and I smiled genuinely at him, reaching out to cup his cheek. Maybe that was another reason why I couldn't sleep. Nicoli's presence alone could banish the ghosts lurking in my mind.
"Shit, you're freezing." He pulled me into his arms, marching me out of the room and kicking the door closed as he headed down the hall and into his room. It was smaller than mine, cosier, but there was still a newness about everything that gave this place the feel of a hotel over a home. Not that I could remember being in a hotel, but there was something oddly familiar about all these shiny walls and expensive things. With Nicoli close, anywhere felt good though. Safe.
Tyson was sleeping on a blanket on the floor and he lifted his head as we entered, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. With him and Nicoli present, I already felt miles less anxious than I had alone.
He placed me on my feet and moved to the bed, drawing the covers back in an offering. I glanced at the bandage on his thigh which covered the stitches his brother Rocco had given him last night, wondering if he’d end up with a scar to remember that fight by forevermore.
I crept forward, wanting to feel self-assured but all I actually felt were brambles winding around my lungs until I couldn't breathe.
Duke was still too close for my liking and his voice was ringing in my head. "Sleep on the floor like the rat you are. One word of complaint and I'll cut your tongue out."
I’d wanted to remind him that cutting it out would defeat the purpose of my interrogation. But I supposed so long as I could still hold a pen to paper, any of my body parts had always been fair game.
I stepped past Nicoli, drawing comfort from his presence as I climbed onto the bed and pushed my legs under the sheets. I sat stiffly as my heart began to pound, then looked up at Nicoli as I bit down on my thumb.
"Lay whatever way you find most comfortable," he urged and I took a steadying breath, turning my gaze to the pillows and the large black headboard that rose up behind me.
I twisted around, moving the pillows so they lay horizontally along the bed then curled up against the headboard and rested my head on one of the pillows. It was like a cloud, the cool material drawing a sigh from my lips. It was way warmer in here than the other room and the flannel shirt I wore was far too snug against my flesh. I pulled it off and writhed against the silken sheets as I felt it everywhere over my naked flesh.
Nicoli chuckled and I turned to look at him with a grin on my face. My voice loosened and my smile grew even wider as I took that power back into my grasp, feeling like I was reuniting with an old friend. "Are you going to join me, mountain man?"
He stepped closer, blotting out the light so he was just a dark shadow above me and I shivered deliciously as he brushed his fingers over my back. "Give me one more minute, savage girl, you have no idea how good the view is from up here."
I laughed and he took several more seconds before he switched off the light, his weight pressing the bed down as he slid in behind me. The bed was so large that he could lie sideways comfortably enough and he moved up behind me, drawing the covers over us as he slid his arms around my waist and pulled me back into his chest. I was about to complain that that wasn't how I slept best, when he squeezed me tight and my worries ran away like water down a drain.
"Oh," I sighed, my eyes falling closed. And no nightmares seized me, no demon with a belt in hand came to terrify me. Nicoli's breaths skated against the back of my neck then he laid a soft kiss behind my ear.
"Do you think you can sleep like this, baby doll?" he murmured and I reached down to find his hand on my stomach, threading my fingers between his.
"I could sleep like this forever," I whispered and he kissed that same spot again, making a deep tremor race down my spine. He was so warm and solid and utterly real that it made my heart want to weep. I never wanted