Barbaric

Chapter Fourteen

I don't remember exactly when I fell asleep, but when I finally woke up some time later, I was warm, and comfortable, with a cozy weight against my back. I blearily opened my eyes just to see if the sun was still up, to gage how long I had been in the world of unconsciousness, and when I saw the darkness of the world beyond, I knew I must have slept...well, quite a while, actually. I yawned then, reaching up a sluggish hand to palm my eyes as I debated internally whether or not I actually wanted to get out of bed. I mean, I was quite comfortable, and it had been...gods, I couldn't begin to tell you how long it had been since I had a serene moment such as this. Warm in bed, not thinking about all of the crap I had to deal with on a daily basis. It was nice.

So, with that thought in mind, I snuggled deeper against the warmth, eyes slipping closed as I inhaled deeply and relaxed. Or, well, would have relaxed if my pillow didn't have a heartbeat.

Eyes shooting open, I turned to look at what I was apparently laying on, my heart nearly stopping when I recognized the pale, sleeping face of Jox, his lips slightly parted as he remained unknowing to what was happening. My first instinct was to jump out of bed and run to the other side of the room in embarrassment, yet that selfish, wanting part of me decided to stay and just...look. I mean, there was no harm in looking right? Besides, I had been alone when I fell asleep, so that meant Jox had climbed in with me on his own accord.

Nibbling at my bottom lip, I let my gaze linger on his porcelain face, his skin marked with not a single blemish. But that was Glacic skin for you. Flawless, like untouched porcelain. Unless if they were a halfbreed, and even then, their so called "blemishes" would be beauty marks or heavy, dark freckles. Jox had none of that, of course, which meant he was a pure blooded Glacic.

My gaze dropped to his lips, thinner than mine, but definitely much pinker. I knew how they felt against my own lips, as I had the pleasure of kissing them in the past, and I couldn't help but wonder...did he enjoy kissing me as well? I mean, the times we've kissed he seemed to have enjoyed it, but I couldn't know for sure.

Jox sighed in his sleep and I froze, holding my breath as he turned towards me and wrapped his arm around my waist, his eyes still closed. I relaxed when he remained asleep and let myself study his face from this new angle, my fang gingerly poking at my bottom lip as I stared at him. He looked so much younger in his sleep, his face relaxed and soft. And while he was definitely attractive like this, I had to admit I very much preferred it when he had a smile on his face. I don't know why, perhaps it was because he practically glowed when he smiled, those blue eyes as bright as a cloudless sky.

I nearly fell off the bed in fright when there was a sudden knock against the bedroom door, my heart racing as my gaze remained transfixed on Jox, hoping that the noise didn't wake up. When it didn't, I gently pulled myself out of his arms, wincing and freezing for a moment when he twitched and frowned. My heart hammered in his chest, but when he didn't move, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding, and made my way over to the door, opening it to peek out at whoever the hell was interrupting me.

I frowned when I saw Emylle on the other side, her seafoam-colored eyes going wide when she saw me. "O-Oh, hello Delkele. I-I didn't realize you were...this is Jox's room, yes?"

I narrowed my eyes slightly, wondering what the hell she wanted with the Glacic man. "It is. He's currently asleep at the moment, so I'm afraid he's unavailable for...whatever you want him for." I paused, glancing back into the room to make sure said man was asleep before I walked out into the hall and gently closed the door behind me, turning my attention back towards the woman in front of me. "May I ask what it is exactly you want with him? And at this hour?"

Emylle's dark cheeks darkened even more as she blushed, sheepishly avoiding my eyes as she tucked some blonde strands behind her ear. "Curiosity, mostly," she admitted, risking a glance towards me. "I enjoy learning about different cultures, and I've never met anyone from Glacida before. I guess I wanted to learn some things from him about their way of life."

I frowned, brows furrowing. "At this hour of night?"

"It's only the beginning of the evening, Delkele. Just before dinner, I believe." Emylle nibbled at her bottom lip, wringing her hands together awkwardly. "Speaking of which...I should...you know, get some dinner. Ah...bye." She turned to hurry away from me, but I stopped her by gently grabbing onto her arm, still suspicious as to why she wanted to talk to Jox. I mean sure, I get she wanted to learn his culture, but it seemed a little strange that she wanted to see him now, at this time. And weirdly enough, she seemed to always show up when Jox was on my mind.

I wasn't really a superstitious person, but it was just...weird.

Taking a breath, I let go of her arm when she turned to me with a questioning glance, a frown forming on her plump lips. "Um, do you need anything else?"

I shook my head, lifting up a finger. "Let me wake Jox. I'm sure he's probably hungry by now and would like something to eat. Perhaps you can ask him your questions at dinner."

Emylle stared at me for a moment before a small smile formed on her lips, the woman nodding respectfully towards me. "That sounds good to me."

I hesitated for a moment before I made my way back into the room. I nibbled at my bottom lip as I stared at Jox's sleeping form on the bed, and with a sigh, I walked over to him and gently tapped him on the shoulder, earning a sleepy whine from him before he snuggled deeper into the sheets.

"Jox," I called to him, blatantly ignoring the way his little whine heated up my body, "Jox, you should wake up and eat something."

Jox muttered something in Glacic under his breath before he opened those eyes, the light blue of his iris seeming even brighter than normal. "Delkele? Morning." He furrowed his brows. "Or, well, good evening. What time is it?" He rubbed at his face as he sat up, yawning as I averted my gaze with a shrug, my heart beating rapidly in my chest for some unforeseen reason.

Actually, I knew why my heart was acting this way, and that was because Jox was just terribly attractive, and it was messing with me.

"Well, Emylle mentioned it was around dinner time," I spoke slowly, risking a glance back towards him.

Jox stared at me with raised eyebrows, seemingly surprised that it was so late. "Wow, really? When did you wake up?"

I felt my face warm, and I stared at the floor in embarrassment, nervously scratching the back of my neck. "Actually, I woke up not too long ago. Just a few minutes ago, to be exact."

The grin that Jox wore made my cheeks grow hot and caused my heart to begin beating rapidly in my chest, my eyes falling anywhere but the object of my affection. "Wow, you actually got about ten hours of sleep. I'm proud of you."

I gave him a small, sheepish smile, biting the inside of my cheek out of habit. "I guess I was quite comfortable. Y-You know, since u-um, you were there, and, um...which is weird because you're from a planet of ice and you would think you would be the opposite of cold and gods, now I'm rambling." I pursed my lips to stop talking, my cheeks burning so hotly that I feared my flesh would melt.

Of course, Jox only stared at me with amusement swirling in those beautiful blue eyes of his. He wore a lazy grin on his face as he climbed out of the bed, only a couple of inches shorter than me when he reached where I was. My heart hammered against my chest with surprising force as Jox cupped my cheek, and it nearly stopped when he pressed a gentle kiss to the corner of my lips. "You're too damn cute for your own good, Del." He then pulled back when his stomach rumbled, the noise causing his porcelain cheeks to fill with pink. "Now, lets go get some food and discuss what Asurah and I came up with while you were sleeping."

A/N: Oof, I blush for the both of them, all snuggly in bed like they were XP. Del is just so cute and shy and it's so darn adorable!!!!

Anywho, hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Lemme know what you think! I love feedback!!