longer nights. Watching River get ridiculously into the holidays, because you know he’s just that type. Christ, if we ever have kids … that’s another concept I never entertained with Pierce. I never wanted a kid to be born into that situation with him. Born to a father who was fucking insane. I can imagine Kaden being an amazing father, showing up for every single sports game or music recital. I can imagine Blaine and I out at lunch, finding time to see each other in between the work day … well, that and for a quickie in our car like teenagers. Hell, I can for sure see myself wrapped up in Royce’s arms on a cooler fall night in our backyard as the others sit around a bonfire relaxing. Enjoying our life. Tears fall down my face as I realize just how fucking clearly I can see it. Damn it. I want it so much more than I expected and I can’t help the hope that surges through me.
Drying my hair, I brush it out and then sneak over to the door pressing my ear to it. When I don’t hear anything, I walk into the master suite and over to my bag. Rummaging through it, I pull out a silky pair of shorts and a tank. I crawl into bed and my eyes begin closing before I even have a moment to think about it. I should have figured that the first time sleeping alone in a bit I’d have nightmares.
Immediately, I knew this wasn’t a memory because I didn’t recognize where I was. I swallowed, shivering as a cool icy wind brushed over my skin, eyes staring at me from every corner of the room. Echoes suddenly started playing in my ear like a soundtrack of Pierce making fun of me or saying mean shit. I could feel tears well in my eyes and I tried covering my ears, not wanting to hear him. Not wanting to hear how useless I was. Not wanting to hear how I wasn’t good enough. Not wanting to hear any of his opinions, but the more I tried to stop listening, the louder they became. My knees broke and I knelt on a cold surface, my head pulsating and my eyes dripping with tears as I felt hands begin to poke and prod at me. They would grip and pull and when I finally let a small scream build in my throat, one wrapped around my neck tight enough that it had me inhaling sharply for air. I reached up trying to remove the phantom hands but they grew stronger and I felt the floor fall beneath me. Pierce’s voice echoed right in my ear as the pressure released and I was falling
I had no idea how long I fell for, like Alice falling down a rabbit hole, I eventually slowed and when my feet touched a warm surface I realized it was carpet. I breathed a sigh of relief and my eyes closed, collapsing down into the warmth as the crackling of a fireplace surfaced nearby. It felt warm, large arms closed around me and my skin heated feeling as though I was not only protected but loved.
I wasn’t positive when the tone of the dream went from nightmare to something so completely different. I let out a small sound as the hand behind me ran down my waist and lips traced my neck, nipping at the skin there. A soft moan filtered from my mouth as I arched back wanting to feel the hard body behind me further. Almost immediately, their grip tightened and I heard my name whisper like a prayer through the space.
“Sloane, wake up.” The voice was soft with a dark demand to it.
Wake up?
The kisses along my neck stopped as a scowl slipped on my face, my consciousness slowly awakening.
“Blaine?” I whisper finding myself pulled tightly against Blaine, his eyes intense with heat and concern. What an odd combination. He rolls us so that I’m underneath him in the dark of the hotel suite, my face wet with tears but my body heated like someone seared my skin with embers.
“I came back and you were in the middle of a nightmare,” he explains softly as I squirm slightly, my breathing hitched and face flushed.
“It was such a weird dream,” I mumble and shake my head. “I think you stopped it though.”
His forehead presses against mine as I melt into the bed, loving the weight of