Chương 10: The sleeping beauty (2)

##Chapter 10 The sleeping beauty (2)

Chris Lindt was sleeping soundly, his breathing regular and his eyes shut. How could he fall asleep so easily? May was dumbfounded: he could stay awake to finish his work for the whole night and then lose consciousness in a matter of a few minutes? While he was worrying like a nanny, at that!

He didn't seem to be waking up anytime soon, so she used the blanket to cover him as well. At that moment, she realised that sleeping next to someone had the advantage of feeling more warmth. His presence didn't annoy her - on the contrary: it was more comforting than troublesome. So much that, little by little, she moved the blanket from covering only his legs up to his chest and shoulders.

As she carefully covered him, since he also could catch a cold even if he hadn't been tortured with electroshock collars, his head slipped down. It first bent on the side, slipping lower and lower until reaching her shoulders. There, it stopped its fall.

May felt the weight of him, but she didn't push him away. He had been awake because of her - in part. And even the night before, he had watched over her. It was normal that he was tired.

That change of position didn't seem to bother him. If anything, he seemed even more asleep than before. May was quite sure her shoulder was not comfortable at all, with the bones being hard under his head. However, his face was relaxed. Almost... Happy?

Would all people seem so angelic in their sleep? He lost all the wittiness with his eyes closed. And he looked younger than when he was awake, with the first button of the shirt undone and his hair deliciously messy. So much that May couldn't resist reaching out to feel the softness of his locks. She rolled one around her finger, her lips curling in a sudden, unexpected smile.

Her fingers slipped down on his face, caressing his cheeks. She liked his features. He was undoubtedly handsome, but there was more to it. As if he was exactly the type of man she would like to stare at forever.

She traced the shape of his lips, soft just like they looked, and his breathing tickled her skin as he did. There was no disturbance on his face, just as if she wasn't doing anything at all.

She traced his lips with her finger one more time, feeling guilty for it only when she was done. She was harassing a sleeping man. There might have been laws against it! What had gotten into her?

But staring from so close was a temptation she couldn't win against. Especially because he couldn't watch her back. It was a situation of advantage she wouldn't have ever again. Not to mention how they wouldn't meet again once the electoral silence was over.

Maybe it was better like that. Her heart was beating against her chest like crazy... Had it been affected by the shocks as well? Or was it just normal to feel like in a storm when next to a handsome man?

She retreated her hand and hid her arm under the blanket, closing her eyes and waiting with patience. Her insomnia wouldn't have let her sleep, but she could rest like that and absorb all that human heat.

She thought she wouldn't sleep, but she was woken up by the sound of the door. She didn't open her eyes just yet, but a set of steps stopped not far from her. Only then, she remembered she was in Chris Lindt's office. Oh, so the weight on her arm and shoulder was none other than the senator's head.

She opened her eyes and met Morgan's. He was early, wasn't he? What was he doing at that hour of the day in his boss's office? Did he even get permission to walk in and out as he pleased?

May moved her arm to signal him to be silent with her finger on her lips. At that exact moment, Morgan took a picture of the sofa. He chuckled with himself, still silent, and walked out just as he came in.

May had to disentangle herself from the blanked and the senatorial head before being able to follow him. If she got up abruptly, Chris would wake up and she hated that thought. She carefully moved him to the back of the sofa and raced out, imagining a thousand ways to kill Morgan in that same hallway.

"Does your boss know that you take pictures of him while he's asleep?" she said once the door was closed. Somehow, her priority was still not to disturb Chris. "Or is it something you do only when you're sure you won't get caught?"

"He'll thank me for this picture!" Morgan said, still laughing. "It's the first time I catch him sleeping, by the way. I was starting to think he's not human. But it's his fault for giving more importance to flirting than to work. He had to stay up later because of that."

"Delete the picture!"

"No way! I can blackmail not one but two big shots with this."

"Senator Lindt and my grandfather?"

"No, I was thinking of you. It kind of makes me feel powerful, May."

"Don't you dare."

His smile was broken for a moment. He skipped a few words, and then his shoulders became droopy. He wasn't having fun anymore.

"I won't," he said. "But why are you staying here? What happened?"

"I ended up here after a series of coincidences. Then, when the Prime Minister found out, he ordered me to stay and keep watch for him."

"And you just accepted? Aren't you wary of Senator Lindt?"

"He's harmless," May said. "And I know something he doesn't want to be public."

"People like him are seldom harmless, May. He might behave civilly, especially compared to other people with the influence he has, but he's powerful and can be ruthless. I've warned you, May."

"Don't lecture me. Not when you spend way more time with him than I do. You've thrown yourself into danger's arms."

"I can walk away whenever I want. I'm not tightly involved with him."

"Neither am I."

"No," Morgan sighed. "Not yet, are you?"