VICTORIA'S POV

He lay me down and pulled the covers over me. I watched him as he walked to his side of the bed and get in. He fell asleep almost immediately.

How could he do this to me!

How did he expect me to go back to sleep when he was looking like that?

I had woken up with an urgent need to pee and found him looking like that. Shirtless, hair all over his pillow, and beard still present . To say he was the epitome of perfection was an understatement. I stared for what seemed like forever, unable to believe that I was sharing the same bed as such a beautiful creature. This was the first time I had actually seen him sleeping.

Every time, he would be the one waking me up from my slumber. I had never even witnessed him going to bed, besides my first night here.

I couldn't stare longer because I really needed to relieve myself or else I would do so in the bed. I tried getting out of the bed on my own, but it was too difficult. My leg that was encased in the gel substance weighed a ton. I continued trying for a few more minutes but gave up eventually.

I knew how tired he was and felt like an evil villain for waking him up.

I could still remember the feel of his bare arms around me. Their heat soaked right into the sheer material of my pyjamas. I closed my eyes and remembered how amazing it felt to be that close to him.

I gave out a loud sigh then quickly shot my eyes open to look at him and see if it had woken him up. Thankfully, it hadn't.

My heart rate was still a little too erratic.

He's doing this on purpose!

My eyes travelled down his uncovered upper body and arms. Those arms that had carried the heavier me. I bit my lip unconsciously.

My gaze went to the indentations on his stomach.

My tongue darted out to moisten my lips.

How could a person look so good?

I was starting to get hot and fanned myself with my hand. But it did little to cool down my heating body.

I tried to look away, but my eyes kept drifting back to him.

I swallowed heavily for the umpteenth time.

This is torture!

He then turned and faced his back to me.

Even his back looked glorious. I groaned inwards and decided to turn away from him. My heart was still beating rapidly.

At this rate, I'll die of a heart attack.

I decided to focus my gaze on the stars we went past. Some seemed closer than others, like you could almost reach out and touch them. Looking out the window made it seem like we were moving at an incredibly slow place, but I knew better. We must have been zooming quickly past these unknown constellations and planets. The universe was vast, and beautiful.

I would never get tired of this view. Well, this and one other view. I looked at Xeris. I shook my head. "No, you were doing so great to forget about it," I silently scolded myself.

I continued gazing out the glass and miraculously, fell asleep again. The next time I awoke, I was facing away from the viewing glass.

My left hand felt warm. I looked to where it was and realised it was on his chest. My eyes widened.

I can't believe I molested him in my sleep.

Upon closer inspection of my position, I discovered that what my head lay on was not a pillow, but in fact his left bicep. It was stretched out under my head. I didn't realise how close we had gotten in our sleep. His left leg had found its way over my right one.

How did this happen?

I raised my head a little and noticed that he had moved to my side of the bed.

I can't possibly be held responsible for this. He's the one that's moved to my side.

If he suddenly woke up while I tried to detangle us, that would be the argument I would use.

I felt I had slept enough and was getting restless after some time. I couldn't stay in this position. His body heat was affecting me in more ways than one too. It would be dangerous to stay this close to him. I had to think of my heart. I tried to move my right leg from under him, but it was the very leg in gel. His leg over it wasn't painful or uncomfortable. I actually couldn't feel a thing.

I moved to try and move his leg instead. I used my left foot to gently push his leg off, but what happened next had me stop in my efforts. When I felt him stir, I froze.

He rolled over to me and wrapped his right arm around my torso. He followed with his right leg and had me completely trapped. His face was dangerously close to mine. So close, I could feel his breath fan my face.

I had never been this close to him, except when we sparred. And even then, it only lasted a moment. His right hand shifted a little and lightly grazed my left breast.

My chest rose and fell so rapidly, it resembled vibrations.

This can't be happening.

What do I do now? I panicked.

The only free part of my body now was my left hand. My right hand somehow found its way under him when he shifted. But it wasn't uncomfortable with his weight on it. It was in the curve of his waist, so there wasn't much pressure on it.

I continued looking at him up close.

Might as well take advantage of this position.

I studied his features. You would think that I'd have memorised them by now, but every time I looked, there was something I hadn't seen before. Like the beauty mark almost hidden in his hairline.

His expression was so peaceful. I had only witnessed this when he slept. Whenever he was awake, his guard was up. Granted, the past few weeks, he had become more playful around me. I liked the fact that he was letting me in. His walls were slowly crumbling around me.

I still felt they were crumbling too slowly. I had given him all of me. He knew everything there was to know about me. I didn't hold anything back. I always spoke my mind around him. Something I had never done before coming onto this ship. And it was liberating. I didn't have to hold back, or pretend. I was completely me.

I found myself on this ship, thanks to him. I wanted him to find himself too.

Then it dawned on me.

I love him.

With every fibre of my being, I loved him.

And I wanted him to love me too.

But I knew the possibility of that happening was low.

I looked at his lips again and unconsciously puckered my own. I noticed I was leaning closer to him and stopped short just before they met.

I can't believe I almost kissed him.

I wanted my first kiss to be special, not something I stole from a comatose guy. I moved back and continued looking at him.

I couldn't help but touch his bearded cheek with my left hand. Seeing as he didn't react in his sleep, I became braver. My thumb lightly caressed his cheek. His skin felt smooth under my thumb.

Would he ever love me?

A single tear escaped and fell on his arm.

I put my arm firmly on the arm that was around me and continued taking in as much of his face as I could and eventually drifted off to sleep again.