The Revelation #8

“Hi, sleepy head. You know, I don’t think its healthy sleeping for so long.” He turned and gave her his earthshaking smile. She could feel the shiver climb up her spin.
He was cooking again, but this time, he looked like a demigod doing it. He was shirtless and his jeans were riding low. Clothes didn’t do him much justice. His muscled chest was wide and smooth, his torso long and lean, meeting up with his abdomen to form eight tight glorious cubes. His long arm stretched as he placed a plate on the table, showing off his toned biceps then it flexed to form a mountain as he threw the kitchen towel over his tattooed shoulder, those beautiful strong hard shoulders. His back was now turned to her, showing off his thick shoulder blades and the trench between them that ran down his back and ended above his tight ass.
She’d never noticed how much of him that tribal tattoo covered—half his chest and back—making him appeal to her even more.
Watching him stirred a heat so bad inside her, she was afraid to move. She stayed where she was leaning against the wall for support, but kept her eyes glued to him taking in as much pleasure as she possibly could from the magnificent sight.
“Did you hear what I said?” He turned and faced her, and then slowly, his lips curved up and formed his hypnotic smile, still holding the pan in one hand and a fork in the other.
He looked even more tempting; the heat inside her grew even bigger. Without thinking, she went to him, pulled his head down and kissed him hard.
He broke the kiss and looked down at her, his eyes half closed. “Someone’s in a good mood this afternoon.”
She was about to pull him back when she realized what he’d said. “Afternoon? How long have I been asleep?” He turned and placed the pan and fork in the sink.
“Close to ten hours, but after the night you had, it was deserved.” Her nightmares were the last thing she wanted to talk about, but he went on, “How’re you doing?”
“I thought that kiss was a dead giveaway.” She looked at him under her eyelashes, and his muscles tightened. She smiled. She had succeeded in changing the topic. That was a new useful trick. She moved to him slowly. “Hmm, then it mustn’t have been that good.” She slid her hands in his back pockets, cupping his buns in her palms. She planted light kisses on his chest. His body tightened with every kiss and his heartbeat raced.
She loved the fact she had this effect on him. When it came to this, they were on an even playing field.
She grazed her lips under his chin and over his neck, kissed his visible pulse then tiptoed to reach his ear, but she was still not close enough. She clamped her teeth gently on his lobe and pulled him lower, his head moved without resistance. She whispered, trying to sound as sexy as she possibly could, “Maybe I should try again…” She moved her hand and placed it on the back of his head. She fisted his hair in her hand and pulled him down, pressing his lips on hers.
His body came alive. He lifted her up and crushed her against him. She wrapped her legs around his waist, freeing his hands to roam all over her. The desperation in his hands drove her over the edge. His kiss was hard and fierce; he hadn’t kissed her like that since the first time they met. He moved, and then lowered her. The surface was soft, cushiony. She realized they were on the couch.
*How did we get here so fast?*
“Lee…” He was pulling away, but she pulled him back down with the ironclad hold she had around his waist. He fidgeted, trying to get free, but she held on.
“No more excuses.” She reached up and kissed him, pulling him down by his lips. He laid flat on top of her, but still held up his weight. She relaxed her hold on him and waited for the pleasure to begin. The second she did, he was up and off her before she realized what he was doing.
He leaned against the wall, looking away from her, struggling to control his breathing. She was shocked but mostly disappointed. She knew things were too good to be true, she never won. She leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes, taking in as much air as she could.
“You’re strong. Stronger than you should be,” Ash whispered in between ragged breaths.
His statement shocked her. It was close to offensive. She propped herself up on her elbows and starred at him furious, ready to let him have it, but the look on his face was confusion.
“Just because I’m sick day in day out doesn’t make me a weakling, neither does the fact that I’m a woman.” She was gentler than she meant to be.
“Correction, girl, and no, it’s not that. You should be in pain.” He ran his fingers through his hair, releasing more strands of hair and making them fall across his forehead.
“What?” She ignored the girl statement and focused on his confused rambling.
“When I tried to get out of your hold, you shouldn’t have been able to hold me down, and your legs…” He was looking even more confused, then he smiled, raking his hand through his hair again. “I guess I’m more tired than I thought.”
“Didn’t you sleep last night?” The question sounded ridiculous, of course he didn’t sleep. *I kept him up with my screaming.* She felt guilty.
“Hey, I like watching you sleep, it sooths me.” He sat next to her, stroking her face, his gentle eyes piercing through her, his smile still there.
“Before or after I started screaming?” She knew he was just being kind to her, but the bags under his eyes gave him away.
“Lee, it’s not your fault you have nightmares.”
“They are mine, so yes it is. I’m the Grinch of peaceful sleep!”
He sighed. “You are impossible! When you get something stuck in your head it’s impossible to get rid of it. You are so stubborn!”
She smiled. “So we’ll agree to disagree, again.”
He laughed and leaned into kiss her, then stopped and stared at her. “I hope you’re not planning to attack me once I kiss you?”
She laughed and raised her left hand to her head. “Scouts honor.” His lips curved into her favorite smile, and she caught her breath. She was sure one day it would stop her heart. “You need to sleep. You don’t look so hot.”
“And yet you can’t keep your hands off me.” He kissed her. She could feel he was still smiling. She was about to go back on her promise when the phone rang. He pulled away and answered the phone.
“Hi, Ann…”
Damn! Lee stood up and headed to the bathroom.
“She’s headed for the shower…”
She closed the door and turned on the cold water, she needed to cool off the heat that was burning inside her.

****

She came back to the living room and found him fast asleep on the couch. He looked so peaceful, even more breathtaking with his face so relaxed. This was the first time she had seen him asleep, usually she was the first one to go. She stood there and watched him sleep, his chest moving up and down with each breath. This perfect man had become a vital part of her.
*How did I survive without him after our fight? Oh, how could I forget, my demons kept me company.*
She pulled her books from the shelf and placed them on the living room table. She wanted to be close to him, watch over him as he slept, just like he did for her for the past month. She sat on the floor next to the couch and opened her books.
Ash grunted, and then stretched out, his leg landing on the edge of the table with a thud. She stifled a laugh, not wanting to wake him. She changed positions and sat on the other side of the table, facing the couch he was on. She wasn’t going to chance that heavy leg landing on her.
It was dark outside. She was glad she had put a few hours into her studies, she would have kept on, but her stomach was grumbling. She’d eaten the late breakfast Ash had made, but that didn’t satisfy her hunger.