Yelena's head was pounding, every thought circling back to the same unbearable place. No matter how much she tried to push it away, it clawed back into her mind, the wetness between her thighs, the truth of what her body had done in response to Mika.
It was unbearable, confusing, terrifying. She pressed her fingers against her temples, massaging them as if that could chase the headache away.
Finally, with a shaky sigh, she surrendered to her oldest defense mechanism.
'Don't think about it. Just don't think about it and go to sleep.'
That had always been her way, when things became too complicated, too painful, she would let the night carry them away. She told herself that once she got some sleep, once the sun rose, it would be a new day.
She would wake refreshed, clear-headed, and she would treat Mika the same as always. Whatever storm had torn through her mind would be gone, erased, like it never happened.
