When Love Comes Late

He remembered a brief discussion with his grandfather in the study, followed by darkness as he fainted… A face flashed in his mind-

Stella.

With a rush of clarity, Matthew fully awakened, the urge to move striking him, but he found Stella sleeping soundly on his chest.

For a few moments, he was frozen, shocked to find it was Stella causing his breath to catch in his throat.

Yet, anger or frustration was absent from his feelings.

Instead, he felt oddly comforted.

..

Library

Matthew was taken aback by his reaction, his hand moving almost of its own accord to gently brush Stella’s hair.

He shot her a nervous glance, looking for any sign she was about to wake up.

When she remained undisturbed, Matthew gave into a playful urge and pinched her cheek lightly.

Still, there was no response.

His mischief growing, he pinched slightly harder, prompting a frown from Stella before he quickly pulled back his hand.

Drained and deep in slumber, Stella shifted slightly, a brief wince crossing her face before she settled again, a soft sigh escaping her.

Matthew watched over her, a smile creeping across his face as a sense of relief flooded through him.

With a slight shift, Stella’s collar loosened, revealing the curve of her ample breast.

A sudden, uncontrollable reaction from him followed, his eyes intensely fixed on her.

In her sleep, Stella stirred again, softly murmuring, “Matthew…”

In a reflex, he shut his eyes, as if to hide from her possible gaze.

After a tense pause with no sign of her awakening, he dared to look again.

His gaze shifted back to her, emotions swirling in his eyes, revealing his inner turmoil.

Stella woke up to find that daylight had already streamed into the room.

She stared at the ceiling for a moment before suddenly sitting up, realizing she had no memory of how or when she ended up in bed.

Matthew was nowhere to be seen.

Instinctively, she touched the place beside her.

It was cold, indicating that Matthew had been gone for a while.

Guilt gnawed at her as she realized she’d fallen asleep while she was supposed to be watching over Matthew.

How could she have slept so deeply, completely unaware of when he’d gotten up and left?

Stella sprang out of bed and dashed out of the room, not even bothering to put on her shoes.