Ren had woken to find me sitting up and feeling my neck like a freak, and he seemed to know what was going on inside my head. He’d wrapped his arm around my waist and eased me back down beside him.
“You’re here,” he’d whispered into the dark room. “You’re here with me.”
I’d eventually fallen back to sleep, and I slept like the dead. There was a good chance I didn’t move once. I might have even snored. I don’t know. I just remember listening to Ren’s calming voice, and then when I opened my eyes again, daylight was streaming into the room, and I was alone.
Rolling over onto my side, I winced as my muscles ached and protested at the movement. I noted how that was different from all the other times I’d woken up after such a deep sleep. The difference was, I had fed those times. But I didn’t want to look too closely at that. Not right now.
I scanned the room, my gaze landing on the sofa in front of the TV. My heartbeat sped up as I saw Ren rising and turning to me.
Relief was etched into every line of his face. “Hey there,” he said, approaching the bed. “I was beginning to wonder if you were going to wake up.”
Feeling a little dizzy, I sat up and pushed the matted strands of my hair back from my face. “How long have I’ve been sleeping?” My voice was hoarse.
Ren sat on the bed next to me. “You woke up on and off the first night, but once you fell into a deep sleep, you slept straight through yesterday and last night.”
“Geez.” I dropped my hand, clearing my throat. “I didn’t mean to sleep that long.”
“It’s okay. You needed the rest.” Reaching over, he gathered my robe together. The material had fallen open, giving him an eyeful. I hadn’t even noticed. A slight flush traveled down my throat as he found the tie and redid it. His voice was thicker when he spoke. “Everyone understands that.”
“Sorry . . . for crying all over you.”
“Never apologize for that. Ever. You want to cry all over me again, I’m right here. I don’t want to be any place else.”
My gaze traveled over the black thermal he wore and how it stretched over his broad shoulders, and then I moved my gaze up to his full lips that had said such amazing words to me. My eyes met his. There were shadows of worry under them. “You love me,” I blurted out, and then immediately wanted to staple my mouth shut, because that sounded so dumb.
His smile traveled up to his eyes. “That sounds about right.”
Those words wrapped around me like a warm, soft blanket. Ren loved me. That hadn’t been a dream. None of this was a dream.
“You have something you want to say to me?” he asked, tone teasing. “I think there is definitely something you want to say to me.”
A grin tugged at my lips. “I don’t have anything to say.”
His brows rose.
The grin was slow to turn into a smile, but it did. “I love you,” I said.
“That’s what I wanted to hear.” Leaning in, he brushed his lips over mine. I tensed just a little, still half-afraid I’d inadvertently start sucking his life force out of him, but he wasn’t worried. He stayed right there, his mouth hovering over mine. “I do wish you were awake yesterday just to bear witness to what I saw.”
“What was that?” I asked, resting my forehead against his.
He placed his hand next to my leg, supporting his weight. “Tink fashioned some kind of leash for that cat of his.”
“Dixon.”
“Yeah, Dixon. I saw him outside in the garden yesterday. Your window looks down on it. He was walking the little thing, but that’s not the random part,” he explained. “Tink was back to his other size. You know, bite-size height. He was flying and walking the kitten. I’m pretty sure he was also naked. Too far up to make out any details, thank God.”
A giggle parted my lips. “Dear lord, when that cat gets bigger, it’s going to eat him if he stays that size.”
“One can only hope.” He laughed as I drew back. “Just kidding. He’s kind of growing on me. Like a fungus.”
“Nice,” I murmured, relaxing.
Ren kissed my cheek and then leaned back. “You feel up to talking to anyone today?”
“Of course,” I answered at once.
His eyes searched mine. “You sure? You can take another day. I can grab you some food. They got cable in these rooms. We can find some movie and just chill.”
While that sounded amazing and I honestly would have loved nothing more, the world was still churning outside. The prince was still out there. Nothing was going to wait around. “I’m fine. I just need to shower. I feel like I need to wash a layer of sleep off me.”
“You look beautiful,” he said.
I rolled my eyes. “I think you need your head examined.”
“Nope.” He paused. “After you shower, we’ll grab something to eat and then we’ll meet up with everyone. Okay?”
His steady gaze snagged and held mine. We still had a lot to cover. There were a lot of details he didn’t know. Details I needed time to come to terms with myself and time to share.
“Okay,” I said.
I closed my eyes as Ren kissed the tip of my nose. He pushed off the bed, and I got up after him. My legs felt a little wobbly as I grabbed the bag Tink had brought me and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind me.
I wondered if Tink was out walking the kitten naked again.
Taking a quick shower, I stepped out and dried off. I rooted through the bag, finding a pair of worn jeans and a long-sleeved green shirt. I got dressed and then gathered up my wet hair, twisting it into a knot.