Chapter 91: The Cave of Wonder (2)
Coconut and cinnamon. It was a heady mix that wrapped around Nova like the silkiest of blankets. She felt protected. Safe. Loved. In his arms, she never wished to wake, wanting to sink further into this bliss for a while longer. Yet, she also wanted to wake so she could embrace him, feel him.
It was beyond anything she’d ever felt before, and it made the entire experience of staying on the island that much better. Besides work and a few friends, there was nothing left for her in the modern world, not even family. She snuggled into Yoa’s chest more, letting his scent smother her euphorically.
Nova didn’t want this to end, and she didn’t just mean staying in the hidden waterfall cave like this. Although things were utterly different to Chad and the other men she’d dated, there was still that tiny thread of doubt tugging at her, whispering that it might all slip away. It was so dreamy and every woman’s dream to be wrapped up like this with a hunk of a man that would protect her and listen to her. It was almost too good to be true, and that was where the doubt settled.
But waking up like this, after dreaming about the stars and of a being whose face she couldn’t quite recall, Nova easily pushed aside those thoughts, burying herself in everything that was Yoa. In this case, it meant gently sinking her fingers into his hair behind her.
That dream still lingered, though, and one image remained vivid, like it had been etched behind her eyelids even as they fluttered open:
The image of a constellation knot and two spirals intertwined, wrapping around each other like a double helix.
In the dream, they’d shone brightly back at her like constellations in the navy dark sky above the cloaked being she couldn’t remember the look of. She blinked a few times, and the two images faded away.
Yoa stirred beside her, one heavy arm draped over her waist, his leg tangled with hers. He was so damned chunky. And all hers.
Nova couldn’t help the smile tugging at her lips as she turned her head to see him clinging to her like a koala, his body curved protectively against hers. She shifted slightly, her brows furrowing as she registered the position they’d ended up in. It shouldn’t have been possible for Yoa to sleep like this without pain. Not with the state he’d been in just hours before.
Unless... Had the Miroth leaves numbed the area?