Page 14 of Blossoming Dahlia

“No, it’s fine, just swallowed funny,” I mumbled, clearing my throat. Amanda turned the movie on, and it was one I hadn’t seen before, but I had heard about it. “You really enjoy horror movies, don’t you?” I asked Dahlia, who smiled sheepishly.

“They’ve always felt like a good outlet for my anxiety.” She shrugged, taking a sip of her own drink. “Like, sure they might be scary, but what’s the worst they could do to me? I can just turn it off or pause it anytime.” I smiled, I guessed that made sense in a way. We all jumped at once when a plane exploded suddenly, and Amanda laughed.

“You sure are jumpy for a fed, Doc.” She smirked, and Dahlia elbowed her in the ribs.

“Ignore her, she likes to tease,” Dahlia whispered in my ear, and I took another drink to cover up my reaction to her closeness. The ladies weren’t quiet movie-watchers, that was for sure, they liked to make comments and joke about what was happening on screen. I even chimed in once or twice.

“Oh come on, he’s handling that without gloves! Not only does that tamper with the evidence, it’s got blood all over it, that’s just a health hazard.” I shook my head, setting off a fit of giggles in Dahlia.

“They are fighting against a supernatural entity, and you’re upset the policeman didn’t follow standard procedure?” Amanda teased, and I sputtered indignantly.

“When everything is stacked against you, the very least you can do is follow basic procedure! It’s the easiest part!” I insisted, and Dahlia doubled over, nearly breathless with laughter. It was pretty infectious, I had to admit, and I felt myself starting to crack up as she fought to catch her breath. She was fully leaning against me now, and I couldn’t tell if it was just the couch dipping under my weight, or if she had just shifted unconsciously into me like she had the other night while we slept. Either way, it made me feel warm and relaxed. As her giggles finally calmed down and we returned to the movie, I lifted my arm up and settled it on the back of the couch behind her head, mainly to give my long limbs a bit of a stretch, but alsoto give her a bit more space in case my shoulder was getting too close for her.

I felt a small thrill pass through my body as Dahlia cozied in further beside me, her side molding perfectly against mine. This was crossing a line somewhere I was sure. Like, there wasn’t a rule about cuddling up on a couch in the FBI handbook or anything, but it was definitely a no-no. I glanced over at Amanda, who was staring at me, a smug look on her face. My heart leapt into my throat, and I felt my face heat. I opened my mouth to say something, to deny the impropriety. But Amanda beat me to the punch, her eyes shifting back to the TV as she smiled evilly.

“God, remember how much of a pussy Josh was when it came to horror movies?” She laughed, and Dahlia sighed, waving away the comment with a lazy flick of her wrist.

“He didn’t see the point of them, it didn’t make him a pussy,” she replied, but her lips teased up in a smile.

“He is a pussy, he’s totally the guy who would bail on you if the zombies attacked.” Amanda smirked, and Dahlia choked out a laugh. “I bet Doc here wouldn’t do that to a woman, would you, Doc?” she asked pointedly, one eyebrow shooting up. “Doc is the kind of guy who’d reveal a secret bunker and the research for a cure in his basement or something.” I felt my face heat again as Dahlia laughed.

“Definitely, I bet you’d have a greenhouse in your bunker with all sorts of fresh vegetables too,” Dahlia mused, patting my thigh absently, her eyes still glued to the TV. I finished my drink quickly, looking for an excuse to get up and settle myself.

“Oh here, let me freshen that up.” Amanda leapt up, snatching the cup out of my hand and grabbing Dahlia’s before I could stop her. She shot me a devilish little grin as she walked over to the kitchenette, and I realized with a jolt of pure panic that she was doing this on purpose. Did she want me to get fired? Or was thispurely for Dahlia’s benefit? Although how Dahlia benefited from my torture I wasn’t too sure. She seemed oblivious to it, tucked comfortably against me.

“Uh oh, Ash, don’t look, he doesn’t have gloves on again!” Dahlia teased, her hand going up to shield my eyes. I laughed and let her cover the top half of my face with her hand. “Oh it’s terrible,” she gasped in mock horror. “He’s smearing the blood all over! Think of the fingerprints!”

“Thank god you’re here to shield me from this nightmare.” I smirked, and her hand came down. Her face was much closer than I’d anticipated, her eyes shining with laughter and her lips turned up in a coy little smile.

