Beauty In Her Madness (Winterland Tale #3) - Stacey Marie Brown Page 0,5

voice claimed my name, my fight to escape falling away as if it had no choice but to follow the command.

A cry of terror ripped up my throat, my head spinning out all my logic, acting purely on instinct. Son of a nutcracker… I had to be dreaming. Wake up, Dinah!

I pinched my arm, willing myself to wake up, and a shot of pain raked up my nerves. The winter chill penetrated my skimpy outfit, and my eyes were wide open. This was no dream. Fright plunged deep into my bones, but I didn’t let myself contemplate anything when I felt my binds release. I bolted forward, scrambling to get away. I peered behind me, imagining the serial killer right there, and did not pay attention to what was in front of me.

Whack!

Pain shot up from my shin, and my body tumbled over a stack of wood the brothers kept out here, selling the prepared bundles in the gift store. A small cry broke from my lips as I hit the ground, my head cracking against a log.

I knew there had to be pain, but the world blurred around me, and I didn’t feel anything as I descended into darkness.

“Dinah.” My lids fluttered at the sound of a man’s voice. It was warm and lazy, like sunshine on a calm sea. “Wake up.”

My lashes lifted, my breath sucking in as I took in the handsome stranger crouching over me. Even from this angle, I could tell he was tall. The man was breathtaking, model-level hot. He looked to be in his mid-twenties and had short wavy blond hair and a chiseled jaw. Eyes the color of the ocean complemented his tan skin.

“You’ve grown up.” His mouth parted in a blinding grin, causing something in my stomach to flutter with familiarity. “It’s been a long time.”

My mouth parted, no words coming out as I tried to sit up. My eyes drifted around; everything outside of us was dark and hazy. “Where am I?” I tried to make out anything familiar—the tree lot, the cottage.

“Where you are is nothing compared to who you are.” His hand reached up, touching my cheek, sending a rush of heat through me. “Are you still Dinah?”

“Still Dinah?” My lids narrowed, jerking back from his touch. “What do you mean? Who are you?”

“Now that is a question.” He lifted an eyebrow, a grin hitching up the side of his mouth.

I waited for him to go on, but he only smiled wider, his eyes rolling over me. “I never thought you’d return.”

“Return?” Irritation and fear started to slither down my back. Nothing made sense. “Return where? Where are we? Who are you?”

“Di-nah.” In the distance, I could hear my name, like a howl of wind, deep and haunting, tugging at me to turn around, to follow it as though it were my anchor in the dark.

“Dinah.” The man in front of me clutched my face, turning me back to him, his clear green-blue eyes searching deep into mine. “You need to remember.” His thumb passed over my bottom lip, hitching my breath as heat flooded my veins, pulsing down to my thighs. “Don’t deny what you already know to be true because you think you should no longer believe.”

“Little one.” The deep voice clawed at my chest, my head automatically snapping back to it.

“Don’t trust him, Dinah.” Blondie pulled my chin back to him, his eyes full of panic and worry. “Please. He’s not to be trusted. He wants to hurt you.”

“Who? Who’s not to be trusted?” The sound of my name grew closer, my nerves twisting with anxiety. “Who the hell are you?”

A smile curved his mouth, his eyes glinting with mischievousness. “I forgot how spirited you are. Glad you haven’t lost that.”

“Dinah?” A familiar man’s voice cried out, sounding close, snapping my head around in search. “What the hell? Wake up!”

Mr. Ocean’s eyes held on to my face. “Don’t forget me this time, and don’t block me anymore.”

“What?”

“I’ve missed you so much. You have grown into a stunning woman.” He gripped my chin and leaned in, his mouth brushing mine. Warmth and desire flooded my body, my eyes automatically shutting, not able to deny the sensations engulfing my body, tumbling me into the darkness.

“Dinah?” I felt a hand shoving my shoulder, something tapping my face. “Wake up!”

Blinking, my eyes opened to Gabe hunched over, the Santa beard tucked under his chin, his breath billowing in the freezing night air. The bright tree lot shone behind him.