Chapter 283 | Sleep With me…

Chapter 283: 283 | Sleep With me...

Dexter paused as their hands touched.

Her fingers were cold with a chill that seemed to come from deep inside her, settling into her skin no matter how warmly she dressed. He gently closed his hand around hers.

"Tell me if it gets uncomfortable."

She nodded.

Dexter adjusted his position until their shoulders rested together more firmly, then guided a thin, controlled current of his Heavenly Flame through their joined hands.

Selene’s fingers tightened, and Dexter immediately reduced the flow. "Too much?"

"No." The answer came quickly. She took a slow breath. "It’s nice."

He looked at her face before increasing it a little. The warmth traveled through her wrist and up her arm, and wherever it passed, the cold pressing against her meridians began to retreat. Selene released a long, comfortable sigh.

Her head rested back against the pillow, and the tension around her mouth gradually disappeared.

Dexter smiled. "That much?"

"Mm."

Her answer was barely a sound. He continued guiding the flame, keeping it gentle as it passed through her damaged pathways.

He couldn’t simply force more heat into her and hope for the best. Her meridians were healing, and carelessness could undo the progress they had made.

A few minutes later, Selene shifted her hand inside his. Dexter loosened his grip, thinking she wanted to adjust her wrist. Instead, her fingers slipped between his.

He looked down at their hands resting together on the blanket.

Selene’s eyes remained closed, but the faint color rising along her neck suggested she was perfectly aware of what she had done.

Dexter said nothing. He simply held her hand more comfortably and resumed cultivating.

---

Roughly another hour passed and the warmth flowing through Selene had become steady enough that Dexter no longer needed to watch every small movement of his mana, and her breathing was even. Occasionally, her head tilted toward him before she straightened again.

The third time it happened, Dexter opened his eyes and he realized she was fighting sleep. To be honest so was he.

The day had finally caught up with him—fighting the two men and surviving the elder’s attack, running around the festival, and then returning home had left him more tired than he wanted to admit. Cultivation had helped his body recover, but it hadn’t replaced rest.

Dexter moved his shoulder slightly, and Selene immediately lifted her head. "What’s wrong?"

"It’s nothing." He smiled. "I’m just tired."

She sat a little straighter. "Oh. I should go—"

"That isn’t what I meant."

Her fingers loosened inside his, but Dexter refused to let go.

"I’m going to lie down," he explained. "You should too. You need the rest."

"I’m awake."

Dexter looked at her.

Selene turned her face away. "Not completely."

He chuckled. "You don’t have to sit cross-legged to cultivate. The Scripture will keep circulating while you rest."

"Why don’t on make yourself comfortable."

She didn’t answer immediately, and Dexter noticed the way her free hand pressed against the blanket. Sitting beside him was one thing. Cultivating together was familiar now. Lying down beneath the same duvet...

Her face slowly warmed.

Dexter followed her silence to its obvious conclusion, and his own expression became slightly awkward. "You can stay on that side," he said, nodding toward the empty pillow. "There’s enough room."

Selene tilted her head. There wasn’t very much room. They both knew it.

Dexter cleared his throat. "Enough for sleeping."

"That doesn’t make it sound better."

He blinked, then laughed quietly. Selene’s mouth curved, although she quickly pressed her lips together.

Dexter unfolded his legs, keeping their hands joined while using his free hand to pull back the duvet.

His knees felt stiff after sitting for so long. He stretched them beneath the blanket, adjusted his pillow, and carefully lowered himself onto the mattress. The movement pulled gently against Selene’s hand.

She remained sitting beside him.

Dexter looked up at her. "You can let go if you want."

Her fingers tightened instead. For several seconds, she said nothing. Then she slowly uncrossed her legs.

Dexter lifted the duvet out of her way while she turned and settled onto the mattress beside him. She moved, feeling for the pillow before resting her head, letting her silver hair spread over the fabric.

At first, her body was very stiff as she layed down, leaving a narrow strip of mattress between them. Their joined hands rested in that space. Dexter drew the duvet over her, making sure it covered her feet before pulling it gently up to her shoulders.

"Comfortable?"

Selene nodded.

Dexter settled back against his pillow and continued the circulation of the Scripture, while emanating heat from his heavenly flame, keeping a gentle stream of warmth flowing into her.

Selene turned her face toward him. In the dim room, she could make out little more than a darker shape against the pillow, but she knew where his face was. She knew the sound of his breathing and the rhythm of his heart.

"You’re sure this is all right?" she asked softly.

Dexter turned toward her. "Selene, it’s alright."

She remained quiet, then her thumb moved lightly against the side of his hand. "Good night, Dexter."

He smiled. "Good night, Selene."

Her cheeks warmed beneath the duvet, and neither released the other’s hand.

---

Dexter woke before his alarm.

At first, he didn’t open his eyes. Something soft brushed the underside of his chin, and a comfortable weight rested across his chest. He breathed in slowly—soap, a faint sweetness, Selene.

His eyes opened.

For several seconds, he simply stared at the ceiling. Then he lowered his gaze.

At some point during the night, the small distance between them had disappeared completely.

Selene was snuggled against him, her cheek resting on his chest with one arm wrapped around his waist.

Her other hand still held his beneath the duvet, although their fingers had loosened during sleep.

She had drawn one knee close beside his leg and curled toward his warmth so thoroughly that there was barely any space left between them.

Dexter went still as her silver hair lay across his shirt, a few strands tickling his neck whenever she breathed. He looked at the empty pillow beside her, then back at the woman sleeping against him.