“Don’t worry, it’s safe to look now,” Dahlia murmured, my eyes still glued to her lips, mesmerized by the soft curve of her smile. The air between us felt electric all of a sudden, and it shouldn’t have been that way, not between us. So why couldn’t I stop staring at her damn lips?

“Whoa, his head justexploded,” Amanda exclaimed, and we both jumped, having forgotten she was there. “Here, baby girl.” She smiled, passing Dahlia her glass. “Doc.” She smirked at me, holding out my glass. I swallowed thickly, taking it with a quick nod. She settled back down beside us, not commenting on how Dahlia was about one inch away from sitting on my lap. I was trying my best not to dwell on that fact, focusing on the movie in the hopes that my body wouldn’t betray me. I was in sweatpants, they left nothing to the imagination in that respect. Of course, that was when the movie decided it would be an appropriate time for a sex scene.

“Okay, bathroom sex I get, but while you’re being chased by a monster?” Amanda groaned. “Not good for setting the mood.”

I chuckled awkwardly over the moans on the screen. “Also that’s a public bathroom, you know it hasn’t been cleaned inages.” The laughter on the couch helped to drown out the over-the-top sex noises at least.

The movie really wasn’t that good or scary for that matter, but none of us were expecting the jump-scare that happened next. Amanda nearly threw her glass at the TV, and Dahlia let out a small shriek, making me flinch and wrap my arms around her instinctively. I let out a string of curses that would’ve made a sailor blush, my heart nearly jumping out of my chest. “Good fucking lord, Doc, they teach you that at Quantico?” Amanda asked, and I huffed out a laugh, quickly releasing my grip on Dahlia.

“Sorry about that, it really caught me off guard,” I told her, and she laughed along with me, her cheeks flushed. After that, we all were a little more wary as we finished the movie, just in case they tried to pull that kind of stunt again. Thankfully, it was the last big scare of the movie, and it went downhill from there. By the end, Dahlia felt a little heavier against me, and when I leaned forward a bit, I realized her eyes were closed.

“Oh damn, she’s out cold,” Amanda murmured, slipping off the couch. I shifted a little, getting my arm under her legs so I could scoop her up gently without waking her. Amanda helped me get the door to her room open, and quickly cleared the clothes and things off her bed, dumping them in a heap on the floor. I set Dahlia down as carefully as possible and pulled the covers up over her, making sure she was properly tucked in. I saw Amanda grab her bag off the floor, and we crept out together, shutting the door behind us.

“If you want, you can stay the night here, you can take the other bed.” I pointed behind me, and she raised an eyebrow.

“Oh ya, and where do you plan to sleep then?” she asked, and I bristled at the implication in her voice.

“I’ll get a few hours on the couch, then I’ll probably work for a while,” I replied. Her posture relaxed a bit, and she nodded like I’d just passed some sort of test.

She lifted her bag up on her shoulder, glancing toward Dahlia’s room for a moment. “I’ve got work in the morning, so I’d better go home. Keep her safe for me, would you?” She smiled tightly, and I nodded, escorting her to the door. Once she was at the elevators, I closed the door and locked it, heading back to the couch.

Even with the extra bed, I felt more comfortable sleeping in view of the door, just in case. I stretched out as best I could, although I was definitely too long for this couch, my legs jutting over the arm at an awkward angle. Still, it beat sleeping upright in a chair. I relaxed as best I could, thinking about how natural it felt to have Dahlia pressed up against me. My last thoughts as I drifted to sleep were about how her lips would feel against mine.

Chapter ten

Dahlia

Iwas trapped. My eyes were open, but my body wouldn’t respond as I struggled desperately to move or scream. I heard the door creak open and I knew who it was without even seeing his face. He found me, and he was going to hurt me again. I screamed, my throat aching even though no sound came out. I thrashed inside my lifeless body, wanting to fight, desperate to draw blood from this man like he planned to do to me. I couldn’t see him, he was standing just out of view, but I could feel him as his hands wrapped around my throat. My lungs shrieked with a need for air. Just when I thought I was done for, two pops rang out, the weight on my throat abruptly fell away, and I gasped for air. A face appeared above me, and I recognized the piercing blue eyes. “It’s okay Dahlia, I won’t let anyone hurt you,” Asher murmured, and his voice sent shivers down my spine, directly to my core.

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