What if it's worth it?

Chapter Fourteen

I apologize for the amount of time it took me to post this chapter! My trip to London was a total failure and I have no skin left on my feet.

I have to admit I'm not quite pleased with this chapter but I promise the pace will keep up in the next chapter and there will be action. For now, I just hope not to disappoint and if I do, let me know!

It would be much more picturesque to say that the last sunrays fell upon my skin through the tilted window. To say that my skin appeared glazed from our recent activities and that I still felt the ghost of his lips on mine. But life wasn't picturesque and the moonlight shining through the small window failed to warm up my skin. I felt cold and lonely even though David was lying next to me, most likely asleep. So, I sighed, stretched out my sore body and stood up.

It was dark outside and even when I focused on my eyesight, all I could see was my reflection on the glass, staring right back at me. For an instant, my own shape felt foreign. Twenty minutes ago, my nails were digging into David's back and my back was arching with pleasure. Now, I just felt dreadful and clammy.

"What do you see?" David asked from the bed behind me, startling me for a second. Slowly my eyes shifted lower on the window and I could see him through the reflected image. He was now sitting up in bed, still naked with his back against the headboard and somehow, the after sex glow worked way better on him than on me.

"Nothing, it's dark," I replied, frowning.

"I meant what do you see when you close your eyes and try to sleep." He clarified and I averted my gaze, afraid he would try to catch my eyes on the reflection.

"What do you see in your nightmares?" I retorted but we both knew it wasn't a question, it was an attempt to end the topic.

"I'm serious, Alma," David sighed before jumping out of bed with newly gained energy. He put on boxers that I had taken off him not long ago and walked over to me. I felt his hands on my shoulders and his chin next to my hair, before I saw it on the mirroring image. "I need to know you're alright and if you aren't, then I want to help." His breath brushed over my scalp and I could make out whether it was warm or cold.

"That's very kind, David," I murmured, somehow subconsciously afraid that if I spoke too loud the reflection would shatter and he'd disappear. "But you're not my shrink, nor my bodyguard."

"You don't have a shrink. And it's still my job to protect you." David replied, his grip slightly tightening on my shoulders before his thumbs started drawing imaginary shapes on my skin. I considered his words for a few seconds, frowning.

"What do you mean it's still your job to protect me?" I asked in a whisper but the instant the words left my lips it was like I already knew the answer. I saw him clench his jaw as if hesitating on the right words.

"The reason the Police placed us in the same safe house was not merely financial," he replied evasively and for a second I thought he wouldn't continue. "My mission is still to keep you safe, above all else." David clarified.

I couldn't pinpoint the exact emotions that washed over me at his words. Somehow I felt disappointed in myself that I hadn't figured it out before, on my own. "I'm no longer Julia's intern. Why should my safety prevail overs yours?"

"Imagine the mayhem your family, your uncle would cause if anything happened to you," David replied, his tone darker now. I had to suppress the ironical smirk that threatened to appear on my lips. We had just gone back to September now, I was still just a job, someone he had to protect. Somehow, after all that had happened, all that we had gone through, I was still the principal and he was still the PPO.