I must have dozed off for awhile because I'm still on the floor when I feel something warm and wet on my face.

At first I think it's Stryker, kissing me and maybe starting another round, but when I finally open my eyes I realize Stryker's dead asleep with his large frame curled around my back. He still has one arm over me, holding me close against him like he's worried someone's going to steal me while he sleeps, and his other arm is stretched out under my head like a pillow.

It's Ninja nuzzling my face between kisses that I find when I finally coax my eyes open fully.

It takes a long time for my eyes to adjust to how dark it is in here and when the dog realizes I'm awake, she whines quietly and I hear, more than see, her as she goes to stand at the door.

Stryker makes no indication of waking up to let his dog out so even though I'm comfortable and having the best night's sleep I've had on this trip, I work my way out from under his arm so I can open the door for her.

It's not easy. As soon as I try to move away from him, he tightens his hold. It's tempting to give in to his unconscious order and relax back into his hard chest and let the strength of his arm pull me back into the deep sleep I was enjoying before Ninja woke me up. It's been a long time since I slept so soundly and something about the way Stryker's body is positioned makes me feel safe.

The thought strikes me as odd as I wiggle out from under him against my will. I don't remember ever feeling unsafe, really. Not on my crazy motorcycle trip or anytime before that and yet, Stryker makes me feel safe from something I never knew I was in danger of before.

I shake my head at the absurdity of the thought and chalk it up to dream hangover and not being fully awake yet. The air in the apartment is chilly now that I'm not wrapped up in Stryker's warmth, so I grab a blanket that was folded up over the arm of the couch and bundle it around me before opening the door and walking out on the upstairs landing while Ninja bounds down the steps and disappears into the night.

Damn, it's cold out here! I think of Stryker still asleep on the living room floor and about as naked as he can get and I make sure the door is closed so the cold night air doesn't make it any colder inside.

Turns out, the man isn't just fun to look at, he's also a decent guy and a hell of a good fuck.

I can hear Ninja's dog tags jangle somewhere below the balcony and I look down, trying to focus in the dark but my eyes won't do it. That's when I realize how fucking dark it is out here.

Last night I was in my tent on the front side of the store where the sodium vapor lamp keeps the night at bay with it's dim vigil glowing constantly. Out here, the building blocks all evidence of the solitary street lamp out front and there's no other trace of artificial light that I can spot.

It's dark. Dark enough that the black dog rollicking somewhere beneath me is invisible. Dark enough that my eyes take much longer than I'm used to before I can make out the dim outlines of the cottonwood trees I saw along the back of the property earlier today, the fence that runs off into the distance on one side, and the vague shape of hills in the distance to the west.

I've spent enough nights sleeping outdoors to know that there must be light coming from somewhere if I can see anything at all, so I tip my face in the only direction left to look-- up.

Holy shit. I gasp out loud.

The stars!

I've been in places where the night sky has taken my breath away plenty of times, but this-- this takes it to a whole new level.

By the time I feel Ninja's damp fur brush against my bare legs I don't even notice how cold it is out here anymore and it takes more whining at the door to get me to go back inside than it did to get me to let her out.

Stryker's not on the floor where I left him and there's a pale glow coming from the room at the end of the hall where I'm supposed to be sleeping.

Ninja runs past me, down the short hallway, and I hear her tags as she shakes to dry her fur after rolling around in the grass outside.

"I thought you were gone." Stryker comes to a sudden stop just inside the living room when he sees me. He looks a little lost and a little surprised to see me. "I woke up and you were gone," he sort of repeats himself, this time sounding a little less worried about it and more like he realizes he sounded a little worried the first time.

"Ninja needed to go out," I tell him and I'm surprised at how much I want to put him at ease, assure him that I'm fine and that I didn't sneak off.

He turns and looks down at the black mop of fur that's followed him out of the back room and it's like he suddenly remembers his own dog.

"Oh," he says softly, "OK."

He bends over and scratches her ear and then crosses the room till he's standing right in front of me.

"Let's go to bed." His voice immediately loses the hint of panic at not being able to find me and takes on the grogginess of waking up from a sound sleep. His arms wrap around me, blanket and all, and when he leans down to kiss me tenderly on the lips, there's not a chance in hell of me arguing with him as he guides me toward the room at the other end of the apartment...his room.