Chapter 16

Lynn glanced at her clock on the nightstand and saw it was almost three o'clock in the morning. She put her book down and rubbed her eyes then stood from the bed with a graceful stretch. She walked around the bed and opened her top drawer to grab her nightgown and headed into her own bathroom. She didn't bother to close the door as she started to strip off her clothes.

Mija hadn't come home yet and Jeff was sound asleep in his own bed so she didn't have anyone to worry about. She put her clothes in the hamper then slipped her gown over her head and grabbed her hair brush and brushed out the tangles. Once she was finished with that she turned off the light and headed to the bed.

She stopped midway and listened...she thought she'd heard..."Mija?" she called out as she walked to her doorway. That's when she realized the sound was coming from Jeff's room. Quietly she walked across the way to his open door and peaked inside. He was thrashing around in his bed and mumbling in his sleep.

"Jeff?" she said as she walked to the side of his bed. "Jeff wake up." She didn't want to touch him if she could help it. He wasn't very pleasant if roused from sleep physically. She sat on the edge of the bed, "...Jeff you're having a nightmare wake up..." she said loudly. When he didn't respond she decided to go one step further. "Jeff!" she yelled making him snap awake and sit up. "Easy it's okay, it's just me..." she tried to sooth.

"Wh..what is it what's the matter?" he asked out of breath.

"I'm fine you were having a nightmare," she explained.

He caught his breath and ran his hands through his hair. "Did I wake you?" he asked.

She shook her head, "I was just heading to bed when I heard you. I thought it might've been Mija but..."

"She's not home yet?" he asked concerned.

She smiled tiredly, "I told you she was gonna be out all night. She'll be back by dawn don't worry about her." Then it hit her, that might have been what he was dreaming about. "Is that what you were dreaming about?" she asked caringly.

He shook his head, "No...no it was something else." He flopped down on his back and rested the back of his hand on his forehead. "It was so vivid..." he trailed off.

She regarded him carefully and made herself comfortable. "You want to talk about?" she asked openly.

"Not really," he said conversationally. "What time is it?"

"It's three o'clock," she answered.

"What are you still doing up?" he asked glancing at her.

It amazed her that he still acted like he could see. She wondered if he realized he still did those things. "I got caught up in one of my books," she yawned.

"One of your vampire romance novels?" he smiled.

"Shut up before you even start on me," she warned pointing a finger at him.

"I want to nibble on your neck and whisper sweet nothings into your ear..." he quoted in a French accent.

"Stop it," she tried to hide the humor in her voice but it wasn't working.

"...I want to taste your blood and savor your essence," he continued creeping closer to her on the side of the bed.

"Quit it," she begged. If he could see he would see her blushing about now.

"...I'll bet you taste good," he said quietly in his own voice.

Her smile faded and she stared at him. She didn't know how to respond to him. What was she supposed to say. Change the subject that's what you should do she said to herself. "Since you seem to be feeling better I'm going to head on to bed," she stood from the bed but was stopped by a hand on her wrist.

"Wait," he said gently grasping her wrist.

She looked back at him, "What?"

"Would you stay with me...just for a little while?" he asked innocently.

It wasn't the first time he had nightmares and asked her to stay with him.

She thought about it a moment and nodded sitting back down on the edge of the bed. "Don't hog the covers this time," she warned as she pulled the blanket back and got in.

"I don't hog the covers," he argued.

"Whatever," she mumbled closing her eyes.

He laid on his side facing her back and made himself comfortable. He wanted to reach out and feel what she was wearing so badly he could taste it, but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable. He only hoped he could stop himself from reaching out for her in his sleep. If I don't touch her I'll be okay he thought.

"Goodnight Lynn," he whispered.

"Goodnight Jeff," she whispered back.

Mija fought with the door lock on the front door, "Why do I always have such trouble with this damn key?" she argued with herself. She finally got the key in and opened the front door. She looked around and noticed no one was up yet and shut the door quietly. It was about seven o'clock so she figured they would be up in a few hours.

She slowly made her way up the stairs and once she topped the stairs she froze dead in her tracks. There was Jeff and Lynn all tangled up together in bed. 'He must've been having nightmares again' she thought. Jeff had his arm draped over her and his head resting on the pillow behind hers. They looked comfortable and peaceful. She smiled and shook her head as she headed onto her room to freshen up before heading out to the barn.

"At least they're heading somewhere," she said walking to her room with a big grin on her face.