After I check once again that she has in fact fallen asleep, I find a way to fit my body onto the sofa so I too can sleep. My mind finds it hard to drift off, knowing Elle is sleeping safely in my bed just a foot away from me but not in my arms is almost too much for me to bare. I decide to read a book to help my brain settle, the dim light doesn't seem to disturb Elle as she begins to snore, entering into a deeper sleep.

The book soon causes my desired reaction, I find myself drifting off with the book on my face. My sleep is not long. I awaken to a frantic screaming of my name. I immediately reach for the light switch and allow the light to illuminate the room. Running to the bed, I grab Elle's shoulder and gently shake it, calling her name over and over again. She won't wake.

Her nightmare still holds her in the clutches of terror. I can't reach her. Her breathing becomes laboured and heavy as the tears stream down her cheeks. Panicking, I scoop her up and carry her to the bathroom. I need to reach her, she's calling for me to save her. If I don't she will wake up without me frightened and unsafe.

I rock her as I let the bath fill with cold water, whispering soft nothings to her, still trying to wake her up with my voice. I stand over the rim of the bath and lower both of us into the water. I sit her down fully into the cold water, she gasps and her eyes fly open.

Wrapping my arms around her, I rock her from side to side, calming her laboured breathing. I feel her muscles relax slightly and I scoop her from the bath.

Sitting her on the floor, I realise she is catatonic in her terror. Her eyes gaze, unseeing, as she hardly moves save for a trembles of her body. I grip the hem of the sopping wet T-shirt and look up into her eyes for permission to take it from her body.

She is still yet to speak, instead she merely lifts her arms above her head in silent permission. As I remove the top, I made certain my eyes never left her face, her eyes. Never letting my eyes fall as I dry her trembling torso. I do the same with the bottoms and dry her legs gently. Within a few moments she's dry and fully dressed, she doesn't even seem to register that I leave her for a second to dry myself. She's still sitting with wide eyes, staring at nothing.

Gently, I scoop her up and go to lay her on the bed. However, Elle seems to have other plans. Her legs wrap tighter around my waist and her arms practically strangle my throat as she frantically clings to me. Whimpering desperately as I try to leave her.

I sit back on the bed, smiling softly as she burrows into my chest. Hiding her face in my chest, but softly sighing as she feels my hand stroke her back. I don't yet ask her about the dream, she needs to calm and to sleep, unfortunately I can imagine what caused it.

Kissing into her auburn hair, I murmur reassurance to her until I feel her body sag in sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I awaken to the foreign feeling of something moving beside me. My eyes open and I find Elle curled up in a ball with her face resting on my chest. She looks so peaceful now, still lost in dreams, but earlier I thought I'd lost her. Not even my words could reach her. I'm surprised no one else heard her screams and came running, maybe it was only a deafening terror to me.

Deciding to let her sleep, I look down at her beautiful face as she's lost to the real world. I take in the light splattering of freckles over her nose and cheeks, the honey glow over her cheeks flushed with sleep. The dark eyelashes that flutter as she breathes lightly. Every inch on this woman is stunning, breath taking and, hopefully, mine.

My staring obviously disturbed her sleep, for when I look down again, her emerald eyes are gazing back up at me. A light frown graces her pout as her brain catches her consciousness up with the events of the night. It's clear from her facial expressions that she remembers, her face goes from fear to embarrassment and finally back to peaceful as she cosies back into my chest. My fingers run absentminded patterns over her clothes.

"W-wait!" She suddenly exclaims, breaking our peaceful embrace. "I have to get to work!"

I can't help it, I burst out into laughter at how adorably absurd she is.

"Little one, you're not going into work. You need to rest, and anyway we're in a lockdown."

"Oh." She blushes and nibbles at her lip awkwardly, not making eye contact. I lean down and tuck my thumb under her chin, turning her face up to look at mine. Bending down, I go to kiss her, but just before our lips meet, I pull back slightly and stare down at her eyes.

"And if you think I'm ever letting you go back to work for those jerks, you're mistaken. Our club has plenty of connections that could get you a decent job."

She frowns and pulls away from me. "I don't want charity."

"It's not charity. Think of it as collateral for the... beating you took."

This answer seems acceptable to her as her face moves back towards mine.

"Once again you make a very convincing argument Derek."

I grin cockily at her before leaning down and finally capturing her lips and devouring them hungrily. I push her back onto the bed and climb onto of her, careful not to put any body weight of mine on to her fragile one.

She lets out a low groan and pushes her hips up to meet mine. I freeze. This wasn't exactly how I envisioned the morning going, but I'm not complaining- so long as it doesn't go any further than this today.

I push her bucking hips back with a low chuckle before murmuring. "Not yet baby, soon."

I kiss along her neck, down her collarbone and to her shoulder which is still bruised from the dislocation. I feel her tense at my proximity to the obviously sore area. Carefully, I brush the area with my lips before returning to look down at her face, a little flushed from our morning activities.

"I would never hurt you, little one."

She blinks and looks back up at me before softly replying. "I know."