The Truth Behind Those Eyes

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Nikki woke in yet another strange room. Sluggishly and disoriented, she shoved herself up on her elbows and looked around the tiny space. She was sprawled on a soft, comfortable bed, which took up most of the room. There was a closed door in front of her and a doorway slightly ajar to her left through which she could hear a voice. The room was bright and welcoming, a stark contrast to her dreams which had been dark and frightening. Flopping back down on the comfortable mattress, she attempted to remember her nightmares. She'd returned to Sam's town, back to the two unfortunate corpses but this time she hadn't been alone. Behind her an army of various demons, all different shapes and sizes, had stood waiting.

"Oh, hey you're awake. Hi, how are you feeling?"

She flinched as man around her age ambled through the partly open door. Once again he had the same colour eyes as Josh but Nikki was beginning to see the slight differences now. Sam's eyes held wisdom and mischief where as Josh's were bottomless and mysterious, pulling her in whenever she met his gaze. This man's eyes sparkled with a friendly youthfulness. He was lean and quite tall but instead of striding confidently he shuffled in almost apologetically.

"I'm Mikey, nice to meet you." He held out his hand awkwardly and Nikki couldn't help but smile at his gawky manner, instantly at ease as his peculiar charm rolled off him in calming waves.

"Hi Mikey, I'm Nikki." She closed her hand round his.

"How you feelin' now? You've been out cold for a while."

"I have?" She stretched her limbs, testing them for soreness. "I feel good."

"You must be starving, I'll go get you some food."

He gave her a shy smile before scurrying from the room and pulling the door closed. She smiled as he left, shaking her head at how he had become a Guardian. She had only known him a matter of minutes and yet she felt such a strong maternal instinct to protect him. Nikki swung her legs out from under the blankets into a seated position noting how stiff her limbs were. Inspecting her arms, she noticed a red tell tale mark on the back of her hand – at some point very recently she'd had a needle inserted there.

"Mikey said you were awake. How you feeling?"

Josh leaned lazily against the doorframe looking down at her with a relaxed and open gaze. He looked so different to the Josh she'd known of late. This one looked peaceful, laid back and just a little cocky. He grinned his lopsided smile as his dark hair fell casually across his face. Nikki's heart stuttered as she looked at him. He really was easy on the eye.

"I feel good. Hungry though."

"You look good. You've got the colour back in your cheeks." He arched his brow as he appraised her. "Yeah, you look good." He winked.

He winked?

Nikki blinked, attempting to hide her shock. What had happened whilst she was out cold to change Josh's character so severely? Gone was the uptight tensing of his muscles, the shifting of his eyes and the constant frown. In their place he wore an easy, flirtatious grin and he winked! She barely recognised this new version but she liked it. No scratch that, she loved it. He smirked, enjoying her mild blush, before sitting down, his thigh brushing hers, sending a pulse of electricity through her over excited body.

"Do you know how long you've been out?" he asked, sweeping her hair from the side of her neck. Her pulse sped as his fingertips skimmed her flesh. She shrugged, not daring to speak for fear of her voice betraying her sudden arousal.

"Three days."

"What?"

His face glowed with the small half smile tugging at his lips. The lips that had started a fire in her blood three days before.