Let me love you. ✔

20 Awake Nightmare

"Nightmare," she whispers, staring at the liquid that is hugging her body. "I thought the warm water would soothe me a bit."

I can hear myself swallow with her answer. I know why I had a nightmare, but what is hunting her nights? Is it because of me or whatever happened in the lavatory with Alita? Unsure if I want to know why, I ask, "Want to talk about it?"

"Not really." she sighs, looking up at me with the same exhausted look in her eyes as when we went to sleep, asking me, "Why are you up?"

"I missed you in bed," I answer quickly, brushing my hand through her hair to avoid her gaze.

She closes her eyes and leans her head against my thigh, relinquishing the feeling of my fingers combing through her soft locks. A deep sigh warms the skin on my upper leg before she softly says, "I'm gonna rinse myself and join you back in bed."

Nova's teared-up face shows up every time I close my eyes, making it hard to fall asleep. I guess her nightmare is still haunting her too laying awake with her head on my chest, drawing circles with her index finger.

The sun is up when my eyes open with Nova draped over me. She put a t-shirt on after her bath. I pull it up and stroke her bare thigh, letting my fingers trail over the lines of her scar. The tattoo is beautifully done. Half wolf, half woman. If you don't know that there is a scar, you won't see it.

"Good morning," she says, with such a hoars voice that you would think she partied all night long.

She pushes herself up to sit on top of my midsection, gently brushing her hands through my already ruffled hair with a lazy smile displayed on her lips. I let my eyes trail from her lips to her green orbs, back to her addicting mouth and lower, adorning the way how her hardened nipples show against the white fabric of her t-shirt.

Something in my peripheral vision makes me look up and freeze. What the!

"Nova, arms up," I demand.

She does it half-awake, mumbling, "Why?"

I grab her t-shirt and tug it over her head, my eyes widening at the view in front of me.

Bloody, shit.

She is covered in bite marks. You can see where I put pressure on her throat and where I dug my fingers into her hips.

"Nova, you can't let me hurt you like this!" I breathe out in horror.

She looks at her own body, murmuring, "Ohh..."

Her fingers wander over a red mark, probably caused by ripping the negligé off of her. I cringe at the thought of last night and the pain I must have caused her with the ignorant way I acted.

"I'm serious, Nova. You have to tell me to stop!"

Is this why she had that dark look in her eyes? Did it make her relive the gray past she has suffered from Dean? I grunt loudly in my hands, and admit, "It looks like you got attacked."

She pulls my hands away from my face and leans down to plant a feather-light kiss on my lips. "It didn't hurt," she responds, igniting anger inside my veins.

"Don't lie to me, Nova!" a lump forces itself in my throat with the disdain I feel towards myself and my raw emotions are noticeable in my voice when I rationalize, "I hurt you! Something I swore never to do. I bloody hurt you, love."

"You didn't hurt me, I promise," she states and gives me a smirk. A freaking smirk!

"It's not funny, Nova!" can't she see that this is tearing me apart? I'm not a hair better than...