Marriage by Law

I turned over, or tried to, but felt gentle hands pulling me close. They were gentler than I remembered, but I didn't know why I was dreaming about him. Surely it doesn't take this long to get over an ex-boyfriend? I don't understand why I kept thinking about him. It was his loss.

The warm hands enclosed me and pulled me into a hard strong chest. I never knew how strong James was either. He was always one of those scrawny kids and it wasn't till he went to Uni that he decided to shape up. But even then, that barely did anything to him.

I snuggled closer, embracing the warmth. Oh, this beat ducted heating any day. I could feel his chin on my head, tucking my head between the gap in his neck and chest, like a perfect jigsaw piece. I took a deep breath, letting his scent intoxicate me. James even smelt different. He never had this rich masculine spicy smell. Maybe he changed his shampoo again?

He did that way too many times than a girl, which annoyed me how long he took to get ready and still ended up looking like a twerp most times.

I stretched my right arm out, wrapping it around his waist as I felt his hand on my lower back. It felt so good that when I rearranged myself on the bed, I ended up with my upper half on top of him. Somehow, it was more comfortable than sleeping on this soft bed. His chest was soft but hard, being the perfect pillow, while the rest of me just fit into him like a puzzle.

How come I never noticed this before?

Suddenly, I felt him jerk and pull away. It was like the warmth escaped and I felt the cold air assault me. I shivered, but only for a while before I felt the warmth return as he embraced me. A finger traced my eyelid down my nose and to my cheek and I frowned.

"James, stop that," I whispered. The hand stopped its journey. I sighed, taking a deep breath and letting the sleep envelope me. God, I hadn't slept like this in ages.

What was that sound? It was like the sound of horse hooves on a barren country road pacing themselves and going to the other side. It was steady and...was that a heart beat?

Why on earth can I hear a heart beat?

I opened my eyes, blinking a couple of times to clear my vision, and found myself looking at the curtains. My neck cracked from sleeping in an immobile but comfortable position. I tried sitting up and realised I was sprawled all over Darius. Oh my god! Sprawled like a blanket all over Darius!

Well, this was very awkward.

He was still asleep. His dark hair was ruffled messily and somehow I had used him as a human pillow, teddy bear or bed last night. Oh shit.

I placed a hand on the bed to push myself, but to no avail. Irealizing noticed that his hands were on my lower back, holding me in place, like he was hugging me or something.

"Oh shit," I swore. I have to wake him immediately! I though this idiot was on the floor? Does that mean the dream -

He moved; I froze and stared at his face. The sun was just rising, its rays shining through the curtains and hitting his face and highlighting his perfect features. Some people are just so perfect.

His eyes opened and he looked around before his eyes met mine. I felt my cheeks reddening in embarrassment.

"Morning," he said, closing his eyes again, still holding me in this frozen state.

What the...

"Eh, hi?" I said lamely. I watched as his eyes remained closed. Don't tell me he hadn't noticed where I was or the fact that he was holding me down.

"Eh, Darius?" I asked. He opened his eyes. I never really realised how mesmerizing the color was. It was like staring right into the gemstone malachite and you just can't look away.

"Can you let me go?" I asked, clearing my throat.

"You smell nice"

"Yea, okay n-what?" I asked, doing a double take. Who on earth smells nice in the morning? He leaned forward and I leaned back, placing my hands on his chest to distance myself but I didn't manage to go far as he sniffed my hair.

"Your shampoo, it's nice."

I stared at him blankly. Well, this was new. He was never like this.

"Okay, let me go now," I said as I tried to get up. It was his turn to blink and realise what I was talking about as my face probably turned another shade of red, which looked hideous against my dark skin tan.

"Maybe," he said closing his eyes.

My jaw fell open as I stared at him. "What?" I snapped.

"You weren't complaining last night."

My face turned even redder, if that was possible, and I could feel the heat rise in my body.

"I-I did not!"

"Exactly you didn't," he said and I bit my lip, narrowing my eyes and trying to pull away as his hands tightened.

"Stop moving and sleep," he muttered and I punched his shoulder. He groaned, opening his eyes.

"I would like to get up now, please."

He stared at me and I stared back, holding my gaze, refusing to look away, but there was something in those eyes that captured me. It was an illusion, I told myself, but somehow I couldn't pull away.

The door banged open and I yelped. I was so surprised that I leaped away from him and onto the other side of the bed, hitting my head against the bed side table in the process. I let out a very unladylike swear word.

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