The Fortunates (Unfortunate #2) - Skyla Madi Page 0,12

shut only to shoot back open when a smooth, warm hand brushes over my cheek. His naked skin is soft against my cheek and, directly under my ear, the sound of his beating heart thrums loudly.

“I thought I’d never have you here again.” He clears his throat, but it doesn’t chase the thickness in his tone away. “I haven’t slept. I haven’t eaten…I was so damn scared.”

I slip even closer to him, hooking my leg around his.

“It’s over now,” I mutter, my eyelids falling shut. “I’m here.”

Kade utters something under his breath, but it’s unintelligible as it filters through my tired ears. I nod my head and sleep swallows me.

∞

I jolt upright, unsure what startled me from my sleep. A bad dream, perhaps? I can’t remember. I gasp for air as my lungs squeeze and burn themselves from the inside out.

What’s going on?

“Nine?”

Heavy, calming hands grip my shoulders and pull me forward, pressing the side of my face against a warm chest.

“Just breathe.”

Kade’s quiet voice surrounds me, bringing immeasurable comfort. My stomach is tight, shooting panic throughout my chest. It’s dark, too dark for me to see where I am and what’s happening. I don’t like it. I don’t like it one bit.

“You’re in my room,” he says, stroking my hair with all of the care I so desperately need. “You’re safe.”

My skin is damp with sweat, wetting the roots of my hair.

I suck in a deep breath as heat flares over my body and the dark walls of the room close in. Then I shiver, suddenly feeling cold. What is happening?

Kaden pulls back the blanket and grips the hem of the shirt that has bunched around my hips in my sleep. He tugs it up, whipping it off my body and leaving me naked. I shiver as he leans over me, reaching for something off the bedside table. A lighter sparks to life and I flinch away from the bright light. Instantly, the brightness fades, replaced by a small, soft flame that flickers on the tip of a thin, white stick. With the stick in one hand and the glass tube with the bulb on the end in the other, he says. “This will help you sleep. Dreamless.”

I peer up at him, my chest heaving with deep, lung-burning breaths. The small flame illumines his wide shoulders and beautiful face. In his black irises the flame flickers and my heaving lessens enough to cease the burn.

Tilting the glass tube, he slips the stick down its neck and holds it still against the bright green grass at the bottom. Eventually, the tiny flame on the end moves off the stick and onto the grass. As he removes the stick, the single flame shudders and splits in two. The pretty orange lights dance side by side before splitting in half, creating four beautiful lights. Thin ribbons of smoke swirl up the neck of the glass and filter out into the air as Kade moves the lip of the tube toward my mouth and I close my lips over it, inhaling deeply. The soft, gentle smoke twirls in my lungs, returning my stomach back to its normal position.

The panic fades.

And I feel…warm.

He pulls it from my mouth and leans over me, returning it to the bedside table.

I fall asleep then…or maybe I fall asleep when he’s back under the covers and he’s pulled me into his chest, holding me close. He asks me a question about my time locked up and then the dream starts…I don’t see it, but I hear it. My voice echoes around my own head, describing a memory the exact way it happened, from the smell down to the exact way I felt the night the moderator cut my neck.

The smell of alcohol and smoke was heavy in the room. His friends had just left after tormenting me with delicious smelling food, alcohol, and water. They spat them at me while they shouted obscenities, treating me like a feral animal.

Jim was the name of the moderator in charge. His annoying, husky voice boomed around the room, making me jump every time he started a sentence unexpectedly. He had always been an asshole to me, but more so than usual that night because I refused to entertain him and his company. Of course, he didn’t like it when I turned my back to them, acting as though they didn’t exist. Jim was confused, considering I spent a good portion of the afternoon going back and forth with him. They wanted