Page 47 of She Belongs to Me

The bark of the tree didn’t feel right. I jerked my hand away, blinking several times. A scream built in my throat, but I squelched it. It was a man’s… head and it had been spiked to a tree. Blood was running down and I’d…

Oh, God. The moment I turned, racing forward, I was met with similar gruesome sights.

I was powerless to keep quiet, more horrified than I’d been in my entire life. A tiny scream erupted and I knew I was done for. The monster would kill me. Just like he’d slaughtered all these people.

This was a killing field.

“I’m coming for you, little bitch of a princess. Didn’t you realize I knew who you were?”

I backed away, trying to avoid looking at any of the trees. But the horror continued. Suddenly, there were decapitated heads rolling toward me, hundreds of them.

I let off a bloodcurdling scream.

“Whoa. Whoa, little one. You were just having a nightmare.”

“No!” I jerked up, hitting a brick wall, or that’s what it felt like. “No. No. No. Let me go, you bastard. You will not kill me.”

The images continued to roll just like the mutilated heads. I was sick, so nauseous I knew I’d throw up.

“Listen to me. Alexandra, it’s Nico. You were having a dream. A nightmare. Nothing more.”

His voice, his deep and soothing voice drifted over me like the softest blanket against my naked skin. I tried to think, to drift from the fog. The images began to fade and I was able to take a deep breath.

“A dream?” I asked, but I sensed he was right. Nico. He was my protector. He was here. He was…

Every action so gentle, he used his knuckles under my chin to lift my head, the streaming moonlight creating the most beautiful hue of pearlescent blue around him. “It was just a nightmare. I think your selection of movies might have had something to do with it. I’d stick with comedies if I were you.”

He was trying to be lighthearted after all we’d been through. After all I’d been through. I was able to laugh slightly, although I knew and he knew it was fake. “I’m sorry.” When I was tired, the soft side of me, the gushy girl showed her colors. I wasn’t proud of it, but exhaustion also produced tears. Which was ridiculous. I was a big girl. Dreams couldn’t hurt me.

“Don’t worry. I will never allow anything to happen to you,” Nico said. Still with a comforting tone in his voice. Still as sexy as I’d admitted from minute one. I wanted to be angry with him, but I couldn’t. “Hey. No reason for tears.” He wiped them away with his thumb, bringing the thick digit to his mouth and sucking the salty beads off.

It was perhaps the most intimate action I’d seen in a very long time, including in movies. And it touched me greatly.

I wished the light were greater, so that I could clearly see his gorgeous face. The nightmare had seemed so real, as if the monster could reach out and touch me even here in this protected environment. My rational mind, the one who’d pushed me into becoming a doctor knew better. That didn’t mean I wasn’t still terrified. Of the dark. Of the future. Of…

Him.

“I’m sorry. For everything.”

He seemed confused. “Why are you sorry? There’s nothing to be sorry for.”

“Interrupting your life. Calling you. Acting ridiculous. I know I’m in danger. I just… I’ve never been through something this horrible, even if I was almost mugged once.”

I sensed hearing I’d been mugged brought out the possessive side of him. “Well, I’m not going to lie, things might become dicey, but for now, you have nothing to worry about. I suggest you try and get some sleep. Tomorrow I’ll do what I can to make everything more… normal.” His laugh was strange, as if he knew there could be nothing ‘normal’ in the life we’d been born into. I didn’t have any idea why my father had been murdered. No one seemed to know, including Nico, but the nagging feeling it had something or everything to do with what was happening now refused to leave my mind.

When he tried to stand, I gripped his hand. “Don’t go. Please. Don’t go.”

The terrified girl inside wanted to insist the reason I’d been so bold was nothing more than the nightmare lingering. But the woman who’d been awakened to passion knew otherwise. My request was completely wrong, out of character for me, and sinful.

But honestly? I no longer cared.

Nico hesitated, searching my eyes in the dense shadows. I could feel it as much as I could the heat resonating from his body. When he pulled away, moving to a standing position, I thought my passionate plea would go unheeded. He’d made it pretty clear before he had no intention of crossing the forbidden line again.

A full five seconds passed, maybe ten. I was holding my breath. The yin and yang of the emotions was tearing me apart.

When he ripped off his fresh tee shirt from the neck, tossing it halfway across the room, I switched to sucking in and holding my breath. So far, we’d been in shadows and ominous surroundings. Even in the beauty and comfort of this room, there was nothing different. Were we meant to be cloaked in darkness? I had no answer to this question more than any other.

I could tell he’d kicked off his shoes and while I couldn’t see his eyes, I felt them crawling all over me as he reached for his belt. He was purposely taking his time. In my mind, he was using the extra seconds to debate what good could come out of this.