chapter 18
Griffin settled in the chair in Selene’s room and prepared to watch over her for the rest of the night. She’d said very little to him as she had gotten ready, only explaining how the others had gone about their watches on previous nights.
“I can sleep through anything,” she’d informed him. “So if you want to read or even watch a movie, it won’t even faze me.”
“Okay.”
Selene climbed into bed and glanced over to Griffin. “Goodnight.”
“‘Night,” he answered and flipped off the light.
Even blinded by the darkness, Griffin knew that she’d lain down with her back to him. He’d also been quite aware that she’d been out almost immediately. She wasn’t kidding about being a good sleeper.
And now here he was, alone in a room with a woman whose very presence twisted his guts and with hours to concentrate on nothing but her. Of course, he’d had a lot to think about lately.
When Selene had spilled her secrets to Griffin’s family, it’d hit him hard. It wasn’t just that she was telling the truth about trying to help him and Ellie. What had moved him was that despite all she’d been through, Selene remained a sweet, innocent, and pure person.
She’d only touched on it, but when she’d showed how she tried to reach out to him via his dreams and how he’d never believed she was real, Griffin had felt sick to his stomach. How had he not known, deep in his soul, that she was real?
When Selene had finished showing them her life, he’d had to get away. He needed some time and space to process everything. It was a lot to absorb.
Once he’d felt as if he was under control, he’d tried to reach out to her and start over, but he’d completely bungled it and had come off as a pompous ass.
His dream girl was flesh and blood, and somehow he’d managed to turn his back on her twice: first when she’d tried to communicate with him through dreams and then when she’d come to Colorado looking for friendship. He wouldn’t turn his back on her again. He was going to show her that he was here for her now. And maybe, eventually, she’d be able to trust him.
But trust felt so far away. Even if this was a good first step. She’d allowed him into her bedroom to watch over her while she slept. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. Griffin contented himself with just watching her sleep, periodically checking her thoughts for any dreams. She’d dropped her blocks so that he could follow what was going on. He was tempted to fall asleep himself and see if she met him in their shared dream world. But he knew that would be counterproductive. He was supposed to be watching her…
*****
Selene screamed and sobbed, and Griffin shook her violently.
“Wake up, Selene!” he shouted.
It took a while for her to realize she was no longer in the nightmare, but safe in bed with Griffin’s arms around her. She collapsed back on the pillows and stared vacantly at the ceiling, trying to catch her breath.
“Are you with me?” Griffin’s asked, his eyes creased with concern.
Selene curled up into the fetal position and wept. Griffin crawled into the bed and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. If anything, this made Selene cry harder, but she was warmed by his support. He didn’t rush her to stop or ask what was wrong; he just waited. Eventually, her sobs slowed to hiccups, and still he just held her.
Finally, Selene turned over to face him. She was a little surprised when Griffin didn’t let go but continued to comfort her. He looked at her solemnly and smoothed her hair away from her face.
“You didn’t do it,” he whispered.
“But she’s dead.”
“We don’t know that.”
Tears welled again. “Are you sure?” she asked, desperate to believe. She held on to him, grateful for his steadiness.
“You never left the room, not for one second,” he assured her.
“What if I’ve somehow manifested my dreams into reality?” It’d been a thought that had crossed her mind more than once, but she’d always been too frightened to vocalize the concern.
“It’s not you,” he insisted softly. He reached up and brushed another stray lock away from her eyes.
“You don’t know that,” she whispered.
“If anyone in this house would be suspicious or doubt you, it would be me. And I don’t need Lucy’s ability to sense your intentions, or Lila’s ability to sense if you’re being truthful, or even my ability to read minds, to tell you that you didn’t do anything.
Selene took a deep breath, and for the first time felt slightly comforted. If Griffin was in her corner, maybe everything might work out.
She took another deep breath and nodded. A slow smile made its way over Griffin’s mouth, and Selene was stunned. It was the first time she’d ever seen him truly smile, and it was shocking what an amazing difference it made. Griffin had always been very handsome, but this made him mouth-wateringly hot.
“Although I did read your mind just a little,” he added. Selene couldn’t tell if he was teasing or not, but his eyes twinkled.
“And…?” she prompted when he didn’t continue.
“The dream didn’t originate from you, as far as I could tell. It was something you were pulled into.”
“Pulled into it?” The frown on her face depended. That had been how it’d felt… as if she wasn’t in control. Her gaze flashed back to his. “If you’re right – and that’s still a big if - then someone else is manipulating me and I’ve got a different problem to deal with.”
“We’ll deal with it,” Griffin corrected her. “And let’s wait until we know if anything actually happened tonight or if it was just a dream before we borrow trouble.”
Selene’s grimaced. “I don’t have to borrow trouble, Griffin. It finds me just fine on its own.”
“I know,” he chuckled.
And in the quiet moments that followed, both of them suddenly realized that they were lying in bed together, Griffin’s arms still wrapped around Selene. The tension was palpable, and so was the awkwardness.
Clearing his throat, Griffin released her and inched off the bed. Once he was safely seated in the chair, he smiled again.
“Get some rest. Tomorrow we’ll figure out what our next steps are.”
Like I’ll be able to sleep now, she thought. But a hundred and sixty years of forcing herself to sleep when she was emotionally drained, surrounded by danger and terrified of her future, kicked in. With a nod, she turned her back on Griffin. She closed her eyes, emptied her mind, and hoped for the thousandth time that she wouldn’t see any new horrors that night.