'm pretty sure I drooled a little bit, even if he's not as impressive as Declan. Stop. Stop right there.

I'm completely dumbfounded by Theo's ability to look so warm and inviting and. . . hot. I doubt that I could ever pull of sexy at seven thirty in the morning.

"Mmm . . . What are you doing up so early, babe?" Theo murmurs, still sleepy. As soon as the sunlight hits him, however, he's bright eyed and bushy tailed, drawing energy from the sun's rays.

"Just an early riser, I guess," I say, a little too brightly, with a shrug. Truth be told, I am not an early riser. Even before I'd acquired the power of night, I'd always preferred the moon to the sun. It was a real task to get me out of bed early.

I glance over at Declan, praying that he won't voice my lie and tell Theo about what I'd done. To my utter relief, he doesn't, though he does send me a small smirk to let me know that he isn't going to let me forget what happened. With a start, I realize that he, too, looks undeniably sexy, with his tousled dark locks and hooded green eyes.