I tossed and turned in bed as my clock mocked my inability to fall asleep. Around two a.m. I almost went downstairs to make coffee.
Instead, a scream jolted me fully awake.
My heart thumped against my chest. Was it my imagination? I waited, the sound of crickets the only noise, until another scream of terror erupted.
I flew out of bed and ran down the hall until I reached her door. When I pushed it open, Lisa was tossing in bed, her short hair spilling across the pillow and her face scrunched up in fear. Tears streamed down her face, but her eyes were still closed.
“Lisa?” I whispered.
Another tremor hit her body. She jerked in her sleep then started hitting the pillow with her hand. “No, stop, don’t jump. Please don’t jump.”
My balance took a hit as I gripped the wall to keep me steady. Was this another piece of the puzzle? Was she talking about him? Or was it just a dream?
“No!” she wailed. “Stop! Please stop!”
Not able to take it anymore, I made my way to the bed and gently sat down next to her shivering body. Speaking in as calm a voice I could manage, I said, “Lisa, you’re having a nightmare. It’s okay. Wake up.”
She jerked in her sleep again, whimpering as if she was getting beat. She covered her face and then started full-on sobbing.
I gripped her hands and pulled them free and braced myself for impact, knowing full well she’d probably attack me as she woke up.
“Lisa!” I shook her wrists. “Wake up!”
Her eyes jerked open; they were so wide they could have swallowed me whole. With a cry, she lunged for me and threw her weight against me.
Cursing, I fell off the bed, Lisa on top of me, her legs bracing me on either side.
“Lisa!” I tried shaking her again.
She shook her head. A frenzied look crossed her face, and then she slumped against me. Recognition flashed quickly followed by embarrassment. “Oh, my gosh! I’m so sorry! I’m so… I normally don’t make habits of assaulting people in my sleep!”
I smiled, even though the last thing I was feeling was amused. More like extremely hard-pressed not to flip her onto her back and kiss some calm into her. Then again, that wouldn’t calm me and would probably earn more terror on her end. “It’s fine.” I let out an exhale of relief. “I don’t normally make a habit of barging in on my guests. It’s just… I thought there was an intruder.”
She grinned, the tears streaking against her smooth cheeks. “And you normally make a habit of attacking intruders in your black silk boxers?”
My body demanded I respond to that particular statement. Instead, I winked. “Yeah, well, my labeled bat was downstairs, so I figured scaring them with my expensive boxers was the next best thing.”
She pulled away, still straddling me, placing her hands on her hips and looking down. “Absolutely terrifying.”
“Yeah,” I said gruffly, telling my body to calm the hell down. “Glad I served my purpose.”
Every muscle was taut, so much so that it was hard to breathe. I doubt she realized her eyes were still trained on my abs. I thanked every lucky star I had. Black silk boxers didn’t exactly cover a multitude of sins.
“If we’re going to stay on the floor all night, the least you could do is toss me a pillow,” I joked, though my tone was anything but playful.
Her eyes heated for a second before she scurried off me.
My body flat out demanded I pull her back and keep her there. The loss I felt at her leaving was nothing short of ridiculous, but there it was.
Lisa sat on the bed and wrung her hands together while I stood and tried to hide the fact that her mouth was so damn arousing I was having trouble remembering all the reasons I couldn’t have her in the first place.
“Is there anything I can do?”
Lisa looked down at her hands and smiled. “You offering to sing me to sleep, Tristan?”
I sat down next to her. “You offering to let me?”
“That depends. How good of a singer are you?”
“Horrible,” I admitted with a soft chuckle. “But it may scare the bad dreams away.”
“And the girl too.” She nudged me with her elbow.
I full-on laughed. “Right, most likely send her screaming into the night. If it isn’t the label maker, it will most definitely be the hoarse singing.”
Lisa bit her lip and peered up at me through her hair.
I tucked it behind her ear, unable to stop my hands from moving before it was too late.
Her breath hitched; instinctively she wet her upper lip. I leaned in, my mouth hovering over hers.
“This is a bad idea,” she whispered right before our mouths met.
I could taste her — taste all of her — and we hadn’t even touched yet. “Well, clearly it’s been a night for bad ideas, bad nightmares, and potentially bad singing. What’s one more thing?”
Her entire body tensed, and I knew, once again I’d lost her, lost her to whatever demons plagued her and, by association, plagued me.
With a lazy smile I pulled back and whispered, “Try to get some sleep, and in the morning...” I shrugged.
“In the morning things will look better? Is that what else you were going to say?”
I pressed forward, my lips grazing her ear. “Things rarely look better in the morning, but at least you have more energy to deal with them. Sleep.” Not kissing her was one of the hardest things I’d ever done as I retreated and repeated again, “Just let go and sleep.”