The Dark Prince

Chapter Fifteen

"You're okay now," Rowan murmured in my ear. "You're okay."

I just held onto him, so glad that he was alive. Not dead. Not dead. It was just a dream. Saxon is not here. Saxon is not a killer.

With that realization in mind, I started to relax slightly. It was just a dream. A horrible nightmare, but a dream nonetheless. Everything is fine.

Only then did I realize that I was sitting in Rowan's lap, my body practically wrapped around him like a monkey.

I pulled away slightly, heat starting to coat my cheeks. Rowan didn't let me get far. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I nodded, clearing my throat. "It was just a bad dream."

Rowan sighed in relief. "I heard you screaming from my room. Do you want to talk about it?"

The thought of the dream, of what he was doing to me before it went bad, caused the heat to crawl all the way to my toes. I instantly shook my head, rather obnoxiously.

"No, I'm okay now."

Rowan gave me a weird look but nodded. I slowly climbed off of his lap and sat myself awkwardly next to him. Bruce whined and walked over to us, plopping in between us. He laid his head against my leg, rubbing against it. I absently rubbed his head, causing his tail to wag obnoxiously against Rowan's lap.

I looked out the window and saw that it's still dark out. I took a peak at the clock and realized that it's only 3 am. I probably woke him up with my screaming.

I looked down and bit my lip. "I'm sorry for waking you."

Rowan turned towards me, reaching over to gently lift my chin so that I would look at him. "Never, ever apologize for something like that. Sometimes, it's better to have people with you. It puts the dreams at bay."

He says it so passionately, like he knows from experience. I'm sure his dreams are much more vivid and horrifying than mine. He's been around for a long time.

"Still, thank you."

Rowan nodded in response. We sat there in comfortable silence for a bit before he slowly stood up. "I should probably go."

I nodded. I wanted him to stay more than anything else in the world, but I also knew that that was not the best idea. I really need to put some distance between us if I want to ever get over this little crush.

He walked toward the door slowly. I watched as the the muscles in his bareback tensed. I could tell that at least a part of him wanted to stay too. I wanted to call for him. I even opened my mouth, but no sound came out. I needed to let him walk out of this door.

Once he reached the doorway, he turned back toward me. I shifted under the intensity of his gaze. He smiled a half smile in my direction. "Goodnight, Princess."

I smiled at the nickname. He hasn't called me it in a while. "Goodnight, Rowan."

He looked at me one last time before turning around and walking out the door. He closed the door behind him gently. I let out a long sigh once he was gone.

I don't know what I'm going to do. I just had a dream about him. A very sexual dream. Granted, he got stabbed in it but still. This attraction to him is getting out of hand.

I don't know how to deny it, how to fight it. I've never felt this way about anyone before. I groaned and slammed my head against the headboard, instantly regretting it. The searing pain it left in my skull made me curse.

I need to go back to sleep. I slid back down against the pillows and closed my eyes, but sleep didn't come for a long time.

*****