Page 18 of Nightmare For Hire
“Just a warning,” I start. “I’ve never done this before. So I have no idea what I’m doing.”
“You wantmeto give you your first kiss?”
“I do.” I take his cheeks in my hands and lean down. “If that’s okay?”
He nods. “Yeah. Thanks for asking.” His pretty blue eyes are so wide, as if no one has ever asked him for a kiss before.
He’s warm. And my shadows go haywire around us when our lips connect. Shimmering in golds and pinks for a flash before going back to their usual blues and blacks. I’ve only witnessedkissing on tv or movies and I try to mimic what I’ve seen. My hand slides into Cyrus’s hair. His into mine. And I’m highly aware of how my body feels lighter than before, as if I can float in this form. How ridiculous.
Cyrus’s mouth tastes like sweet syrup and I want to seek out all my favorite flavors. He makes a soft muffled noise I can’t discern the meaning of. My entire body tingles with want. What is happening and why do I want this to continue on forever?
“Nox.” Cyrus pulls away and presses his forehead to my stomach. We’re both breathing hard. I don’t even need to breathe. He looks up at me. “I need things to go slow.”
“I have all the time in the universe, Cy.” I kiss the top of his head. “And I think you have a bed calling you.” I leave a bit of my Nightmare shadow in his hair. I tell myself it’s to make sure he gets home safe, but I know I won’t be able to resist checking in on him once he’s fallen asleep.
Chapter 8
Cyrus
My legs are jelly on my walk home. Who would have thought a Nightmare would be the sweetest person on the planet? He protected me from Mick. Nox doesn’t even know me, but he wants to.
My phone vibrates, and I dig it from my pocket.
Devon: ??????????
I scroll up to find that she messaged me several times during the date. When I checked my phone, I just needed to know the time and hadn’t paid attention to all the texts. She should be in bed likeIshould be, but I send her a message with the smiling emoji surrounded by hearts. Then count.
Three.
Two.
I answer as soon as her call starts to buzz my phone.
“What does that mean? And why the hell aren’t you in bed? I started to worry about you.”
“I think it was the best first date of my entire life.” Not that I have many to go off. Mick and I didn’t actually date date now that I think about it. Maybe a few times until he got what he desired. The more I think about it, the more I know he manipulated me somehow, to get me into bed sooner than I wanted.
“So what’s the Nightmare like?” She yawns.
“Nox is…” How does one describe the happiest person on earth? “Not what you’d expect. He’s like cotton candy dressed up in platforms. I really like him. And…” I stop walking to look around. “Mick showed up.”
“What the fuck?!”
“I started shutting down, but Nox was so sweet. He blocked Mick out with shadows and we continued on our date as if nothing had happened.” I don’t know how to thank him. He probably doesn’t even realize how much I appreciate what he did.
“Holy hell. I want to murder Mick. He put you through so much.” She’s breathing heavily through her nose.
“Apparently, he got transferred.” The words are softer than I meant. “He’ll be at Rivenfield Hospital with me.”
“No,” Devon whispers. “No. That’s your happy place.”
“It’ll be fine. Hopefully.” But I dread running into him around town or on the way to or from the hospital.
“How the hell did he find you? We were so careful to keep everything off social media.”
“I don’t know.” I thread my fingers through my long hair and squeeze my scalp, making a sharp pain shoot through my head. “I just don’t know.”
“Shit. Your phone.”
