Chapter 62

Melyssa jolted upright, letting out a strangled gasp since the scream was caught in her throat, her body caked in sweat. She looked around, seeing she was in the log cabin Ash brought her to and a quick glance at the portable orbal clock told her it was just past 3 AM. Rean…where was Rean? What in Gehenna kind of dream was THAT?! Frowning, she shakily stood to her feet, needing some water. She still felt as if she was on fire, from both the lovemaking in the dream and being set ablaze, literally.

Is Rean even here? Emma said he wouldn't be here until tomorrow, which is technically today, sometime. Why would she have a dream like that about Rean, only for it to end in a nightmare? Was that her subconscious warning her to stay away from Rean? She didn't know and sucked the water down before filling the glass again, trembling slightly.

"You look like crap." Ash said from his place at the table, cocking an eyebrow when Melyssa let out a startled gasp and offered her a sheepish smile. He surveyed her through the dim lighting, frowning slightly. She was covered in sweat, her face was red and flushed… she looked shaky and he imagined him giving her a mini-heart attack hadn't helped anything at all. "You okay, Melyssa?" He asked, pushing out of his chair and stood up, walking slowly over to her to stare down at her intently. "Nightmare?" He had those, a lot, it was one of the reasons he didn't like to go to sleep. At her hesitant nod, he smiled and reached out to tuck a strand of her damp hair back behind her ear. "You want to talk about it?"

Tears filled her eyes and Melyssa did something out of the ordinary, out of character…she clobbered Ash with a tight hug around his waist, burying her face in his chest. There was no way she could talk to him about the dream she just had, even if he was her best friend. They had a long way to go before they were back to the way things used to be and she knew that. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her close and Melyssa shuddered again, trying to push McBurn's face out of her mind.

Rean had turned into McBurn…what in Aidios' name did THAT mean?

Frowning, Ash dropped his head to rest on top of hers, feeling her body shaking against his and he could feel the fear in her. "I've got you." He said softly, soothingly, rubbing his hands slowly up and down her back in a comforting manner.

What she had dreamed about, it had obviously messed her up. Probably something to do with her time with Ouroboros and preparing for round two against them. If he were in her shoes, he'd probably feel the same way since the last time hadn't exactly ended on a high note.

"I-I'm sorry…" She whispered, her voice stammering from all the different emotions she currently felt. "I-I don't deserve to be comforted and held by you. I'm a terrible person and I hurt you and so many others. I don't have the right to cry or carry on like this."

Melyssa felt his arms tighten around her and Ash lifted her to where she had no choice except to wrap her legs around his waist, her face burying in his neck instead of his chest since they were eyelevel now. Even though she felt like she wasn't deserving, Ash still gave her what she needed at that moment and clung to him for dear life, his warmth seeping into her skin. If she hadn't learnt by now that they were all fairly big on forgiveness, the woman would eventually. He sat her on the counter, pulling back enough to eye her face.

"You do deserve it." Ash informed her, leaning to the side to draw cool water from the sink and retrieve the still clean washcloth he had gotten out earlier with the weird notion of maybe occupying himself with dishes. He had never gotten past getting out the cloth, dishes were not his thing. "Everyone deserves forgiveness," He began gently washing her face, knowing the cool water would also help with any potential swelling from her crying so much. "Well, most of the time. You haven't killed anyone, so you're ahead of the game, beautiful." He had meant it as a joke, but he could see it hadn't helped, clearing his throat awkwardly.

"You've always taken care of me and you've always been there for me, even now." Melyssa didn't understand why and chalked it up to Ash being a decent human being. She cracked a small smile at him to show she appreciated what he was doing and took the tissue he handed her next to blow her nose. "Thank you." She murmured, feeling him lift her off the counter to set her on her feet in front of him again. "Ash…I-I don't want to sleep alone after that horrible nightmare. Can I lay with you? I probably won't fall asleep again, but…having you near makes me feel better for some reason. Please?"

