Page 36 of Till Death Do Us Part

“Again,” she whispered, and I looked over at her, but I could see her face in the moonlight, and she was asleep. Sleep-talking. But she looked so sad, so… scared. “Again…” She whispered it again, like the word was hurting her.

Nervously, tentatively, I put a shaking hand out. I felt like I was approaching a wounded tiger—a powerful animal that could kill me in an instant, but I hated to see her hurting—and gingerly, I put my hand on her shoulder.

The reaction was explosive.

She bolted awake, and I gasped as she grabbed my wrist and twisted it around, shoving me down. I cried out her name, but it was a flash of pure instinct as she whipped me around until she was on top of me, her eyes like fire, pinning me down to the bed underneath her.

“Vera!” I gasped, and this time it got through to her—recognition flashed in her eyes, and slowly, she loosened her grip on me.

“Elaine,” she breathed.

“It’s okay,” I whispered. “I’m here. It’s just me.”

“Don’t touch me in my sleep like that,” she said. “I’m trained to respond.”

“You looked so sad. I didn’t want to see you like that.”

“My dreams are none of your business, Elaine.” Her voice cut me like a knife, and I pursed my lips, tears shimmering in my eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, and Vera’s whole face shifted, looking like she’d cry too. She slipped her hands up my arms, and she collapsed down on top of me, burying her face in my shoulder, wrapping her arms around me.

“Sorry,” she whispered, her voice hoarse in my ear. “Just a bad… dream…”

“It’s okay, Vera.” I took her in my arms, holding her tightly. “You’re safe now.”

“I was trying so hard…”

“Trying so hard for… what, Vera?”

She was quiet.

“Vera?”

“It’s nothing. Forget it.” She held me tighter. “You can ignore me when that happens. I’m… I’m used to it. That’s how my dreams normally go.”

“But…”

“There’s a reason they talk about how well you can sleep at night. I made a lot of choices in my life that didn’t contribute to that.”

“But you’re here now. And I see how hard you’re trying, and it’s… you’re doing enough.”

She tightened in my arms, and I almost regretted speaking before she pressed her face into the crook of my neck. My heart surged, butterflies through every part of me when I felt her nose, her lips, all brushing the soft skin of my neck.

“You’re too good,” she said. “Don’t start liking me, now.”

“Vera…”

“I’m not a good person. Not even deep down.”

I held her tightly. “Even if that were true, you’re still a person. And you haven’t deserved to hurt the way you have.”

She drew shaky breaths before she sat up again, nearly rolling off of me before she stopped, hanging over me with that smoldering look in her eyes.

Only this time, she wasn’t taking in the situation. She was taking in me.

In bed, underneath her.

“Elaine…” She growled my name, and my pulse spiked.