Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 82878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
When I pull away, Amelia looks at me, her eyes shining with the same desire as I feel. Maybe it’s a good thing to wait a little bit longer – the waiting is only going to make the sex even hotter when it finally happens.
I twist around slightly and prop my pillows up a little bit. I lay back against them and Amelia snuggles up to me. I put my arm out and she lays her head on my shoulder, and I wrap my arm around her. I pull her closer as she snuggles in.
I check my watch. It’s two a.m. Roll on to eight o’clock, I think to myself. It’s going to be a long night. The adrenaline rush has well and truly left me now and I can feel exhaustion setting in, but I need to stay awake and make sure Amelia is ok.
“Goodnight,” Amelia mumbles, her voice thick and slurred with oncoming sleep.
“Goodnight,” I say, kissing her forehead.
I think she’s asleep before I say it. I look down at her and feel a glow of warmth spreading through my body. She’s so peaceful looking. I tighten my hold on her, telling myself I’ll never let her go. I so badly want to wake her up and make love to her, or even just hold her and talk to her, but she’s been through so much and she needs to sleep.
I check my watch again. Barely ten minutes have passed since I last looked at it and I can feel my eyes starting to close already. I run my hand over my face, trying to wake myself up a bit. It’s going to be harder than I thought to stay awake all night like this. Maybe I should just rest my eyes for a few minutes. Maybe even have a ten-minute nap. I don’t want to be too tired to perform if Amelia is ready to have sex when she wakes up in the morning.
I’ll close my eyes for just a second, I tell myself. I’m asleep within seconds.
I wake up to a loud groan. Amelia is thrashing inside the enclosure of my arms, her face twisted up as another groan is torn from her lips. She’s having a nightmare. I gently shake her.
“Amelia. Wake up.”
She groans as she comes awake suddenly, blinking up at me.
“You were having a bad dream.”
She nods and sighs.
“The fire?”
She nods again and I notice she has tears in her eyes. I kiss her forehead and pull her closer to me.
“Nothing is going to hurt you, baby. You’re safe. I’ve got you.”.
I keep a tight hold on her, keeping my lips against her forehead as I whisper to her, promising her everything is ok, that I’m not going anywhere. I feel her starting to relax and after a couple of minutes, her body stops shaking.
“I’m sorry I woke you up,” she whispers.
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” I tell her.
“I’m keeping you awake,” she says.
“I’m not that tired,” I insist.
“Liar,” she says as I fight to keep my eyes open and prove my point. “Just go to sleep Viktor, I’m ok and if I’m not, I promise to wake you up. You’ve been through as much as I have tonight.”
“Actually, I’ve been through more. I’ve had to deal with the fact that I could have lost you tonight.”
“Don’t kid yourself into thinking I wasn’t feeling the exact same thing about you,” Amelia says.
She closes her eyes then and I smile to myself. It feels so good to hear her say something like that. I don’t suppose she would have said it if she wasn’t half asleep, but I don’t think that means she doesn’t mean it all the same.
I wait until she’s back asleep and then I close my eyes and let blackness take over.
24
AMELIA
I wake up in the same position I fell asleep in. Wrapped up in Viktor’s arms, my head on his shoulder. Sunlight is streaming into the room. We didn’t get around to closing the heavy drapes last night. We were both a mixture of too wired and too exhausted to think of much. Even the bedside lamps are still switched on.
Slowly, I turn my head and see that he’s still asleep. I stare at him in wonder. He is so incredibly beautiful like this. I think back to last night. It wasn’t the night I was expecting, that was for sure, but despite the way our night ended, I’m totally grateful we are both still alive.
Viktor was like an all-action hero when the fire broke out, my very own James Bond/Superman. He took control of the situation and gave me a wet napkin to help me breathe. He managed to snap me out of my panic, and I have no doubt in my mind that he saved my life.