Burning Heart // CL16

Eighty Seven

I'm tossing and turning around in my bed for about twenty minutes after I've changed and gotten ready to sleep after working for a little longer. There's something in me not quite sitting right as I try to figure out why I can't sleep until eventually I give in and slip out of my bed, the answer so obvious as I check on Ruby before quickly and quietly crossing the space between our rooms.

I place my hand carefully on the door handle and push down lightly and slowly, hoping that I can just sneak in without him noticing but as I poke my head around the door, I see that clearly is not going to happen for me.

Charles is sitting up in the bed, the light on the table next to him is on as he has his reliable notebook in his hands. At first he doesn't notice the door opening but after a couple of moments longer he seems to feel that there are eyes on him and he looks up at me. A soft smirk comes over his face as he sees the panic on mine at being caught in the act.

"Hello there..." he says, arrogance filling his voice but not in a way that's unappealing as he lowers the book and rests it face down on his lap. Head tipping to the side as his face lights up with amusement. "Is there something wrong with your room?" He continues in the absence of me responding and I just nod my head, stepping into the room properly and carefully shutting the door behind me as I do. Watching him stutter over his words as he sees the pyjamas I am wearing but he recovers before I do. "What's the issue?"

I don't answer until I'm stood next to his bed, feeling strangely naked despite the summer pyjama set that I'm wearing. The simple baby pink cami set with shorts leaving me with considerably more coverage than Charles it seems.

"C'mon baby, what's the issue?" He urges, one hand reaching out to take mine, the book now seemingly entirely forgotten as I step in closer to the bed and sit beside him.

"You're not there..." I tell him softly, watching his eyes light up with the admission as his hand cups my cheek and he pulls me in closer to him. "Can I?"

"Yes... please do. I haven't slept properly since our birthday," he mutters in agreement, hands pulling away the covers from the other side of the bed as I pull away and crawl over the top of him before nestling down next to him in the sheets. It seems he's lost interest in his notebook and despite me weakly urging for him not to do so, I fail entirely to get him to keep reading as he shakes his head and switches the light off. "Nope... sleep is far more important. I was just using it to bore me into it. No need now," he whispers, words cutting through the dark as his arms reach out for me before pulling me towards him. Once my body is pressed agains his, he dips his head down to mine in the dark, trying to find his way to my lips which I help him to find more than a little willingly. My hands are busy caressing the bare skin of his shoulders as his travel down to my ass and give me a light squeeze. "Fuck... I missed this," he mutters and I nod quickly in agreement before realising it's so dark that he might not have seen.

"I needed this," I confirm to him, wrapping my arms around his waist as he presses a kiss to my head. "Charles I..." I trail off, unsure of the next words that want to leave my lips as he seems to understand without me needing them to.

"I know... me too," he says pressing a kiss to my head as he lays his head back down on the pillow and lets out an easy relaxed breath as I roll over in his arms so that he is able to hold me from behind. "So much Alessia."

I wake up in that same position the next morning, both of us were so dead asleep during the night that we hadn't moved an inch. I could see when I rolled over to look at him how good the sleep had been for him too, the bags under his eyes removed a little as he smiled lazily down at me and pressed a kiss to my lips.

"I want to do this forever," I tell him solemnly when he pulls away and if he seemed awake before then it's nothing compared to that confession now.

"We can..." he says, the words a promise that I want so badly to believe although something inside my chest says it's just not true. I know it's not his fault though... the core belief that my therapist pointed out that I have the other week is challenging that idea so much in my head. "I want to do this forever too."