Eveline

I woke up to someone lightly shaking my shoulder. My hand automatically went for my knife on my bedside table, but I felt someone grab my hand gently. I knew those callused hands too well and I groggily opened my eyes.

"Trying to kill me already this morning, my love?" Alistor teased, sitting down at the side of my bed.

I looked at him, drinking him in. I still couldn't believe I had such a wonderful man at my side.

"I have to keep you guessing somehow," I said, stretching.

He smirked, moving so one arm was on one side of my legs and he leaned in kissing me gently.

"Oh you do that enough already my fiery mouse," he whispered, resting his forehead against mine.

I felt my heart beat faster as it always did when he was this close. "Are you ready to go exploring?" he asked.

"Exploring" was our code word for looking for the vampire we were trying to find. He was a rogue that was behind tons of murders where each victim had been found drained of blood and with two marks on their wrists that were the initials 'C.T'- his signature. His first name, as we learned from another vampire we questioned, was Cal. The 'T' was unknown still.

I sighed. "Aye."

I was so tired. We had been out all night hunting for him.

"Do you need more sleep? I doubt we'll find him before dusk anyhow."

Alistor had a point and part of me wanted to fall back into bed and agree. We had been working too hard lately, but I knew we needed to be responsible.

"We should try to go find a lead," I mumbled.

I coughed slightly. I had a bit of a cold coming on. We had never worked this hard in the palace and all the work now that we were graduated drained me to exhaustion every day.

"You need some rest," he said worry crossing his face.

"But…"

He hushed me with another kiss. "Rest."

I sighed, laying back down giving him a glare. He laughed slightly and got up to leave, but I tugged his hand. He looked down at me with his beautiful, mountain frost eyes.

"Aye?" he asked.

My night had been full of nightmares. I didn't want to be left alone.

I looked at him, not knowing what to say. Was I asking too much by asking him to just lie beside me? How did I go about wording that I wanted to invite my boyfriend to bed for nothing more than to rest knowing he was there?

He mustn't have got my message because he started walking to the door and I felt slightly abandoned until I saw him lock it and come back to sit on the edge of my bed. He undid his boots before joining me.

"Some of the guests were complaining about hearing yells from your room last night. You sounded as if you were getting murdered a few times," he said lying down on his side facing me. "I unlocked our connecting door a few times to make sure nothing was attacking you."

I flushed moving over so there was more room for him. I kept having nightmares about being cornered by Cal's men and Alistor having to choose whether to save himself or me.

He stroked my cheek. "Eve, what's wrong?"

It wasn't like me to cave and allow him to be in my room sharing my bed. Even now, out of the castle where we weren't supposed to be dating, I tried to keep up the same partially jaded wall with him.

"Just nightmares," I mumbled.

He laid on his back, pulling me into his arms and I allowed him to. I curled up against him resting my head on his shoulder, wrapping one arm around his waist loosely. He rubbed my back gently. Laying there I realized how easy it was to be near him- to see myself in his arms for the rest of my life.

"What were they about?" he whispered, running one hand gently through my hair. Alistor was taking slight advantage of my wall being down as well- enjoying how close we were.

I buried my head slightly into his shoulder and said quietly, "Losing you."

"Hmm, my mouse?"

I said nothing, moving my arm up to rest over his heart. He didn't press further and soon I heard his breathing slow and deepen and I knew he was asleep. He had probably been awake as much as I had been just checking on me and I felt slightly guilty. Would I really allow him to choose for me to live over him?

Slowly, his breathing calmed me into my own dream land for a short while until the dreams turned into nightmares.

****

I woke up later to a sound I wasn't used to- Alistor humming. It took me a moment to register why he was in my bed and I tried not to let it startle me, but he noticed I was awake and stopped humming.

"Sleep alright?" he asked genty.

I nodded, scooting closer to him and I saw him flinch. I sat up. "What's wrong?" I asked looking at him worriedly.

I saw him force a smile and he sat up cringing slightly. "Nothing," he said kissing me. "You worry too much."

"I know better," I said icily. "What's wrong?"

He tried sitting up further, but I pushed him back down on the mattress. "Tell me."

He cringed. "I'm fine, my hot-headed mouse."

I glared down at him and he smirked.

"Alistor, this isn't funny. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, you just bruised me is all."

"How? Let me look."

I let him up and he got off my bed, removing his shirt and undershirt. I saw the purple finger marks on his ribs and I covered my mouth in shock.

"Why didn't you stop me?"

"I didn't want to hurt you."

I huffed blowing my bangs out of my face, which just made him smirk.

"What?" I asked confused.

I found myself looking down from his face to see the slim, muscled man standing in front of me. This was the first time I had ever seen him shirtless and it surprised me the amount of scarring he had over his stomach and back.

"Just you," he said. I forced my eyes back up and saw the smile on his face. The kind I didn't get very often - the kind that caught me off kilter.

I stuck my tongue out at him and threw off my blankets and stood up. I saw his expression change as I did from his smile to looking at me intently.

"Will you leave so I can get dressed?" I asked, feeling suddenly exposed under his intense gaze.

"Of course," he said grabbing his boots and walking across the room. He undid the lock and went into his own room. I locked the door and leaned against it for a moment. Things with Alistor were getting more serious than I thought. Seeing myself with him forever? The way he had looked at me this morning? This was not how it was supposed to be between us, but part of me enjoyed it. I had never been closer to another person.