Page 13 of Chelsea’s Knight

She’s wearing a tiny, silky camisole top and matching bottoms, her lush body on display where the material gaps. Instead of getting lost in looking at her, I focus on what she’s doing. I don’t think she’s having an actual seizure; I think she’s in the throes of a nightmare based on the sweat that’s forming on her forehead and glistening at her temples.

“Sweetness, wake up, you’re having a nightmare,” I call out, gently rubbing circular patterns on her upper arm. I don’t want to startle her, but she needs to wake up from whatever hellish scene she’s currently lost inside of and come back to me.

Long moments pass before she gasps and I hear, “Canyon? W-what’s going on?” Her voice is raspy and raw from screaming, yet she still sounds half-asleep as well.

“Heard you scream from the other room, Chels, so came in to check on you. Are you okay?”

Instead of answering my question, she bursts into uncontrollable tears and flings herself into my outstretched and welcoming arms. As she frantically sobs and brutally shakes in my embrace, I murmur soothing, nonsensical words in an effort to calm her down. Since she’s not paying attention, I stand with her burrowed in my arms then get us better situated on her bed. I’m feeling my age apparently, because kneeling on the floor has my body screaming in agony and my bones popping.

“Can you tell me what the dream was about, Chels? Talk to me, sweetness, so I can help you. This crying can’t be good for you physically or emotionally, babe, and I don’t know what to do for you yet if you break down and have a seizure.” I keep repeating myself trying to get through to her and I hope like hell she hears me through her emotional fog because all I know is extreme duress can trigger an epileptic episode and her hysterical crying counts as that if my opinion counts on the matter, that is.

I briefly consider fishing my phone out of my pocket to text Trident since he’s a nurse, but I also don’t want to wake him up since it’s his day off and with a newborn, he’s starting to look sleep deprived.

I know he offered to help if needed and I won’t hesitate to reach out if she starts having one, but right now, I think it’s just a matter of getting her soothed.

Long, agonizing minutes pass until she finally starts to calm. I say agonizing because I’m in a pair of lounge pants, no shirt, and she’s planted on my lap with her tiny sleep shorts which has my body taking notice of her in a way that’s definitely not appropriate considering the circumstances. I can tell when she notices because her face turns tomato red.

Smirking, I say, “Ignore him, that’s what I’m doing. He’s reacting to the fact there’s a beautiful woman in the vicinity. But you have my word, he’s staying put until he gets a verbal invitation.”

She giggles, which was my intent. I was trying to break the heavy mood and let her know I won’t take advantage of the current situation. Actually, I’llnevertake advantage of her or any woman.

That’s not what a real man does and if nothing else, I pride myself on being respectful and honorable… traits I learned not only in the military but from the brotherhood I’ve built here with these men.

“So, care to share what your nightmare was about, sweetheart?”

“It was all jumbled up and mismatched because my grandparents were there and watched as Archie slammed the tire iron at the back of my skull, then they held the door so Noah could be carted off. See what I mean? Nothing like that actually happened in reality. My grandparents weren’t there when my stepbrother or stepmother abused me, although they pushed for my father to open his eyes and check into it because I was always getting unnecessarily hurt when he was out of town. My injuries never made sense to Nonni and Poppa, and I never said anything because I lived in fear of the repercussions. Plus, as much as they fought for me, they’dneverkidnap a child or approve of one being manhandled in any shape or fashion. They would love and cherish that little boy and his pure spirit. I can hear my poppa saying how his unquenchable curiosity means he’ll always seek the right answers.”

“Nightmares don’t have to make sense, Chels. I know you were upset when you still didn’t have your memories back and thought your grandparents were ignoring you for some unknown reason, so that was still on your mind. The injury you suffered was similar to what happened to you when you were a little girl, which brought your stepbrother to the forefront of your mind. Just know that it wasn’t real, you’re safe, and as far as I’m concerned you always will be. I won’t ever let any harm come to you as long as it’s in my power to prevent it.”

She takes a deep shuddering breath and softly whispers, “I don’t want to be alone. Will you stay here with me, at least until I fall back to sleep?”

How do I resist such a tempting offer?

I’d willingly put myself in harm’s way and agree with whatever she wanted in order to spend a minute more with her. Instead of refusing by coming up with reasons why this isn’t a great idea right now, I nod. “Let me get you something to drink while you get yourself settled again.” I maneuver off the bed and while she sits there, fix the twisted sheet and comforter before laying it around her slender frame. “What do you want me to get you?”

“One of my red drinks, please.”

I smile all the way to her refrigerator where I pull out one of her cold drinks as well as a bottle of water for myself.

Tonight may be an exercise in self-control for me, but I’ll suck it up and come out the victor because she’s worth the restrained effort.

* * *

I can’t go to sleep with her wrapped around me like an octopus. It started out innocently enough; with the floodgates opened, she shared stories about her childhood which has me wanting to find someone who can take care of that fucking bastard, Archie, permanently. Oh, and also that cunt of a stepmom that was forced on her due to her dad’s poor taste in women.

As for her father, she’s managed to put him on the top of an unshakable pedestal after his death, but he wasn’t without blame. He had to notice his little girl was shrinking into herself.

Now, her grandparents are two people I wish I could’ve met. She says neither of them were particularly tall, but the way she speaks about her poppa, she thinks he could’ve slayed Goliath on his own and plucked a few stars from the sky to deliver to her. They definitely fought for her tooth and nail then gave her the best life possible considering the hand she was dealt thanks to Archie and Hagzilla.

Because she shared, I bared my soul and gave her a little bit of my own past, something I’ve held close to my chest for far too long. She rolled onto her side to hug me then never left as we continued to talk.

Now? Her head is nestled on my pec, her soft puffs of breath causing my nipple to pebble. One arm is flung across my abdomen, along with one leg, with her knee extremely close to my family jewels, while the other arm is somehow touching my shoulder. She’s like a human spider monkey or something and in another place and time, I’d welcome this, but my dick has been hard as a fucking rock since I slid between her sheet and comforter, and it’s only gotten worse and predominantly harder as time’s worn on.

“Chels?” I murmur, not wanting to wake her up. I actually want to make sure she’s sound asleep so I can untangle myself from her pretzel configuration then go to my own cold, lonely bed.

Her response is unintelligible and instead of moving away, she curls closer into me. So close, in fact, I can feel the heat from her core since it’s now pressed against my fucking hip. My breath hitches as my heart pounds faster. A cold, clammy sweat begins to bead along my forehead as I grit my teeth and force my hands to stay glued to where they’re at.

“Chelsea,” I moan, knowing if I don’t manage to remove myself from this situation, I’m going to do or say something that’s going to freak her the fuck out. “Chelsea, please.”

---