Barbaric

Chapter Thirteen

(Delkele's POV)

I was practically a massive ball of nerves as I led Jox towards one of the unoccupied rooms, my attention frequently stolen by his strong form beside me. I...I had been so scared when he had run out like he did, and I dreaded the thought of him leaving me. Hell, he almost did, had I not stopped him and explained the whole situation, which he took about as well as I could have expected. Of course, he wanted to tell Asurah. He was worried for me, worried for the people of Naraka. It was the logical decision to try and get a powerful planet to assist us in this, should Elphes wage war on me.

But it was as I told him; I didn't want Asurah to feel obligated to help me. Ally, friend...it didn't matter, I didn't want him to carry my burdens. I could figure this out on my own, hopefully without the threat of another war.

I began nibbling at the inside of my cheek, my fang nearly splitting the flesh as we walked up to the door, pausing in front of it as I turned to peek at Jox. "Ah...well, it's not much, but it should accommodate you for now." I then stood there awkwardly, Jox's bright, gorgeous eyes staring straight at me, almost peering into my very soul.

After a moment, he placed his hand on my arm, nearly causing me to jump at the sudden contact. "Look," he said, his voice low, "we'll figure this out, alright? Somehow, someway, you and I are going to fix this. You're not alone here, Del."

I averted my gaze, heat seeping into my face, my arm tingling where Jox was touching me. "I know we will. I just...I worry for my people." I risked meeting his gaze. "We've been though enough wars to last an infinity...I don't want to put my people though another one. If we can somehow...I don't know, call off the engagement without bringing forth Elphes' wrath...I want to know how."

Jox lowered his gaze for a moment, seemingly deep in thought, before his gaze met mine once more, his hand moving from my arm, up to my cheek, his porcelain skin cool against mine. "That's why you have me. Whatever you need, I'm here for you."

I couldn't even begin to describe the warm feeling that blossomed within my chest, my heart racing a mile a minute as my gaze remained locked with his. My attention then trailed from those light blue eyes from his, down his pale, sharp cheeks...right to his lips, pink and enticing. I wanted so bad to close the distance between us and feel what those pretty lips felt like against mine, once more...but I doubted this was an appropriate situation to give in to my desire.

Realistically, I felt completely drained, my mind tired from everything that happened today. So, with that thought in mind, I cleared my throat and took a step back, pursing my lips while I awkwardly rubbed the back of my neck. "Anyway...we should probably continue...this tomorrow. You're probably tired from your flight. I've...I'm a bit tired myself."

"Del?" The sound of Jox's voice caused me to snap my mouth shut and listen.

"Yes?"

"It's still morning."

I glanced out of one of the large floor-to-ceiling windows, and confirmed that it was, indeed, early morning. With everything that had just happened, I was sure it had to be much later into the day, not...not the beginning of it. Which meant I still had too much time on my hands before the day truly ended. Gods this was turning out to be a nightmare.

"I don't...I don't really get too much sleep. At least, not lately with everything happening," I spoke, going back to the conversation at hand. I felt ashamed to admit it out loud, since I knew Jox was only going to worry about me, but with him staring at me like he was...I couldn't lie to him. Not when he was so willing to put everything aside to help me. Besides, he didn't deserve to be lied to. He was much to kind to me for that.

Just as I suspected, Jox's brows pulled together worriedly, a frown forming on his lips as he moved to meet my gaze. "How many hours a night do you sleep?"

I gulped, rubbing my forearm. "Four hours, if I'm lucky."

Jox sighed and rubbed a hand down his face, the man biting at his bottom lip. Finally, after a moment, he opened his bedroom door and began dragging me inside, my heart thundering in my chest, nearly stealing my breath away. "J-Jox, what are you doing? Why are you pulling me into your room?"

"Relax, Del," Jox reassured me, dragging me towards the bed, "it isn't what you think. You need to get some sleep-hey, don't look at me like that, I'm being serious. You can afford to take a few hours to yourself to relax."

"Jox, I-"

"Del, lay down and get some sleep."

I shut my mouth, staring very intensely towards him, the man unwavering in his gaze. I felt...hell, I felt incredibly awkward and wanted nothing more than to run to my room and hide, but knowing Jox, he wouldn't ease up on this, not when he was raising an expectant eyebrow towards me. I cleared my throat and slowly eased my way onto the bed, relief briefly flashing through Jox's light blue eyes as I, very stiffly, made myself as comfortable as I could, biting the inside of my cheek when Jox nodded.

"Good. Now, I'm going to let you sleep for a bit, well...more than four hours if I can help it." He sighed and looked around the room, nibbling at his bottom lip. "I'll try to figure out what to do in the meantime." He then paused, pursing his lips. "Actually, I should call Asurah and let him know I made it here ok. Maybe we could start designing or figuring out what to do with the bunkers."

"Y-You're going to stay in here?" I asked, hating the way I stammered, my cheeks burning in embarrassment. Was he seriously going to stay here while I slept? What if I muttered something weird under my breath? Gods forbid if I made any unusual sounds in my sleep.

My nerves were made worse when Jox smiled warmly at me, blue eyes twinkling mischievously as he crossed his arms over his chest, jutting his hips to the side. "How else am I going to make sure that you actually sleep and not claim that you did?" He tapped at his temple. "I'm much smarter than that, Delkele, and if you're worried about making any noise while unconscious...well, don't be. It's a normal thing, and I won't poke fun at you if I hear anything."

Ha...as if that made anything any better, my nerves were still jumping around, my chest tight. But I knew that once his mind was made up, he wasn't going to go anywhere, no matter how much I could plead with him. I just prayed to the gods above that I didn't say anything weird or make any weird noises...because I would literally die from embarrassment.

So, with my mind a mess of thoughts and scrabbled emotions, I awkwardly turned to my side and got comfortable...or, well, as comfortable as one could get with their crush's eyes locked onto them. And with one shaky inhale of the warm air around me, I attempted to fall into that blissful void known as sleep.

A/N: Not really much to say, other than I hope you all enjoyed the chapterrrrrr!