Note: This idea came to me after the last chapter. Kind of an alternative/what could have happened after MC fell asleep in Chapter 6.
Colette turns down the alleyway on her way back to Nik”s house when she hears footsteps behind her.
“Nik, are you checking up- Ahhhh!” She screams as she whirls around to find some sort of creature that definitely isn’t Nik. It looks like a weird zombie/werewolf hybrid, and it is huge.
Colette starts to run, but it grabs her. She thinks this might be the end this time, but then the shape shifts and it releases her from its grasp. Her momentary relief turns to increasing terror when it emerges as the bloodwraith. She prays that someone will show up to save her, but then it reaches towards her and she closes her eyes and screams again, paralyzed by fear. Suddenly she feels like she’s falling and lands hard with a thud.
“Ouch” Colette opens her eyes, rubbing her throbbing forehead, and she’s no longer in the alleyway but on the floor of Nik’s living room between the couch and the coffee table. She deduces she must have smacked her head on the way down, but she’ll take that over whatever was about to happen in her dream.
This is the third time tonight she’s woken up in a panic during a nightmare, although after witnessing the bloodwraith kill Kristof and defending herself against enraged grieving werewolves, she’s not at all surprised. There is some comfort to having Nik close by, but she still feels lonely and vulnerable in the dark, dead quiet of the night. She peers down the hallway wondering if he might be having trouble sleeping too. Maybe he woke up from the noise her falling off the couch. It wouldn’t hurt to check…
If she’s being honest, she doesn’t just want to be close to him so he can protect her. She realizes she’s been falling for him little by little since the moment they met, and she thinks he’s felt the same way too. She’d pegged Nik to be the type to be guarded and closed off, and she hadn’t been totally wrong, but he’s been surprisingly open with her. From when they kissed in the bayou and admitted he’d thought about it for a while to opening up about his parents when he’d never told anyone else, he’d shown he feels safe with her too.
Colette creeps down the hall and sees that Nik’s door is halfway open. The door creaks as she pushes it open further and Nik stirs but doesnt wake. She can hardly make him out in the darkness but as she nears the bed, she can tell he’s laying on his side wearing only his boxer briefs. He wouldn’t mind if she snuggled up next to him, would he?
She climbs into the bed and flips on her side, inching backwards into him. His warm, muscular body curves around hers in a perfect fit. She feels his arm drape over and hug her securely, almost instinctively as she’s fairly certain he’s not awake. She focuses on the steadiness of his breathing, the rise and fall of his chest, and his natural, earthy scent as her eyelids grow heavy. She hasn’t felt this content or at ease since arriving in New Orleans, and she’s confident any further dreams will be nothing but sweet.
~~~
“Mmm,” Nick moans as he wakes up aroused and presses up against Colette’s backside. He suddenly jumps to sitting bolt upright in the bed with much confusion. He didn’t drink last night or anything, so why can’t be remember how Colette got in his bed? As his hazy, sleep induced fog clears, he thinks he can vaguely recall her climbing into bed with him, and he was sleepy enough not to question it. It just felt right, and he instantly fell back asleep.
He gazes down at her and she looks so peaceful… beautiful, as she breathes rhythmically in a deep sleep. Her loose braid has all but come undone, golden locks of hair draped across her face. He lifts a hand up, hesitates, and then sweeps the hair behind her ear. She was just supposed to be a job – a big fat paycheck that would hopefully be worth all the hassle – but she’s so much more to him already. He hasn’t known her all that long, but he’d protect her with his life, even if he didn’t earn a cent.
Nik checks the clock on his phone, and even though the sun is starting to come up, it’s way too soon to wake. He considers lying down on the couch and letting Colette have the bed, but barring any odd sleepwalking incident, she chose to climb in with him. He decides not to fight it and curls back around her, relishing her softness and warmth, the clean floral scent of her shampoo, and the contented sigh she makes as his arm hugs her waist. Then he nods off again feeling completely at peace.