That, under any other circumstance, seemed like a bad idea for various reasons. First and foremost, Rean was coming and he didn't need Emma gossiping about anything she might see, such as Melyssa coming out of his room or something, to everyone else. But he also knew he couldn't deny this woman a thing, even if he tried, and right now he was trying.

"Yeah, of course." She was going to be the death of him, he had never been this way around a woman before; she brought out the calmer, nicer side of him that was for sure. "Come on, beautiful."

Nodding, she took his hand and let him guide her to his room. Emma had once again used her magic to make the log cabin have far more rooms than it did normally. Once inside his room, Melyssa waited for him to climb into bed and joined him, wanting to be on the outside.

"Thank you."

She turned, snuggling into the pillow and they both lay there, facing each other, each in their own thoughts. Maybe she wasn't meant to be with Rean, not if that dream was any indication. She hadn't seen him in 2 years, and until she did she wouldn't know if those feelings she harbored from when she was his student would surface or not. Then there was Ash Carbide…strong, masculine, devilishly handsome and always there for her, no matter what. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin their friendship by trying to be something more, however.

The simple fact of the matter, for Ash anyway, was that when Melyssa was around, he was a very different person and he wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. He was devilish, lewd and flirtatious when it came to other women, her not so much. Ash rarely was, if ever, and instead he found himself being her friend, a real friend. Something he had only ever done with other men because usually his eyes and mind tended to stop right about chest level on a woman. Or had. He simply watched her face, she was tired, it was obvious, but afraid of sleeping and eventually, he reached out to place his hand, palm down, on her side.

"Get some sleep, beautiful," He murmured softly. "Tomorrow is going to be a crazy day."

"You mean today." Melyssa corrected him with a smile, yawning and could already feel her eyes drooping heavily.

Damn it, she didn't want to fall asleep and have another nightmare again. Ash looked tired as well, and she didn't want to deprive him of sleep. Maybe she would leave him alone to sleep once he fell out, just so she wasn't keeping him awake. However, in no time at all, their eyes both closed and Ash pulled her closer to him with her head resting on his chest. Melyssa was out like a light minutes later, her breathing even and steady.

The next morning, Ash woke up to Celine sitting at the foot of the bed, staring down at him and Melyssa while licking her paws. "That's creepy." He muttered, bringing a hand up to rub sleep out of his eyes.

"What's creepy is the fact that you're fully clothed with a woman in your bed, Blondie. I've heard the stories."

"Get. Out."

He reached beneath him to pull the pillow out from under his head, tossing it at her. Celine took off and he snorted, letting his head drop back down, glancing at Melyssa who was curled in the crook of his other arm. Sighing softly, Melyssa slowly opened her eyes, after feeling the jolt from Ash and looked up just as those pink eyes lowered to meet hers. Ash. She was in Ash's bed and she glanced down, seeing she was still fully clothed. It wasn't another dream and she was really with him, not Rean. Why did it feel wonderful being with Ash in his bed, sleeping in his arms?

"What time is it?" She asked in a sleepy voice, not moving to sit up yet as Ash settled back down with his arm draping around her waist again.

"No idea, sun is up though and I imagine Celine was in here to wake us up." Though, he'd be having words with her later about doing it in such a creepy fashion, the evil haggish cat. He pulled his arm out from beneath her, slowly moving to sit up and ran both hands through his hair. "We can't all stay here for long, if you're gone too long, it's going to raise eyebrows." Unless she was getting out of Ouroboros permanently and then they'd have to run that risk. Ash turned his pale pink eyes down on her, raising one. "Crow should be here, maybe Rean too."

"We should head back this morning, then, after the meeting." Surely there would be one.

There had to be a reason Ash brought her here and she had to find her mask too. Altina was hopefully done with it. Melyssa was not looking forward to wearing it again, but she had to do what she had to do until they came up with a SOLID plan to take out Ouroboros.

"Um, thank you for letting me stay with you." She pecked his cheek, slid out of bed, stretching her arms in the air and the mouthwatering scent of food wafted in the air. "Someone's cooking."

