Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
TALLY
She’s here.
I can’t help the way I light up when she comes in. All night I’ve waited for her and now she’s finally here. In the low light she looks beautiful, ethereal.
It’s only when she steps closer I see how weighted down her steps are, and when the light reaches her features I notice the bags under her eyes.
My smile dims, concern scrunching my brows up. “Please tell me you haven’t just stopped working.”
She shakes her head. “I tried to sleep on the ship and couldn’t. Figured I’d come back here and try.”
Relief settles in my bones slightly. Her voice is tired, slightly slurred by the weight of her exhaustion. But she came here, she needed something more than what normally suits her and came here.
Deciding I can leave the last of the dishes until the morning, I dry my hands on some rags, and come out from behind the bar.
“Come on, I'll see you up to your room.”
She nods and slowly follows behind me. Her exhaustion and sadness rolling off her in waves.
All I want to do is bundle her up in cuddles.
But that might be pushing it too far. I’ll see her to her room and if she wishes to call it a night, I'll be respectful. Even if that’s really fucking hard to do, consent is important, even if I’ve already pushed her limits.
We make our way upstairs until we’re at the same door we both stood outside of yesterday. Silence a thick entity between us. Opening the door for her she walks in and makes her way to the bed.
The silence stretches, and although I want to stay, I told her what was going to happen next and what I want won’t be happening tonight. Not with her like this. And she hasn’t asked for me to stay.
Grabbing a hold of the door, I start to pull it shut leaving us on opposite sides of the door.
“Stay.”
Instantly I freeze. The words were spoken so carefully, so quietly, I don’t know if she actually said them or if they were a figment of my imagination.
Not until she looks over her shoulder to me, points towards the bed and repeats, “Stay.”
It doesn’t even take me a second to decide. The door shuts with both of us on the same side.
Kicking off my boots, I waste no time peeling my dress off. I know nothing will happen tonight, but goddammit, I’m not sleeping in clothes I’ve been working in all day. Keeping my steps light, I move to the bed and climb beneath the covers and Cyrus stands staring at the wall. Completely unmoving.
“Cyrus, get in bed.” When she stays staring at the wall, I calm my tone, “Please.”
She breaks the staring competition with the wall and looks over at me, gives me a brief nod before she starts undressing.
It takes her a while, each movement seems to chip further away at what's left of her.
I can see how exhausted she is, how much the events of the last week have taken it out of her.
Finally she’s undressed and turns towards the bed. Her eyes meet mine, then she drops onto the bed.
Then she does the last thing I expected her to do.
She crawls up to me.
Her movements are slow and it's not sexual in the least. But she listened to what I said and did exactly what I told her.
Once she reaches the head of the bed she just about manages to slide herself under the covers before resting her head on my chest, her arm sliding to rest over my waist. Balling herself up so our size difference isn’t as noticeable. Her warm breath skims over me as her breathing starts to slow.
“You were right. I came crawling to you, even if it was in a way you didn’t mean.” Then her breathing evens out and she’s fast asleep.
I gulp, because her crawling to me in need of comfort may just be more impactful than her crawling in need of sexual release. I won’t waste this opportunity. Threading my fingers into her hair, I whisper her a promise, “I’ll be here for you, no matter what.”
Then I let sleep take me too.
The birds are singing their morning song when I wake.
The feeling of a heavy weight on my chest and curled around my side encourages me to open my eyes. Short dark hair fills my vision and I can’t help but smile.
She’s still here.
Golden rays filter in through the window, slowly waking the room up and leaving light streaks over Cyrus’s legs.
She’s still cuddled up to me, her arm wrapped tight around my waist and face buried between my breasts. She’s so much longer than me that her legs stretch far further than mine, her feet dangling off the edge of the bed.
Gently, so that I don’t wake her before she’s ready, I brush her short hair back from her face and tuck it behind her ear. She looks relaxed. The dark marks beneath her eyes have faded away and for once she doesn’t look like a stone statue. She looks like a living and breathing person.
I want to know more about her. Why does she feel the need to put this mask in place? And why does she let me see beneath it? Does she even realise she does that for me?
I’ve known her for years, whenever they’d stay on the island I’d seek her out. Yet I’ve learnt more about her in the last few days than I have in years.
I want to keep peeling back those layers off her until she shows me all of her.
For a while, I lay here contemplating ways to get her to trust me with her true self. Letting the rising sun skim up our limbs and warm me from the outside in. It takes Cyrus a while before she wakes up.
But I won’t forget the sight of those eyelashes fluttering open, and those dazzling blue orbs shining up at me.
I’ve never seen eyes the colour of the deep sea before. Yet she has them.
Such a dark blue they feel like they should appear black, yet they never lose their intense blueness. Staring into them feels like being swallowed by a whirlpool. They hold you captive. And I don’t ever want to be set free.
She blinks, cutting off the hypnotic connection. Clearing my throat and plastering on my biggest grin, I speak, “Good morning, dove. Sleep well?”
She blinks a few more times before screwing them shut, pushing her face back into my chest and letting out a deep groan. “Too… early.”
I giggle and watch as she bounces with the vibrations. I’m pretty sure on any normal day she would be well and truly awake by now but I’ll indulge her. A few more minutes of snuggling isn’t going to harm anyone.