Sleeping With The CEO
Chapter 197: Urges

Chapter 197: Urges

In the beginning, Derek’s days were an endless loop.

An infinite circle that he traveled on day in, and day out. Knowing with a soul crushing certainty that it would never end. In truth, he had been barely able to distinguish between the night and day. After all, day was when people were awake and they worked, pushing hard to achieve their goals. Or do whatever it was that they wanted to do with their lives. All under the light of the sun.

And night was meant to be for rest, for sleep. But for Derek, it had all been just one endless push, one endless struggle.

He had long ago lost the ability to properly distinguish between the two. During that dark time in his life. Derek had been certain that that was the way that things would always be for him. And given how many years he had suffered with his insomnia, Derek had not been dramatic in thinking that. Things really had been bleak back then.

But now, thanks to his arrangement with Emily, things were different. And had been that way for weeks now. Derek’s life was no longer just this one long day that never seemed to end.

Now Derek’s time had structure, it had form.

He had day and he had night.

As CEO of Haven Group, he worked during the day and at night he slept. Sure unlike most people it was not an everyday thing, but Derek still felt blessed beyond measure.

For him, his true days began on Thursdays and ended on Sundays. The rest of the three days of the week he could write off. But the four days where he got to sleep were sacred. Derek now adhered to those days religiously.

He would hang on from Monday to Wednesday, doing his best to appear to be a normal functional human being. But come Thursday, he could barely hold himself together. His excitement at what was to come during the night, almost being too much for him to bear. Sometimes he was barely able to hold himself back, from just grabbing Emily and saying, "Emily, let us go to sleep right now,"

That was how much Derek loved sleep. And the more sleep he got, the more sleep he wanted. And since he now got it from Thursday to Sunday without any interruptions, Derek was spoiled. He was spoiled rotten, and he knew it.

Sleeping with Emily had ruined him for anyone else. But Derek could not find it in himself to care. How could he care when he was reaping the benefits of sleep? Benefits that so many people took for granted? Things that in the past Derek had believed people to be exaggerating, when they talked about how great they were.

But now that Derek was having all of that for himself. He knew for a fact that every single person who had ever talked about a good night’s rest being the cure for most things in life was not lying.

The body aches that used to be a part of his daily existence were gone.

His appetite was no longer something that was up one moment and down the next, with him sometimes having to just force food down so that he did not collapse. His eyes did not hurt and his headaches were a thing of the past. It was as though just by being able to sleep. Derek had stumbled upon a cure-all, for every single ailment that he had ever had.

If he could have, Derek would have bottled sleep and sold it to the masses. Clearly, whatever it was that people were doing, they were not doing it right. If they could not see just how wonderful the sleep they took for granted was.

They needed to appreciate the goodness of sleep more, and if Derek providing it to them in bottled form was what they needed to see just how lucky they were. Then he would have been willing to do it. But the more Derek sank into the wonderfulness of sleep. The less he cared about other people, and all that they were thinking about.

Why should he concern himself with what other people were doing. When he had everything that he could have ever wanted in his arms from Thursday to Sunday.

Sharing the bed with Emily was about more than just sleep now. As the time began to pass, and night after night the two of them were able to sleep.

The bond between them deepened in ways that Derek had never thought possible. He had come to cherish not just Emily’s usefulness when it came to him being able to sleep. But also just her company.

Derek liked spending time with Emily.

No matter the time of day, or whether they were in bed, or out of it.

But even with that, he had to admit that his favorite Emily was the woman that she was when they were in bed together. There was just something undeniably soft about her. Something that made Derek in turn feel softer at the edges. The good mornings that they shared and the good nights. All feeling as though Derek could just grab them from the air and hide them somewhere safe. Where he could access the memories and just smile to himself whenever Emily was not in.

Most times when they were in bed together, the two of them had gotten so used to each other’s presence. That if one of them was even slightly out of reach, it was normally enough to rouse both of them.

But on the rare moments where Derek got up first, and Emily did not immediately rise with him. He often took a moment to just stare at her, cherishing her presence in his life.

As the weeks went on, and Derek got used to being able to hold Emily in his arms four nights out of seven. The strangest things began to happen. Now waking up, he was no longer just content to have her in his arms. Now Derek was fighting strange urges.

Things like the need to just reach over, and run a hand through Emily’s hair. Or the urge to lean in and kiss those precious eyelids of hers.

Derek had never felt that way about anyone before. He was having a lot of trouble trying to decipher what the strange feelings that often accompanied the weird urges were.

Was he feeling so confused internally, because he was grateful to Emily beyond everything. Due to the fact that she was instrumental in helping him sleep or was it something else? Was it that touch starvation thing that Emily had mentioned once.

Deciding not to rock the boat on what was a truly beneficial relationship. Derek had been actively suppressing the weird urges. But from time to time it felt as though they would be too much.

And that Saturday morning, as Derek held Emily in his arms. He was once again fighting the urge to bring her closer, and just press his lips against her forehead. To enjoy the feeling of her soft skin against his lips. It took monumental effort to hold himself back, but he managed it. And a few seconds later, when Emily’s brown eyes blinked awake and looked at him.

All traces of his strange thoughts had been locked away. "Good morning," Emily said.

"Good morning," Derek replied. And it was a good morning. He had been able to sleep the night before after all.

He would not be ruining it by acting strange.

No strange urges would be taking his sleep from him.