Then I called, “Knight?”
“Yeah, babe.”
I bit my lip.
“Babe?”
I stopped biting my lip.
Then I whispered, “Uh… you should probably prepare for me being bad, um… occasionally.”
Knight went still for a moment before both his arms locked around me tight and he burst out laughing.
* * * * *
I turned the corner to Knight’s study.
Nick was crouched at the safe. It was open. He was rifling through it.
I opened my mouth to say something when his head turned to me.
Then he surged out of his crouch, flying through the air toward me, his entire head had changed from Nick to a wide, gaping mouth filled with rows and rows of sharp, lethal teeth.
* * * * *
I jerked awake and, still held close to Knight’s side but still half asleep and feeling his arm around me as a prison, I yanked away from it on a roll.
“What the f**k, babe?” His drowsy, deep, rough voice came at me and I froze.
Torso up and on my ass in the bed, I lifted my knees, soles of my feet to the bed and put my elbows to them, head to my hands and took in a deep breath.
Knight’s hand curled around my wrist.
“Anya?” he said softly.
“Bad dream,” I whispered.
“Jesus, it’d have to be,” he muttered, pulling gently at my wrist but my head came up. My hand dropped to the bed taking his with it and I looked to his shadowy head.
“Nick was trying to get in your safe,” I announced and I felt as well as saw his body go rock-solid.
“What?” he whispered, that vibrating, angry heat starting to emanate.
“He didn’t open it or not that I know of. I heard him come in and got to him pretty quickly because I thought he was you. I turned the corner to your study and he was crouched at your safe. It wasn’t opened. He moved away from it, shared his tale of treachery, I got his keys then he took off. With, um… everything that happened when you got here, I forgot to tell you.” I twisted my wrist dislodging his hand but finding it and curling mine around. “I’m sorry, honey. I totally forgot.”
His hand squeezed mine and tugged as he said, “Don’t worry about it, baby. I’ll deal with Nick.”
I nodded, felt the vibrations had stopped, the blaze retreating. I let him pull me down to him and arrange me pressed to his side again, held close.
I pulled in a deep breath then snaked my arm around his gut. Then I pulled in another one and forced my body to relax against his.
His hand at my hip gave me a gentle squeeze and he murmured, “That dream, was it about Nick?”
“He was crouched by your safe,” I whispered. “Then he came at me, flying through the air and his entire head had become a mouth full of teeth.”
“Fuckin’ hell,” I muttered.
“Yeah,” I agreed quietly, pressed deeper into his side and his arm got tight around me.