I lift one shoulder. "A couple hours, maybe. I've gone with less sleep for much longer."
"You need to rest. We both need to be in top form if we're going to figure out what's happening." Sarah looks at Aldith. "Would you mind if we rest here in the stronghold for a while? It would give you time to think about what Jarek said too."
"Take any room you like. All the doors are unlocked." She walks toward the doorway, then pauses to glance back. "The bedrooms in the stronghold sometimes have an unusual effect on couples, particularly those who make love while in residence here."
Is she suggesting we should have sex? No, I can't get up for that. Even after I get some rest, I doubt I would ever feel comfortable doing that in this strange place.
Right, because fucking in the dirt while crazy Echo lightning bombed the woods wasn't strange at all.
I let Sarah lead me down the hall so we can peek into every bedroom. She chooses one she likes, then asks if I like it too. I shrug. What the room looks like hardly matters. I want to sleep, not admire the sheets or whatever it is she thinks I should care about. A bed is a bed. I haven't slept in comfort for so long that I barely remember what a nice, soft mattress feels like, anyway.
We lie down on top of the covers, and I fall asleep almost instantly. It happens so fast that I think I didn't sleep at all, until Sarah points at a clock situated on a dresser.
"It's been seven hours," she says. "I noticed the time when we lay down. You passed out the second you closed your eyes."
"Did you get any sleep?"
"Yes. But I wasn't as exhausted as you were. I did have a dream, though. It was about what I saw in my vision, the one where men were yelling for me to stop running."
Maybe I shouldn't care, but I have to ask. "What did you see this time?"
"They seemed to want to protect me rather than trying to hurt me."
I suddenly realize we've been spooning. I can honestly say I've never done that before. Pretty sure I fell asleep lying on my back. But at some point, I rolled over to cradle her body with mine, and I have one arm draped over her hip. The warmth and suppleness of her body feels…right.
Which is bullshit.
I sit up and swing my legs off the bed. "Better find Aldith. Maybe she finally realized what Jarek meant."
"There's no need to be embarrassed."
"Why would I be? I got some rest, that's all."
She crawls up behind me and wraps her arms around my torso. "We shared an intimate experience. You get touchy about that kind of thing."
Did we have sex while I was asleep? No, I would've woken up if that happened.
She nuzzles my neck. "We took a nap together, Gabriel. When was the last time you went to sleep with a woman holding you?"
For reasons I can't understand, I tell her the truth. "Never. The women I dated weren't into, uh, cuddling."
"Really? I thought all women loved that. But then, I have amnesia, so maybe I just don't remember disliking cuddling." She kisses my throat. "I loved sleeping with you."
"Uh, yeah, it was…fine."
Her hands, her lips, and her voice are doing things to me that won't be helpful right now. So I peel her arms away and stand up, trying not to let her see the growing bulge in my pants. I'm a guy. I can't help that feeling a woman's body wrapped around me, and hearing a woman's sensual voice, makes my dick wake up.
Awoman? No, it's only Sarah who does this to me.
I slither off the bed. "Let's find Aldith."
Sarah tries to hold my hand, but I manage to dodge that attempt. I've let her get too close to me, and that's a recipe for disaster.
Distance, that's what I need.
Chapter Ten
Sarah