Pleasures of the Night(41)
When Lyssa came out of the bathroom, the smell of cooking food was wafting up to the second floor. She padded barefoot down the hardwood stairs and found Aidan in the kitchen heating up SpaghettiOs, which he then poured into two bowls and served with bread taken right out of the bag.
They sat at her dining table with plastic bowls and oversized metal spoons, and he offered her a soft smile before beginning to eat.
“You know,” he said, around a mouthful of food, “this stuff is better than I thought.”
“Yeah? Been a while since you had a meal in a can?”
“It doesn’t taste like this where I come from.”
“Oh?” She set her elbows on the table. “And where’s that?”
“You got any sleeping pills left?” he asked, ignoring her.
“Who says I have sleeping pills?”
He snorted. “Get used to me knowing a lot about you. I don’t mean to freak you out, and I promise I’ll explain everything this weekend when we have the time to really get into it. Two o’clock in the morning is too late when you’ve got work in a few hours.”
“It’s also too late to take a sleeping pill. They make me nonfunctional the next day. That’s why I stopped taking them.”
Gesturing toward her bowl, Aidan ordered, “Eat. Then pill. No arguing.”
She stuck her tongue out at him.
“I’ve got one of those,” he drawled softly. “And if you’re a good girl, I’ll show you more of the things I can do with it.”
Shivering, Lyssa grabbed her spoon and ate faster than she had in a long time. He laughed at her, the sound rich and warm, filled with something she couldn’t define. Part joy, part freedom, part something else. She was teasing, playing along, enjoying the moment, because tomorrow she would either wake up from the weirdest dream she could ever remember, or this would be all too real and she had some serious things to consider.
“Trust me,” he urged softly, setting his hand atop the one she had resting on the table. “You’re thinking too hard. Trust your instincts.”
He met her gaze squarely, hiding nothing from her. The circumstances themselves led to intimacy. She in her silk robe. He dressed only in low-slung sweats. They ate a casual meal. Had made love with unrestrained passion. Had held each other tenderly in the aftermath. As if they were a long-established couple.
Promise me you won’t open the door to anyone.
“Lyssa? Did you hear me?”
She blinked. “Huh?”
Aidan’s thumb stroked over her knuckles. “Promise me that you’ll come to me with any doubts or concerns. Don’t let your imagination run away from you. I know how weird this is, but you have to believe that I only want to keep you safe.”
“No one wants to hurt me.”
He sighed, and lifted her hand to kiss the back. “Let’s go back to bed. We both need to rest up for tomorrow.”
I keep the bad guys away.
“You’re a soldier,” she breathed, surprised at how certain she was about that. It was faint, that connection she felt to him, but it was enough for her to go on. For now.
“I’m tired,” he countered, rising to his feet and pulling her up with him. “Where are those pills?”
“Why should I take them?”
“Remember. Hard and fast into sleep. No tossing and turning. I want your mind far away from Nightmares.” He paused. “And other nasty things.”
Feeling a transient flash of the terror from her earlier dream, Lyssa nodded and went to the cabinet in the kitchen where she kept all her meds and did as he asked. He held her hand as she turned off the lights, leaving the mess from dinner in the sink when he told her he would take care of it in the morning.
They took the stairs side by side, his longer stride shortened to match hers. He pulled back the crisp white sheets and then slid into them, his back upright against the padded headboard of her contemporary bed. She curled into his open arms, settling into his side as if it were custom-made for her.
You’re almost hard enough to be uncomfortable.
“Aidan?”
“Hmm?” He buried his nose in her hair and breathed deeply.
Are you an angel?
With her eyes closed, she frowned, confused by the bits and pieces of memories that surfaced randomly. Too randomly to make any sense. “Does it bother you that I don’t remember our time together?”
Lyssa felt the press of his lips against the top of her head.
“I wish you did,” he admitted, hugging her closer. “But we’ll make new memories.”
Burying her face in his chest, Lyssa felt the unnaturally intense pull of sleep brought on by the powerful drug.