Chapter 73: Chapter 73
Celeste stared at Dominic’s sleeping face. She softly caressed his ear, jawline, and every part of his face.
This was the first time she saw him this peaceful while asleep. In fact, she had never really seen him asleep. He had always stirred up at her first touch.
Tonight was different.
He looked so relaxed and at peace like he had taken off a huge rock off his shoulders after sharing all he shared with her hours ago.
She gently took his arm wrapped around her naked waist away, and rolled away. Dominic stirred, but she paused, ran her fingers through his hair, and kissed his forehead to sooth him.
It worked, and she walked towards the couch. She picked up her pantie from the floor, wore it, and wore his shirt.
She walked towards the floor to ceiling window, and stared out into the world. She wrapped her arms around herself in deep thoughts.
Celeste stared out the window. The city’s glow was soft against the night, but none of it reached the storm in her chest.
Her reflection stared back at her. Dominic’s shirt was swaying gently over her thighs, and her fingers wrapped tight around her own elbows like she was holding herself together. And maybe she was.
She didn’t know how long she stood there. The memory of that file still hadn’t left her mind. Not even while they had sex.
The pages, the photos, the years she never knew were being quietly documented. It sat like a bitter stone in her throat.
And yet, tonight... after everything... she still crawled into his arms. Still let herself be vulnerable in the embrace of the man who’d once been her silent shadow. That terrified her more than anything else.
She turned slightly, casting a look over her shoulder to the bed.
He hadn’t moved.
Still asleep.
That in itself felt like a miracle.
She closed her eyes and rested her head against the glass.
But just as her thoughts wandered, a sudden, low sound slipped from his lips. A restless groan. His body shifted sharply beneath the sheets.
Celeste’s brows drew together.
"Dominic?" she called softly.
He twisted again, his breath sharp, head shaking like he was trying to escape something invisible. His hands gripped the sheets, and his fingers clenched so tightly his knuckles paled. His lips moved, but the words were incoherent. They were guttural, and broken.
His chest rose and fell rapidly, and his hands clenched into the covers like he was trying to fight something off.
"Dominic?" she said softly, already moving.
Another sound escaped him. Her heart slammed.
She rushed to his side.
"Dominic. Hey, Dominic, I’m here." Her voice trembled as she climbed back into the bed beside him. "Dominic, I’m right here. It’s okay, baby... shh—it’s me."
His head jerked slightly as if he was trapped between the nightmare and the sound of her voice. Celeste placed her hands on both sides of his face, holding him gently but firmly, forcing him to feel her touch.
His eyes shot open.
Then they focused on her when they parted, wild and glazed.
And at that moment, he looked like a man coming up for air. There was no trace of his composed self, and it broke her.
She pressed her forehead to his, whispering over and over again, "You’re safe. It’s okay. You’re safe now. I’m right here."
He was breathing hard. His chest thudded violently beneath hers. Celeste wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly, as if she could squeeze the nightmare out of his system.
Dominic didn’t say a word. He just leaned into her, and pressed his forehead to hers, as ge tried to regulate his breaths. In. Out. In. Out.
She felt the heat radiating off him and pulled back slightly to press a hand to his cheek, then his chest.
He was burning.
Her brows pulled together in concern. "You’re hot," she whispered.
He was still catching his breath, but he gave a small shake of his head, as if brushing it off. "It’s nothing," he rasped. "It always happens."
She blinked. "What do you mean ’always’?"
Dominic didn’t answer immediately. He just reached for her, curling his fingers into her waist like he needed her close, now. "Let’s just be on the bed," he murmured.
"Dominic—"
He didn’t let her finish.
Dominic exhaled, slower this time. His hands came up, gripping her waist tightly, like he needed proof she was real.
Celeste let him hold her. She stroked her thumbs along his cheekbones, not saying a word now. Just breathing with him. One breath in. One breath out.
It was obvious he was trying to regulate his breathing with hers, so she let him.
He moved swiftly, like he couldn’t risk the space between them getting wider. He suddenly wrapped his arms around her. With a sudden, fluid motion, he rolled them both over until she was tucked underneath him, his body heavy and warm above hers.
"Dominic!" she gasped, startled, but she wasn’t afraid. Her voice held a faint laugh.
He rested his weight on his elbows to avoid crushing her and buried his face into the crook of her neck. His voice was low and scratchy. "I needed to feel you here."
Her chest ached.
She let her fingers drift through his hair, slow and soothing. "Was it about your past again?" she asked softly, knowing better than to press too hard.
He didn’t answer. Not right away. But she felt the way his arms tightened around her waist. She felt how his breath trembled, and every other little ’yes’ his body gave to her.
Celeste shifted slightly, kissing his temple. "I’ve got you." She traced his lips with her thumb. "You’ll never be alone, and I’ll hold you when things go wrong. Always,"
And she meant it.
Even with all the cracks forming inside her, and even with the war raging between her mind and her heart, she meant it.
He relaxed gradually, melting into her touch like a child who hadn’t been held in a very long time.