And the sorrow.
No, not just the sorrow. The loss and the sorrow.
“Holy crap,” I whispered again, a fresh batch of tears overflowing, this time silently.
“Shh, sweetheart, it was just a dream,” Lucien soothed gently, his words stirring my hair.
I burrowed deeper as the tears flowed. He held me and I held him back.
Finally, after I had control, I said quietly, “I don’t remember.”
His hand left my hair and his arm wrapped around my upper back, his long fingers curling around my shoulder.
It was then everything came crashing back to me.
Not the dream. Lucien and the wineglass incident. My body tensed and when it did so did his arms. My eyes took in what I could see, which wasn’t much, mostly his throat in the dark.
“You’re here,” I said stupidly.
“Where else would I be?”
I didn’t know. He seemed pretty pissed when he left. I didn’t expect in a million years he’d come back at all much less hold me tenderly after I had a bad dream.
My head tipped up so I could see his face in the shadows.
“You aren’t mad at me anymore?”
I saw his chin dip down to look at me.
“I was,” he told me and I braced. “I shouldn’t tell you this, pet, but it’s difficult to stay angry with you when I can smell you.” He gave me a squeeze and continued on a murmur, “And f**king impossible when I can feel you and hear your breathing and your heart beating in your sleep.”
This made my heart start beating faster.
He went on, “Then you were moving, then screaming, then crying.”
I felt my lips part. “I screamed?”
His shadowy head nodded.
“I cried?” I asked.
Another nod.
“In my sleep?” I went on.
Still another nod right before he moved us, sliding down the bed and rolling so we were facing each other. He pulled the covers over us and then his arms moved around me again.
“Do you remember any of it?” he asked, sounding more than mildly curious, and I shook my head against the pillow. “None of it?” he pressed and I shook my head again.
“I don’t think I want to,” I told him. “It made me scream,” I paused then added, “and cry.”
His arms gave me a squeeze. “Do you remember who was in your dream?”
I shook my head yet again. “I don’t know. All I know is, whoever it was, I lost them and it made me sad.” I felt a shudder slide through my body and I pressed closer to him. “Unbelievably sad.”
He gathered me tightly to his chest. “It was just a dream, sweetheart.”
This time I nodded my head.