Saved By Your Hot Book Boyfriend

16. Going to Bed With the Hot Guy

16

Going to Bed With the Hot Guy

Ziros

“We’re both adults here,” she says, pushing back from the table. “It’s fine. No funny stuff, just sleep.”

“Right. No funny stuff,” I say, shoving that fantasy back into the darkest corner of my mind.

Trying to pretend I was never thinking it at all.

Of course she only meant we should sleep. I knew that.

Now, if only my body would listen.

You

You’re exhausted.

You’ve never felt so tired in your life.

It takes all your strength just to brush your teeth, and even holding your toothbrush feels like heavy lifting. All the coordination you had when you caught the juice bottle earlier is gone.

You practically fall into bed, flopping into the sheets as you mumble, “ Hit the lights on your way in .”

Somewhere in the back of your mind, the little voice of reason warns you that you’ve only just met Ziros. Even though it feels like you’ve known him for weeks, it’s been less than 24 hours.

You hardly know this guy.

Then again.

He’s done nothing but save you and take care of you. And he’s bound by magic to protect you.

What’s the worst that could happen?

Ziros

How the hell am I supposed to sleep now?

The room is dark and quiet. At least, aside from the constant hum of electricity buzzing through the walls. How humans these days put up with it is beyond me.

But that’s not the real problem.

The real problem is that the bed is too small. Or maybe it’s that the human is spread across it like a starfish.

There’s no way to climb in without touching her.

I strip off my shirt, tossing it onto the bedside table as I slide carefully under what’s left of the covers. The rest are balled up around her, like she decided to mummify herself in her sleep.

She’s only been in there five minutes, and already she’s hogging every single blanket.

I try to tug a few inches free, and she stirs, grumbling a complaint in her sleep as she shifts over ever-so-slightly.

At least now there’s room. Sort of.

But I’ve got no blankets to speak of.

And the bed still isn’t very big. Not for two full-grown adults. At least—not without touching.

It sure as hell beats sleeping away eternity in that void, though.

And it’s a lot more interesting , too.

How many eons has it been since I’ve lain beside a woman?

I roll over onto my side, facing away. Trying my damndest to be the gentleman I fully intend to be, but then she rolls over, too, wrapping her arms around my back.

“ You’re so hot ,” she mumbles into my shoulder.

I nearly choke.

Is this a joke?!

Is she secretly awake, and just trying to torment me? Is this a game to her?

Maybe I should have insisted on not sharing the bed, because no way in hell am I actually going to get any sleep tonight, exhausted as I am.

Minutes tick by, her heartbeat a steady rhythm in my skull.

Finally, she rolls over again, whimpering in her sleep. And not a good whimper.

A whimper like she’s terrified.

I frown, propping myself up on one arm as I gaze down at her in the soft glow of city lights through the window. Her eyes are squeezed shut, her mouth open slightly as she mumbles more words that make no sense.

Is she…having a nightmare?

You

The void presses down all around you.

Everything is heavy. So heavy. Is this where you die?

But out of the darkness, a low voice echoes.

“ It’s just a nightmare, ” soothes the voice. “ You’re safe, Anzelika.”

A voice that sounds oddly familiar.

Just a nightmare.

But it feels so real. And when you try to open your eyes, you can’t.

You’re frozen in place as a giant, blue, snarling monster materializes. Then, just as you’re about to get eaten alive, you’re suddenly not in the void anymore.

You’re standing on top of a towering skyscraper so tall, the ground might be a thousand miles below. The air is so thin, you can hardly breathe, and with every passing second, the top of the skyscraper gets narrower and narrower beneath your feet.

And the monster is suddenly there, too.

The big blue monster advances on you, towering several times as large as Vincentius was in real life.

You take a teetering step back, stumbling over the strangely only ankle-height railing at the edge of the roof.

For a moment, you float there as if in a cartoon.

Then you begin to plunge.

The sickening feeling of freefall rises in your stomach as you scream.

“ Anzelika ,” growls Ziros’ voice from everywhere all at once. The world blurs around you as you fall. And then you’re in his arms.

In your bed.

In your apartment.

Your head spins as he holds you against his bare chest, magic sizzling through the air all around you.

You know you should probably get up, should try to get out of his arms, but instead you let yourself sink deeper into his embrace.

“ Thank you ,” you mumble as he holds you tightly against his chest.

And this time when you fall asleep, no nightmares find you.

Ziros

“ Thank you ,” she mumbles as I hold her in my arms.

There’s those words again. Those same stupid two words that shouldn’t make me feel the things they do.

She’s a human.

Magical or not, she’s just a mortal.

I can’t fall for her.

I shouldn’t.

And yet…those words do things to me.

And no one has ever looked at me the way she does. What is it about her—what’s different?

She’s just a weak little human, yet the longer I’m with her, the harder it is to want to let go.

The minutes turn to an hour as I sit there, still holding her in my arms. Her breathing is even and smooth, a few strands of hair rising and falling at the edge of her face with each exhale.

Slowly, I sink back into the bed, holding her against my bare chest.

She’s still got those stupid-amazing tiny pajamas on, and I try not to let my thoughts stray as I curl onto one side, her body fitting against mine like a puzzle piece.

Like we were made for each other.

No—wait. What the hell am I thinking?

I’m only with her until she sets me free. Then I’ll never have to see her again.

That’s right.

But her side feels so smooth and warm against my arm, her body curving so perfectly into mine.

All I want is to run my damn hand over her. To feel her melt all around me as I —

Damn it all.

I’ll never get any sleep like this.

It doesn’t help that she smells so damn good.

I can survive on human food. Sure.

But to really live?

I lean closer to her neck, the rhythm of her breathing still steady as I slide the hair away from the base where it meets the shoulder.

Her blood pulses behind my ears, its scent a siren song drawing me closer.

I’ve never cared for the taste of blood.

It’s true.

I wasn’t lying when I told her that.

But hers—

It calls to me.

I could bite her right now. I could bite her so gently, so carefully, she wouldn’t even wake up.

Or…I could bite her hard.

Some humans would call me a vampire. Every culture and generation invents new rules for us, new lies about how to kill us.

They think we’re monsters.

And some of us are.

But our bites don’t have to kill. And I’d make it feel good.

I can see it now—this stupid fantasy I shouldn’t let myself have.

The one where she’s on her back beneath me, staring up at me with those wide eyes as I straddle her, tilting her jaw back with one hand.

I wouldn’t give it to her until she begged.

The way she’d moan as I’d draw my teeth along her neck, letting the points of my fangs sink slowly in up to the base.

The way she’d pull me down into her.

The—

She rolls over in her sleep, and now she’s facing me.

I freeze.

The last of the fantasy evaporates.

The hell am I doing?

I can’t be thinking these things.

I turn over so my back is to her. I’m exhausted, and I desperately need to sleep.

If only my body would listen.