Predator | 47

April awoke to the lovely smell of tea and croissant and the feeling of a soft brush on her cheek. The soft and simple touch on her skin left a tingling sensation on her face.

It took her long seconds to open her eyes and adjust to the light that was shining through the bedrooms only window, slightly blinding her. With scrunched eyes she watched Nikolaj caressing her cheek with his knuckles.

He was sitting next to her on the bed, gazing down at her with a soft look in his eyes and a even softer smile on his lips. He pushed a dark strand of hair off her face and pushed it gently behind her ear.

In this very moments, April decided that she could easily get used to his face being the first one she gets to see in the morning.

"Good morning," he greeted.

"Morning," April responded in her weak and raspy morning voice and offered him a small smile. "What time is it?" She asked and pushed herself up, leaning her back against the headboard of his bed.

"It's 11 a.m. Are you hungry? I got you breakfast."

11 a.m? Was her sleep that deep that she didn't even notice him slipping out of the bed? She rarely slept in this late. Just how exhausted had she been?

April's eyes fell on the wooden nightstand next to the bed. There was a plate with croissants and two cups of tea, the smell that woke her up from her sleep.

Only then she noticed that Nikolaj had changed his clothes from last night. He was now fully dressed in a pair of simple dark jeans and a grey shirt that hugged his chest perfectly and only emphasized his muscular frame.

He looked handsome. But then again, he always looked devilishly handsome, no matter what kind of clothes he was wearing, or if he was wearing anything at all. He alway took her breath away.

"You got breakfast?" She asked the obvious and her eyes lit up in utter delight. April's heart swelled in happiness at the simple but very cute gesture. "Thank you. I love tea and croissants. It's actually my favorite breakfast."

"I know," he simply answered with a grin and moved to take the plate with the tea and the croissants into bed with him. He looped his arm around her waist and moved her body her closer to his chest.

"What do you mean you know," she asked curiously and leaned her head against his shoulder.

She watched him from the corner of her eyes as she took the cup and took one careful sip of the tea.

Nikolaj stared at her for long moments. His gaze was so intense that April's body was immediately on fire again. He was carrying the look that he had last night when he was devouring her.

Not the right time to think about that, April decided and tried to push these thoughts far away and focused solely on Nikolaj as she waited for him to answer.

He hesitated for a few moments, clearly trying to search for the right words to say, before he decided to answer. "Your brother told me," Nik admitted after a few moments of silence.

"Pardon?" She asked perplexed. A slow grin appeared on her face. Did he truly ask Eric for advice? Somehow, this was hard to believe. "You actually called my brother to ask him what I prefer to have for breakfast?"

Nikolaj chuckled amused, but shook his head. "You brother always talked about you, you know?"

April put her cup of tea back on her plate. She looked at Nikolaj with a confused eyes.

"He talked about me?" She repeated his words. That was a bit of a surprise, she had to admit. What did Eric even have to say about her? April didn't know. "When? I don't think I understand what you are trying to tell me."

"Nothing bad, I promise," Nik immediately responded when a frown started to appear on April's forehead. He reached for her hand and entwined his fingers with hers. "When he moved here to Rosewood, he used to talk about his life he had back then and he also talked a lot about you."

"That's interesting to know. All positive things, I hope?" She asked jokingly.

She knew her brother very well and they always have been close. So she knew he would never say something bad about her and she would never do the same to him, too. Eric was one of the most important persons in her life. He alway have been.

They always had each others backs. Eric and April have been through thick and thin and alway supported each other. She also supported him when he told her he wants to move away, even though she didn't like his idea at all, since she would always miss him.

"Of course. There was never a bad thing to say about you."

"I see. So he talked to you about me?"

"No.. he didn't talk necessarily with me, but I was there when he talked with his friends about you."

April bit her lip. She almost forgot that before she arrived here in Rosewood, Nikolaj and Eric hadn't exactly been friends. They still wouldn't truly consider themselves as friends, but with April around, he hung out more often at Eric's place and her brother didn't seem to mind that, at least not anymore.

While they didn't seem to stand each other at the beginning - or rather it was Eric who couldn't stand Nik - they seemed to at least accept each others presence.

It was a great relief that Eric wasn't against him anymore. April didn't want to put a label on them yet, but she would hate to strain her relationship with her brother over this.

"That is why I knew a few things about you even before I met you."

"Really? What would that be that you know about me?" April asked, deeply interested in what kind of things her brother had to say about her.

April couldn't think of anything, since there wasn't anything too interesting to say about her. She eagerly waited for his answer.

"You can't stand the taste of coffee, but you love tea," was the first thing he said as he handed her the cup of tea she had long forgotten. "I also know that you prefer TV shows over movies. You like reading books, but you also have a hard time finding a book thats holds your interest. You love cats and have a dislike for dogs, but mainly because they scare you, which I personally find quite ironic since we are much worse than the usual tame house puppy."

April giggled at his last statement. Nikolaj looked at her with a questioning expression. As ironic as he might think her fear was, she was just unable to be scared of him. Of course she was not a fool and knew what he meant, but with his gentle nature he ruined every frightening image she had of Lycans before.

"You are sitting here in bed with me and practically feeding me. If that isn't tame, then I don't know what else it is."

"Would you rather have me less tame and more frightening?" Nikolaj asked jokingly, but April noticed a glimmer of utter seriousness flashing over his eyes.

"I don't think I can ever be scared of you, Nik," she answered and there was no hesitation in her voice.

Did he really think he would ever be able to scare her? After all the time they had already spend with each other? April had already figured out that Nik was slightly self-conscious, but she never really thought that he might also be afraid that she would leave him because of her fear.

"These are some random facts about me, but they are true. I can't believe my brother actually told everyone I'm scared of dogs. That was something I wasn't even ready to admit."

Nikolaj only grinned at her with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Why? I think it's cute."

"I think you're the only one who thinks that," she responded. April took a small bite of the croissant he had bought and enjoyed it deeply. It had been a while since she had a breakfast she properly enjoyed. This only made her appreciate his effort even more. "This really does taste delicious. Thank you, Nik."

"You're very welcome, April."

Nikolaj caught her chin between his thumb and his forefinger, turning her head to his side. He placed a soft kiss on her nose and another one on her mouth.

She smiled at him, feeling content and very safe wrapped in Nikolaj's arms. How was it possible that he could make her feel this way by only being in his arms?

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Hi! I couldn't really update last friday because I didn't have much time, so sorry for that! I hope you all liked the chapter. :)

Thank you for reading!