Disclaimer: I do not own Companions of the Night, sadly. The brilliant Mrs. Vande Velde deserves all the credit.

Sweet Dreams

Last night I was lying awake
Waiting restlessly for sleep to take me away
And when I heard the front door close,
I knew my family was home to hit the hay.

I heard my brother walk quietly up the stairs
which was odd, as he usually ran
but I closed my eyes to finally sleep,
tired of past events running around my head like a madman.

But instead of going straight to his room,
I heard and rather felt my brother
standing outside my room, I told him
I was asleep and to go to bed, don't bother.

I heard my door slowly open and then
quickly and sharply close, I stiffened thinking
my brother would not close a door like that.
As I threw open my eyes, to whom or what I was unknowing.

I met eyes as cold as infinitely blue ice,
Automatically I blinked, knowing this couldn't be real
Had he really come back? Did he really still care?
Or had he come just to keep his secret silienced, he didn't feel?

I look away from his alluring features, wondering
if this was the end or the beginning.
He raised my chin to study my face, and I was
astonished to see him grinning.

He had never looked at me like that,
there was no amused look, just happiness
and to add to my shock, he lifted the covers
and slid into the bed beside me with such fineness.

He opened his arms and I welcomed his embrace,
pressing my face into his chest and sighed contentedly.
I felt him kiss the top of my head and paused to smell my hair.
He tightened his arms around me, his dark shirt was all I could see.

I couldn't believe it when I kissed his chest,
his heartbeating the same slow rhythm I remembered from long ago .
I wasn't surprised when he raised my face again to press kisses
across it, down to my throat where my fear began to grow.

But he just paused for a moment on my pulse, feeling it
jump beneath his dominating mouth. He raised his head,
but he immediately lowered it again to my waiting lips.
As we kissed, his hands went to my waist to pull me closer on the bed.

A minute later, he flipped me over onto my other side so that
my back was to him, I was stunned when he fit his body by
me so that he curled protectively over me
pulling my waist closer so that I felt his contented sigh.

My head rested on his shoulder and his hand came up to
carress my hair as he kissed me one last time. I fell
asleep quickly, just breathing and smiling with him.
When I woke up, he was gone, a red rose was all that truth could tell.