Because Of Love

Talia stretched as she slowly came out of slumber. A muscle in her neck pinched and she winced, wondering if it was time to get a new pillow. As she opened her eyes, she realized her surroundings were unfamiliar to her.

Where am I? she questioned as she tried to push herself up onto her elbow. Then suddenly she stilled when something moved behind her, almost bumping her arm right from under her. She looked down to see a large sleeved arm next to hers.

Her eyes went wide. I guess it is safe to presume that that was the pillow.

She squeezed her eyes shut and bit the inside of her cheeks. No, no, no, no, no!

First, she took stock of her clothes, running her free hand over them and sighing in relief when she found everything still in place. Then, slowly, she turned her head to look behind her, trying to not make any sudden movements that would wake him. That was the last thing she needed. There was no need to turn too far, the man was so large he was everywhere. Talia stared straight into his face and smiled. His head on the arm rest, he was asleep, and from the look on his face, the feel of his heaving chest at her back and how still his eyes were behind his closed eyelids, the man was in deep sleep.

Mission accomplished! Talia cheered quietly in her head, her lips spread out in a wide grin. Yes, it was ridiculous for her to be dancing an internal jive just because the man was asleep, but considering how vulnerable and exposed he’d been with her the night before, it was something to celebrate. She remembered they had started the movie with each of them on the furthest ends of the couch, for obvious, lustful reasons. Then halfway through the movie, somehow his head ended up on her lap. Surprised she’d almost pushed him off her but then she noticed his breathing. It was long and deep, like that of a person who’d fallen in slumber. She’d watched the profile of his face, itching to trace out the lines of his nose and lips, to touch his thick long eyelashes… but she held herself back and just watched him sleep, the movie all but forgotten.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

She gasped, pressing her free hand over her mouth to mask the sound when DeLuca’s hefty leg landed heavily on her thigh. His hand that had been lazily draped over her mid tensed, pulling her tight against him. She lowered, placing her head on his bicep and allowing him to press her back flush against his chest. Surrounded by his warmth and strength, Talia was tempted to just stay there and never leave, but she knew better than that. For one (slowly she turned and lifted her left wrist), the office would be flooded within the hour. She was grateful that DeLuca wouldn’t let the cleaning lady into his office to clean every early morning like the rest of the office. Speaking of which, how did she not hear the loud noise of the hoover? She was a deep sleeper but not that deep of her sleeper. What was she saying? From what she could remember, she fell into slumber in a sitting position, with DeLuca’s head in her lap. At some point in the night, their positions shifted and the only explanation was someone shifted her and she hadn’t felt a thing.

Wait, so did he not sleep well, or had something woken him in the middle of the night?

The couch wasn’t exactly a king sized bed and his neck was probably hurting something fierce right now. But that wasn’t what she should be thinking about at that moment. Slowly, she wrapped two fingers around the wrist of the arm that had banded around her mid. Ever so slowly, she raised it off her and gently placed it on the thigh of the leg thrown over her. Once that was done, she let out a breath of relief that he hadn’t stirred once and began to calculate how she was to free the lower half of her body. Gingerly, she slid her lower leg off the couch, tightening the muscles of the one above to hold DeLuca’s leg weight as she did, her eyes shut tight and her lips pressed hard together. Once that one was off, she slowly grabbed one of the couch cushions on the floor and smoothly slid it under his leg as she slowly pulled out her tiring leg from under his. Once that was done, she gingerly sat up and quickly leaped off the couch, careful not to hit the table in front of her. She held still, watching his face to see if she’d disturbed him. He stirred but she quickly grabbed another cushion off the floor and placed it at his chest. He wrapped his free arm around it, shifted to make himself more comfortable, then finally, his breathing went back to the deep rhythm of sleep. She sighed her relief then watched him for a few more moments feeling very proud of herself. She’d helped him sleep and she hadn’t needed a sedative or to get naked to do it. Now, she just needed to look like she’d come into work and not like she’d slept here.

Quickly but silently, she left the office barefooted and made a dash for her desk. She grabbed her go bag from under her desk and rushed back to DeLuca’s office. Impromptu out of town business trips, client meetings, and of course spilling coffee on herself, had taught her to always have some spare clothes and toiletry within reach. She snuck into DeLuca’s office bathroom, hoping he wouldn’t mind so much if she used his shower. Fifteen minutes later, showered, changed, but sadly with no makeup except for a lip balm, she stepped out of the bathroom with her go bag in hand. She took a look at DeLuca and realized he hadn’t moved since the last time she checked on him. Amazed, she couldn’t help but wonder when was the last time he had slept for so long – no, according to him, he didn’t sleep at all, so when was the last time he had slept like this? Sadly he would have to wake up soon. She looked at her wrist watch, maybe not so soon. When was Enzo due to arrive? After a few minutes of contemplation, Talia set an alarm on her phone and placed it on the table next to him and left, quietly closing the door behind her.