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They definitely could but were just ignoring them. But soon, Dominic moved to stretch out on the couch, bringing Rose down with him and tucking her into his side. You could still see the stress rolling off him, even with Rose drumming her fingers on his chest and nuzzling into his neck. But he was calming down.

I had to look away. It was too intimate. Especially because I knew what it felt like to be at peace like that. Had been feeling it for the past hour, every time Lukas touched me.

As if summoned by my thoughts, Lukas came back over to me. He dropped down next to me, immediately adjusting so that he could lay his head in my lap and sling his legs over the arm of the couch. When I looked down at him in confusion, he simply raised his eyebrows and said, “You promised.”

I had. I did my best to keep my body relaxed, instead of tensing every muscle from having him this close to me. “Go to sleep while you can. They could make us leave any second.”

Lukas got comfortable, moving his head around a little. I said a prayer to every old god, thanking them for putting pants on me today. If I had to feel his hair scrape against my bare skin, I would implode. And I had to keep my legs loose because he could feel it.

My fists, not so much. They were curled tight, tense with restraint. I wanted to reach over and grab his hand, to add another layer of connection.

I restrained it, careful not to disrupt this fragile thing.

Lukas seemed to doze off within seconds, and my body relaxed almost involuntarily in the wake of his peace. Relaxed, because without him looking at me, I didn’t have to hide. I let myself stare, take in the line of his beard, the curve of his eyebrow, the slope of his nose.

I felt eyes on me and looked up to find Rose staring at me from the cradle of Dominic’s arms.

I gave her a soft smile, hoping she understood that I was glad she was okay. I had so many apologies to make, and I needed to make hers a priority.

Rose returned it, before turning back into her husband’s side, Dominic’s arm tightening around her. I understood the need to touch each other. I would probably be wrapped around Lukas like an octopus if it had been him.

A while later, an hour maybe, Raiden opened up the door. With a sharp nod of his head, we understood it was time to go back. I nudged Lukas softly, relishing in the way his brows creased together before his eyes opened.

For a moment, he looked at me like he used to. Then reality set in and his stare hardened. He reached to pinch the space between his brows and sat up.

Lukas shook his head a little, before dragging his hands down his face. He looked even more tired than before.

“Told you my stomach would keep you up,” I tried to joke. Lukas just turned to look at me, his jaw clenched with a restrained response.

“Let’s go,” he said instead of whatever he was thinking. He and Dominic shared a nod and I waved goodbye to Rose. Lukas grabbed my raised hand unceremoniously, dragging me through a portal and back to the hall outside our rooms.

The room had barely materialized around us before he said, “You should get some rest. You have a lot of work to do tomorrow.”

I blinked once. “What?”

“I know when that beautiful brain has an idea, Daphne. Just fix this so we can move on.” Lukas turned on his heel and marched toward his own door, shutting it behind him on a sharp bang.

While I stood, dumbstruck and hanging on his words in the hall. Trying to figure out which part to cling to the hardest.

Chapter 13

Lukas

I slept like shit.

Not something that would piss me off most days, not for the past few months at least. I’d spent most of my life tossing and turning like a child, my body never fully able to relax.

Too much bad shit jumped out at me at night.

I was pissed because I’d gotten one, blissful hour of sleep on Daphne’s lap. And trying to fight for that same peace in my own damn bed after that had been enough to send me running to the gym hours before dawn broke.

Of course, I had to sleep like a fucking baby next to her. Or on her for that matter.

When my mother jumped down my throat after finding out that we’d started sharing a bed, threatening to disown me if I hurt Daphne, I’d asked her about it.

Why my body just seemed to shut down around her.

She’d told me my power probably felt like it could relax. That there was someone close that felt familiar, comforted by the tendrils of my power in her blood.