Page 9 of Healing Her Cowboys
At least, everyone except for Brik.
Every so often, she could feel his eyes lingering on her. She wasn’t sure if he was scrutinizing her or something else, but she shifted with each glance he sent her way.
That night, Reese had a hard time sleeping. It always happened when she was in a new place. Her sleep patterns were off, which made it hard not to toss and turn in her bed.
Reese had resigned herself to counting the stucco pieces in the ceiling like sheep to fall asleep when she heard a muffled sound coming from the hall.
She cracked her door to see if she could hear the sound better. Groaning, like someone stirring in pain, traveled through the hallway.
The sound brought her to Atlas’s room. His door was already open, and she could see that the usual calm expression was twisted in fear and frustration. His covers were tangled up all around him.
She hesitated before waking him up. Was it safe to disturb him when he was having such vivid nightmares? The sound of him in pain decided for her.
“Atlas?” she called. When he didn’t respond, she tried to say it louder. “Atlas!” Still, nothing. She finally rested her hand on his shoulder and tried to call his name again. “Atl—”
Before she could blink, he pulled her down on the bed with him. He rolled over until she was trapped beneath him. Shecould barely see his expression except for the moonlight snaking through the window.
His eyes seemed partly open but still almost in a dreamlike state.
“Such a beautiful dream,” he said. “I like this one better.”
His lips captured hers before she could tell him he wasn’t dreaming.
She stilled as his mouth tried to open hers to explore their depths even more. She realized then that he didn’t have a shirt on, and she could feel the hard expanse of his chest pressing into her. That wasn’t the only hard thing digging into her.
This time when she tried to speak, a moan slipped out instead. She wanted to close her eyes and follow the pace of his kiss, but she didn’t feel right having him thinking he was still in a dream. Wasn’t that like taking advantage of him?
“Atlas, wake up,” she said. “You’re not dreaming.”
Instead of waking up, he rolled them over until they were on their sides, facing each other with his arms still wrapped around her.
She could hear Atlas’s breath even out as he drifted back to sleep. How was she supposed to leave now?
A yawn flowed out of her as her eyelids got heavier. Before she could try to fight through it, sleepiness finally consumed her.
***
The first rays of dawn made Atlas stir first. He tried to stretch but realized someone was in the bed with him. As he finally woke, he became aware of the warmth snuggled up against him. Seeing the soft rise and fall of her breathing confirmed that Reese was sleeping beside him.
He tried to remember how she ended up there, but his brain was foggy. He also didn’t want to think too much about it. After all, the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen was sleeping peacefully in his bed, and he had no complaints.
He realized he could watch her sleep for days and not have any problems with it. He took in the softness of her expression and how she parted her lips slightly as she slept. Although he wasn’t sure how she got there, this was the first restful sleep he had had in years, and he was pretty sure it had something to do with her sleeping beside him.
Reese stirred and her eyes fluttered open. Realization of where she was filled her face, and then she met his gaze.
“Morning,” he said.
“Good morning,” she said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
“No need to apologize. If anything, I should apologize for pulling you into bed with me.” The night before seeped through in broken images, and he realized she must have caught him in one of his night terrors.
“I guess we were both pretty tired.”
“Thank you for coming to check on me. I don’t think I’ve slept that good in years.”
Reese smiled. “I’m glad I could help. Do you always have trouble sleeping?”
The smile fell from his face, but Reese felt easy to talk to. “It’s not as frequent as it used to be, but when it comes, it’s unpleasant.”
