Page 99 of A First Sight

He slumped onto the bed, but he didn’t move away. Pulling me close, he smoothed down my hair and kissed my forehead.

“Are you okay?” he asked after a few minutes.

“I think I’ll need a bit more time before my legs function again, but other than that, I’m great.” The position we were lying in wasn’t exactly comfortable, but I meant it when I said my legs weren’t working at the moment.

“Not too hot and heavy?”

I put my hand on his cheek. “Not at all. It was phenomenal,” I said, brushing my lips across his.

I let the moment of tenderness stretch out between us until I had to move, if for no other reason than to take off the hiking boots I was still wearing.

SEVENTY-TWO

DRAKE

It was cold.

And wet.

My leg hurt like hell and was probably bleeding.

I struggled to open my eyes, but something kept telling me I didn’t want to see out the window. But I had to do it.

The pain in my leg was getting bad, and my teeth were chattering now.

But what was out there was worse.

“Drake.”

A woman’s voice.

“Drake, wake up.”

I fought to push back the darkness that came out of that icy place.

“Drake, sweetheart, I need you to wake up.”

A loud bang, followed by rumbling, jerked me the rest of the way out of my dream, my nightmare.

I wasn’t home.

The person leaning over me, however, was familiar.

A sudden bright flash of light illuminated her features, but I would’ve known who she was even without it.

Maggie.

She was my rock. My present. My future.

“What’s happening?” I sat up, the answer to the question coming even as I asked it.

“You were having a nightmare.” Another flash of lightning. “And it’s storming.”

“Great combination,” I said wryly as I rubbed my forehead.

I leaned against the headboard, and Maggie settled in my arms. A perfect fit. The room was comfortably warm, but the chill from my nightmare stuck with me. She was a defense against that cold, and I tightened my hold on her.

“The worst nightmares are the ones that come from memories,” she whispered. “If they’re imagined, you can tell yourself that they weren’t real. No matter how awful or scary they get, once you’re awake, you can explain them away. With memories, though…the best you can do is say that it’s over.”

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