"Yeah… and no problem, truth be told that was the best sleep I've had in… two years." Ash admitted, rolling out of the bed and instantly regretted it. Morning wood was a thing and he actually covered himself when her eyes dropped down to his crotch. "So yeah… about breakfast…" And a cold shower, maybe slap it around a little. "Shower first." He smiled awkwardly.

The dream came back to her, even though it was with Rean and not Ash and she wondered what it would be like to be with Ash in that way. Intimately. Would it ruin their friendship? "Go shower and I'll make sure to snag you a plate." She winked at him on her way out the door, her nose leading her toward the kitchen. However, on the way there, she froze at the sight of Crow and… "Rean." He was here, in the flesh, and she immediately pinched herself to make sure this wasn't an illusion or another dream of some kind.

"Brackett." He said cautiously, bobbing his head at her. Crow had explained the mask thing, which was incredibly creepy. He had instinctively distrusted her before and he didn't feel it right now.

Crow rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Caught him coming in from the west a few hours ago." He yawned.

Still ice cold towards me, I see. Not that I blame him. "We need to have the meeting as quickly as possible, so Ash, myself and Crow can get back to the city." Altina came flitting in from her room with the mask in hand. "I'm going to need that back, Altina, just until we can figure out a way to stop Ouroboros for good." It was time to go back undercover again and pretend she was working for the enemy. "I will tell you everything I know about Ouroboros and answer any questions you have, but then we really have to leave." Her tone was even and purely business as she took the mask Altina handed to her and decided she wouldn't put it on until after the meeting.

"Machias is taking a personal day with me, at our love shack." Emma said with a wicked grin. "He got in late last night." As mayor, he was occasionally allowed to do so, though he also knew not to be pushing that card too much since he was very new at this job. "Something about a barfight downing one of his guards."

"That was Ash, he took a knock to the head." Crow snorted, accepting the cup of coffee Emma passed him before passing it onto Rean, taking the next mug sent his way.

"I bet Machias is loving that, being expected to sit on his ass and not defend himself."

"He said he feels like a… pussy."

"I still should go back to keep up appearances. No doubt Ouroboros is probably wondering where I am right about now."

"Aren't Enforcers allowed to do pretty much whatever they want?"

"Yes, but there are exceptions and one of those is a newbie like me." Melyssa retrieved a cup of coffee, pouring a hefty amount of creamer in it and sat down with her mask in her lap. "If Ash doesn't want to take me back, I'll find another way. I'm going to have to come up with a reason for being gone overnight instead of staying at my apartment, though."

"Will it look suspicious if she goes back with him?" Altina asked, sipping her own mug and set one down before Ash with a shy smile.

"If Ouroboros honestly trusts her to do anything they say when it comes to us, or expects us not to see through that mask… then we ought to be ashamed for letting them beat us so easily." Rean said sternly, his fuchsia eyes moving to Melyssa.

The fact that they had sent her into their midst with only that mask… it had been a clever distraction for sure, but that was all it had been, a distraction. Crow had seen right through it and it had raised red flags with everyone else. Considering Ash and Crow were the Mayor's main bodyguards…Altina made a valid point.

"Then I will go back alone. Altina's right, and with the mayor taking a sabbatical, there's no way his trusted bodyguards wouldn't let him go alone." She watched both Crow and Ash groan in unison, smirking in her coffee cup. "Don't worry about me, I can find my own way back and I'll simply tell them I went to Heimdallr to see an opera or something. I'll figure it out."

"Sounds reasonable enough." Emma concurred, knowing she was right when it came to the mayor and his bodyguards being inseparable. "I'm warning you both right now," She directed this at Ash and Crow. "I BETTER get some alone time with my husband."

"Done."

"Got it."

Wow, Emma still has that intimidation factor when the situation calls for it. "I'll eat, shower and leave, then, unless you have something else you want to discuss, Schwarzer?"