Chapter 2
Eri shifted as sleep faded, and with it came the realization that she wasn’t lying on a soft mattress.
She slowly opened her eyes and was met with a tan chest that housed a tattoo with intricate wings.
She furrowed her brow in confusion because the last thing she remembered was falling asleep in Elias’ guest room.
Her eyes widened as realization dawned on her.
She must have sleepwalked the previous night.
It would happen now and then if she had a strange dream or something in the dream made her feel afraid or threatened.
Her body would seek safety, according to her therapist. If that was the case, then it meant she felt like he was safe.
Eri mentally cursed herself, wondering how she would escape this without waking him?
What would she say if she did? If she moved slowly, she might be able to get off of him and hightail it out of his room before waking him.
That would have been a solid plan if not for the weight of his arm draped over her.
Maybe he was a heavy sleeper, and he wouldn’t notice his limb moving without his direction.
Her escape could have been much easier if it weren’t for that.
“Damn you, Elias,” she whispered.
“What exactly did I do, Amate?”
She startled at the sound of his voice and quickly sat up. It never crossed her mind that he would already be awake. Looking down at him, she realized for the first time that she was straddling him. How that had gotten past her initially was anyone’s guess.
“Good morning,” he stated, in a voice that was far too husky and with a smile that should not have been as appealing as it was.
“This isn’t…I didn’t…this was an accident.”
“I know. Imagine my surprise when I awoke to find you climbing on top of me. Imagine how much more surprised I was to realize you were sleepwalking.”
“You could have at least moved me off of you,” Eri responded, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I did. Twice. When you moved back a third time, I figured it was where you wanted to be.” He smirked.
“I did not.”
“You sure, Amate?” He settled his hands on her waist. “Because you’re awake now and still here, but believe me, I don’t mind.”
He had her there. She’d made no effort to move after taking in their position.
Eri could blame it on being surprised to learn he was awake, but how would that justify her still being on top of him?
She could move now, but he’d likely chuckle and make it seem like she was only doing it then because he said something. Which wouldn’t she be?
She was saved from having to say anything as he rolled them over, and she gasped as her back hit the bed.
Eri immediately held her breath. A reflex caused by a past experience.
Part of her was waiting for something terrible to happen.
The larger part of her knew it wouldn’t, and while she was determined not to let the events of one man not being able to accept no as an answer shape her entire future, it snuck back up now and then.
“I’m going to make breakfast,” he stated, running the knuckles of his free hand along her cheek. “Anything you prefer?”
Eri shook her head as he slid his arm from under her.
He left her lying in his bed as he walked into the en suite, and she couldn’t help but watch him go.
She turned her attention to the ceiling and exhaled softly.
There was an uptick in her heartbeat, and it wasn’t because she’d been afraid of what he could do.
It was because part of her wanted to see.
However, she’d noticed that Elias always walked a fine line with her.
It was almost as if he knew just how much she would allow and had no intention of overstepping, pushing further until she gave him a signal, the go-ahead.
It was almost like he expected her to, knew that she would. She didn’t know how to feel about that.
He said nothing when he exited the bathroom several minutes later. Instead, he ghosted his fingers against her ankle as he passed and left the bedroom.
Another exhale, and she decided she should get up too. She entered the hall bathroom, washed her face, brushed her teeth, and relieved herself. She grabbed her phone before venturing into the kitchen. He had a few things out on one of the counters by then.
Eri took the time to take in the tattoo down the middle of his back.
She knew he had some; she had seen the ones on his arms and wrist several times, and the peeking of the wings on his chest in certain shirts.
The one on his back was a scepter, the symbol of Hades, if she remembered her mythology correctly.
There was a lightning bolt with intricate lightning flashes all around it.
It was a detailed piece; she was sure it had taken hours if not days.
The tattoo on his chest that she’d gotten an up-close look at earlier was indeed wings adorning an hourglass.
It was easy to understand, but the one on his back puzzled her.
If she’d learned anything over her time knowing him and Marco, it was that they didn’t have tattoos that didn’t mean something to them.
“What’s the significance of the tattoo on your back?”
“For my twenty-first birthday and Marco’s twenty-fifth, we decided we wanted to get tattoos that matched somehow.
Vince wanted to participate, and we thought, yeah, okay, it can’t hurt.
He wanted these meaningless, weird things.
Which is cool, because a tattoo doesn’t have to have meaning, but we wanted these to.
We finally decided on an Olympic theme—more specifically, the brothers.
Hades was the oldest, followed by Poseidon and Zeus.
I’m the youngest of the three, so my tattoo is the lightning bolt.
However, when Cronus spat them up after swallowing them, it was in the reverse order: Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades.
We wanted to incorporate both placements in the order, but Vince wasn’t a fan of this.
He made a big deal about Marco and me purposely choosing to do that to leave him out because his tattoo would be the only one that looked different.
He backed out, and we still got them to signify our order of birth and our bond. ”
“Did you purposely choose to do that to leave him out?” Eri asked. “I mean, he was stuck in the middle. Nothing changed for Poseidon.”
“No, we didn’t. Vince is hardheaded and doesn’t like to listen, so he didn’t want to hear how Marco planned to tie them together.
Honestly, looking at his tattoo and mine, you wouldn’t know they matched unless you saw them side by side and knew this story.
They’re done in two different styles and aren’t direct copies. ”
She nodded even though his back was still to her.
The more she heard about Vince, the more she felt he was a spoiled brat who wanted his way.
She could understand him going through something when he lost his dad.
She’d done the same when she’d lost her mom, but that wasn’t an excuse for how he acted now.
His mother should also be ashamed of herself.
Her phone rang, and she looked down to see Mickey’s name flash across the screen.
“And what happened to you last night?” she answered.
“I’m sorry. I forgot I had your things, and I had a…friend to go see.”
Eri rolled her eyes. “You left me stranded to go get some pussy? You’re the worst,” she joked.
“Oh, no! What did you end up doing?”
“Elias let me stay with him.”
“Oh, he did, did he?” Mickey asked, and Eri could almost see the shit-eating grin on her face.
“Where are you?”
“I’ll be leaving in an hour. I’ll meet you back at the venue at noon?”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll meet you there.” She hung up and placed her phone on the counter. “Can you take me to the venue to meet Mickey at noon?”
“Sure, Amate.”
“Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me.”
He’d also told her that last night, but she still felt inclined. The rest of breakfast was spent discussing random topics. As much as she enjoyed giving him a hard time and keeping him at arm’s length, she had to admit there was an ease about being in his company, about talking to him.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
After taking Eri to get her car and ensuring she left safely, Elias ended up at his shop.
He didn’t have any plans for the rest of the day and took an inventory of some basic parts he liked to keep in stock.
Buying them in bulk was always cheaper, and since he used them for ninety percent of his builds, running out wasn’t an option, especially since they sometimes shipped out slower than other parts.
He wrote the numbers to compare with Christa’s spreadsheet of all the parts, tools, and paint colors they had on hand.
Most of which she’d reorder unprompted when they dropped below a certain number.
However, with several parts, Elias would go in and turn the background of the total red.
A signal for her to reorder if she wasn’t around when he realized there was something he needed.
He compared the numbers he’d taken down to those on the spreadsheet and thought back to the previous night.
Elias wasn’t sure how long he’d been asleep when Eri entered his room.
He’d heard the door, which he’d left cracked, push open, and he slowly roused from his sleep.
He thought she needed something because he’d told her to tell him if she did.
He hadn’t been lying to her when he said he was surprised to find that she was sleepwalking. He knew people did it, but it was his first time witnessing it. When he called her name several times, and she didn’t respond, he knew it was happening.