Page 50 of Somnium

Elias was right there. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

She shook out her hand, the sting still radiating as she glared at the rough edge of the counter and the small piece of rogue wood that stuck out from the otherwise smooth surface.

“It’s nothing, I just got a splinter from the damn counter.”

“Let me see.”

“Really, it’s nothing⁠—”

“Cadi …”

She lifted her eyes to his, fighting the urge to push back against the look of concern on his face as he held out his hand for hers.

“Let me see,” he repeated, softer this time like he was trying to coax her out of her shadows. It felt like her stomach was going to jump right out of her throat when she slowly extended her arm and let him take her hand. He inspected her wound, careful not to touch the spot on her finger that was already starting to swell.

Cadi’s heart nearly stopped when he leaned toward her, closing the distance between them faster than she could react. He angled to the side, his chest brushing her shoulder as he reached behind her before straightening with a pair of tweezers in his hand.

“Sera keeps these here for this exact reason,” he said, then gripped the end of the splinter and carefully pulled it out. Cadi let out a nervous laugh, hoping he couldn’t tell how rattled she was.

“There,” he said, tossing the tweezers onto the counter, “I feel confident you’ll make a full recovery.”

Cadi forced a smile and pushed all her willpower into focusing on anything except the way she couldn’t move, or the way Elias was still holding her hand while his thumb slowly drifted against her palm. The strange fluttering sensation behind her ribs returned, tugging like a tiny string.

“You must think I’m a complete mess,” she said, trying hard to distract herself from the weird pull.

He tilted his head in question.

“This is the second time you’ve had to put me back together.”

His face eased into a gentle smile. “You’re allowed to need help.”

Cadi held his gaze, battling the instinct to shy away, to diminish, to argue. She was so used to her so-called friends acting as though there was no greater inconvenience than for her to need their help, and it felt impossible for her to believe that things could be different. But maybe her past didn’t have to write her future.

Cuba yipped from her spot on the couch, drawing their attention. Cadi slid her hand from Elias’s, though the warmth of his touch lingered against her skin as she held up her injured finger for the dog to see.

“You’re so lucky you’re cute,” she said as she crossed to the couch and plopped down beside the animal.

Cuba barked again.

“Yeah, yeah.”

Cadi ran her hand over Cuba’s soft head and dodged the dog’s attempt to land a sloppy kiss against her cheek.

“Thank you for helping me,” she said, her gaze following Elias as he moved to sit beside them.

“Any time.”

As soon as he sat down, Cuba let out a small huff and jumped from the couch in favor of her plush bed, leaving Cadi and Elias alone. Cadi scowled at the dog. If she didn’t know any better, she’d almost think she’d planned that.

“I’ll try not to take that personally,” Elias said, casting the dog a similarly suspicious glance before he turned back. Cadi lowered her gaze, trying not to think about how close Elias’s knee was to hers. It seemed that no matter how hard she pushed, or how much distance she tried to put between them, she kept finding herself right back in front of him.

And it was getting harder to fight that pull, to convince herself that she wanted to.

When she lifted her eyes, her mind threatened to go blank from the way he was looking at her. It was the same way he had looked at her at The Crow the day before. A look that left her open, like he was seeing everything, even the parts she had spent years learning how to hide.

“Cadi, I—” he paused, lifting his arm to rest it against the back of the couch as whatever he had been about to say diminished into the quiet of the apartment. Cadi saw what might have been a flash of longing cross his features, but it was gone before she could say for certain.

“I should probably go,” he said after a beat. His hand tapped against the cushion beside her, and she could have sworn his voice sounded deeper somehow, settling over her in a way that she wasn’t ready to let go of. But if he wanted to leave …