no control

• twenty •

gladys

An obnoxious alarm wailed in the background of my mind. The ruckus gradually grows louder until it punctured the veil of my sleep. I groaned as my consciousness slowly awakened, the dreamworld fading into memory.

The bed then shifted around me, like someone else was also under the sheets. My brain jolted with panic. I instantly assumed I was back in my bed at Bernice's, and certain wandering hands were nearby.

Only, as I flew upright, jerking the sheets to my chin, I was greeted with unfamiliar darkness. In my room at Bernice's, the street lamps outside cast a different kind of darkness. My eyes adjusted and I noticed a window on the opposite side of the room. It was further away, too, which led me to believe this room was much bigger.

I didn't know where I was, but this was not my bedroom. Before the swell of panic could rise in my chest, movement from the other side of the bed captured my attention.

Across a wasteland of rumpled sheets, a tall and stout silhouette stood beside the bed. I sighed with relief at Elijah's familiar shape. He bent over, side to side—stretching. It was such a blatantly human thing to do that I couldn't help but gawk at the gorgeous, shirtless sight of him.

He turned to face me and those piercing eyes collided with mine, triggering all of my recollection from the day before. I glanced appreciatively over his disheveled dark hair and overgrown beard. Biting my lip, my gaze sank further to the sculpted expanse of his broad chest and rugged abdomen.

He rounded the bed to my side and I struggled to disguise my over ogle. The closer he drew, the further I sank into the covers. His mouth peeled back in a lazy, amused smile.

"There is no point hiding," he said, voice raspy with sleep. "I'll always find you. And here I'd thought you learned."

My entire face burned. I squeezed my thighs together under the sheets and avoided his probing stare.

His hands grabbed the sheets, and before I realized his intention, he tore the sheets away from me, pulling them all the way down to the end of the bed. The sudden exposure of my scantily clad body to the cool air startled a whimper out of me.

Elijah bent over me and stroked my cheek with his finger. Smiling a little, he then kissed my other cheek, then my nose, and finally pecked my lips. I felt a bit breathless at the unexpected affection and was completely unprepared for his next move. One arm slid under my back, the other behind my knees, and I was lifted off the bed.

I gasped and instinctively squirmed. "What are you doing?" I yelped.

"Taking you down for coffee time."

"Coffee time?" I exasperated. "I haven't even brushed my teeth or washed my face—"

"You can do that after."

I huffed, discovering this would be yet another compromise. The man was impossible to argue with.

Still, my inability to resist him smarted my pride. I gave one last attempt to wiggle free of his hold, muttering, "I can at least walk there, you ape."

His chuckled resonated in my chest and heat cascaded down my body. "Just because you can doesn't mean I'll let you."

"You don't have to carry me. I'm heavy. Solid like a brick."

"Enough," he growled, giving me a pointed look that silenced any other protests.

We moved down a hallway and then advanced further down a curved staircase. My annoyance was soon replaced with marvel as we passed through the decadent foyer and decor.