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“Uh-huh.”

“Why don’t you like the dark, Twinkles?” He’d given her that nickname because her eyes always twinkled with happiness.

She tightened her hold on him even more. “Don’t like it. Just don’t.” She let out a sob.

Fuck. He was an asshole. How could he be pressing her like this when she was clearly distraught?

“Hey, hey, it’s all right. Shh. It’s okay. Jenner is here. I’m going to take care of you.” He rocked her back and forth, humming his song for her.

Even though she didn’t know it was her song.

He knew it would help her calm down.

Slowly, she relaxed against him. “Jenner.”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

She was coming back into the here and now and he couldn’t help but feel a stab of sadness. It was wrong. He didn’t want her to be afraid and distressed. But he’d miss their closeness. The way she clung to him.

How much she depended on him.

Was it wrong to like that so much? To like how much she needed him for everything. To keep her safe, to protect her.

She leaned back and looked up at him. “I’m so sorry.” Her eyes widened, distress filling them.

Fuck.

He quickly cupped her cheeks between his hands. Damn it. She was cold. How had he not noticed how cold it was? Immy had always felt the cold. Which is why they kept the inside temperature at seventy-eight degrees. The rest of them were always hot. But he didn’t care.

Immy came first.

Always.

He had to get her calmed down and under the covers.

“Hey, listen to me. Listen,” he urged. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”

“What did I do? Did I wake you up? Oh no, I did, didn’t I? Was I having a nightmare?”

“You didn’t wake me up. I came in to check on you when I noticed you were having a nightmare. If anyone needs to apologize, it’s me for coming into your bedroom when you were asleep.”

“Oh, I didn’t wake you?”

“No, baby. No. I just wanted to check on you as you were so quiet at dinner tonight. That’s all.”

“Did I climb onto your lap?”

“Yes, but that’s okay.”

More than okay. Don’t ever leave.

Urgh, he was fucked.

“It’s not really. You need your sleep.” She tried to get off his lap, but he held her still.

“Immy, you’d tell me if there was something wrong, right?”

She smiled at him. “Of course I would. I don’t even know what the nightmare was about. But really, everything is fine.”