52 Trouble on earth - 3

For a moment, everything ceased to exist for Caroline.

"I am sorry if I am overstepping!" Morpheous whispered as he embraced her, not letting her hide behind her array of words. Words that she thought would be enough to shield her vulnerable heart.

His touch startled her, for his touch jolted her out of her melancholy. As if his touch was a drug to heal her.

Her mind told her to push him away, but her heart didn't want to. So with a faint voice, she just managed to mutter, "What are you doing?" and tried to wriggle out from his embrace, but he didn't budge. Not even an inch. 

He didn't touch her inappropriately. His arms surrounded her like a protective ring; his back stayed inches away from her as if to give her the space she needed. That space, that bloody inch of an air gap, stung her. 

'Why wouldn't he step closer?'

'Did that barrier mean that he was with someone else? Was there someone else with whom he stood skin to skin?'