Bodyguards Secret

Chapter 16 [M]

He huffs and turns his body to lie down, facing away from Hotaru. Sleeping on the couch sounded way better than having to deal with this.

Tomorrow he'd have to find a way to meet that dealer. It was the only way. It had to be.

He heard a soft sigh and shifted under the blankets. "Good night Nox." She says.

Nox was too afraid to say good night back.

♦♦♦

Nox grumbled in his sleep. His eyes shifted from left to right even though his lids were closed. He scrunched his face and turned in bed.

A hand nudged his shoulder. "Nox. Wake up." Hotaru says lowly, to not startle him.

She could see the sweat dripping down his forehead. She wondered what he was dreaming about.

She shook him gently and saw his face contort in fear. Maybe he was having nightmares from his time in the military. Even she could not even imagine what horrors he had to face.

Suddenly Nox shot up, his breath heavy and his eyes wide. He held a hand over his heart as his eyes seemed to cloud.

Hotaru stared in shock at him. It was as if Nox hadn't even noticed she was there yet.

He squinted his eyes shut, and Hotaru saw a tear fall down his cheek. She breathes a sharp breath in. She hated seeing him like this.

Nox's head snapped up to meet her eyes. He stiffened up as if he expected her to do something.

"Are you alright?" She asks, her voice low.

Nox sighs long and shakily. "I'm fine, what did you need." He grunts.

Hotaru's forehead furrowed in anger. Was he going to pretend that nothing had happened?

How often did these nightmares happen?

She shakes her head, "I made breakfast for you. I didn't want to wake you up but you seemed... Troubled."

Nox rubbed his forehead and pushed himself out of bed and past Hotaru.

"It's fine, they were bound to come back eventually." He mutters.

Hotaru saw a sliver of his tanned flesh covered with scars as he stretched. She licked her lips, wishing she could throw her arms around his waist. As she strokes his hair and he puts his head between her neck.

"Thank you." He says, startling her. He purposely doesn't meet her eyes as he makes his way to the door. "For making me breakfast, and for waking me up. "

She couldn't see his face, but she could tell he was blushing.

She walked past and purposely brushed her shoulder against his arm. Feeling his slight shiver as she left the room.

"You're welcome," she smirked.

♦♦♦

The breakfast Hotaru made was delicious.

He was mortified that she had witnessed him having a nightmare. It was only one of many incidents from his past. He hated having them, but it was a part of life, and there wasn't much he could do about it.

Today... He had to find that Omega dealer. No matter what.

He scrubbed the last dish and placed it on the mat to dry. "Hotaru, I have somewhere to go to today. Will you be fine here... Alone?"

She was currently playing with Loki as she looked up.

"I'll be fine. You do not need to feel obligated to stay here for me. Although I appreciate you caring about my safety."