Page 52 of Somnium

“Why don’t we throw on a movie?” Elias suggested.

Cadi cracked an eye open, considering his offer for a moment before she lifted her shoulders. “I’m listening.”

Elias smiled and carefully shifted her to reach forward for the remote. Cadi settled herself next to him, not even trying to hide her smile when he lifted his arm in a quiet invitation, and she nestled even closer when he rested his hand against her shoulder.

For the second time that day, she let herself lean on him.

15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

ELIAS

Cadi shifted next to him, and Elias grunted, failing to muffle the sound of pain when her elbow dug into his hip.

“Oh! Sorry!” she said, tipping her head up with a look that would have taken him to his knees. Good thing he was already sitting down. He smiled at her, letting her soft curls flow over his fingers. They were so effortless, so perfectly her. He didn’t think he would ever grow tired of touching them. Or her.

“It’s okay, you didn’t hit anything important.”

She let out a quiet laugh, a playfulness creeping into her eyes before she settled her head against him, the faint smell of jasmine following in the wake of her movement. He let his fingers drift over the bare skin of her arm and smiled to himself when he felt a layer of goosebumps chase his touch.

It had barely been a month since she walked into his life, but even in that short time the reality of her was better than anything he could have dreamed. Nothing could have prepared him for the way her voice landed in his chest, or the way it felt to kiss her.

It was a miracle he had been able to cling to any semblance of control, especially after the way she had moved her hips against him …

Fuck. He had nearly shattered for her right there.

But he couldn’t lose control. Not with her. She deserved so much more than a single night of fire.

The screen of his phone lit up on the coffee table with a call. Elias shifted forward to grab it, trying his best not to disturb Cadi, and he let out a low chuckle when he read the name that flashed across the screen.

Cadi angled her face toward him, her eyes still glued to the television. “What’s so funny?”

“It’s Sera …”

Cadi snorted, pushing up to tuck her feet beneath herself. “So now her phone is on? How convenient.”

Elias’s eyes flicked up to hers, their crystalline blue briefly making him forget what he was doing. “Oh, I don’t know,” he said, leaning closer to her and smirking when he heard the way her breath hitched. “I think things worked out.”

She gave him a shy smile, which he claimed with his own lips before he forced himself to pull away from her to take the call.

“I’ll be right back.”

Cadi nodded as he stood, the skin at her chest flushed in response to his kiss. He could already tell that would never get old.

“Hello, Sera,” he said sarcastically into the receiver as he climbed the stairs to the bedroom.

“Hey!” Sera’s cheery voice replied from the other end of the line. “How’s Cuba?”

Elias breathed a laugh. “Oh, Cuba’s great. Of course, she would be with two people looking after her.”

A dramatic gasp sounded, followed by the worst attempt at false contrition Elias had ever heard.

“Oh dear. Did I forget that I got Cadi to dog sit for me? Darn. Sometimes I’m just so spacey.”

Elias rolled his eyes and leaned back against the wall next to the bathroom. “Mmmhm. I suppose you think you’re pretty slick, don’t you?”

“Hmmm, I’d say it’s less something I think and more something I know. And don’t even try pretending to be mad. We both knew from the second she showed up that this was the only way this would go, even with your half-hearted declaration to “stay away”. I just helped things along a little bit.”