Kiss Me in the Dark Anthology - Monica James Page 0,187
as if she’s committing each part of me to memory for later use. I take advantage of this time and do the same. Though still severly bruised, she looks much better than she did the night we found her. There’s no denying she’s beautiful. Hell, even now, at what I imagine is her worst, she’s still captivating.
I knew she was beautiful. I’d seen her in pictures that were posted while she was missing, but somehow, even those photos weren’t able to capture her full beauty. There was something about her that called to me, made me want to stare a little longer. There was a darkness swirling there in the depths of her green eyes that called to me.
It was the same darkness I lived with, day in and day out.
The same darkness that tainted my soul.
Her eyes linger on mine, and I feel all the unspoken questions there she’s unable to voice. Questions I’m trying to pretend I don’t have answers to.
The main one being: Do you feel it, too?
Her slender throat works a swallow and my gaze follows the movement, gently sweeping over her marred flesh. I’m all too thankful when Garrett’s voice pierces the stifling air between us, severing the connection. Sophia swings her gaze back up to her brother, giving me a moment to gather my bearings as discretely as possible, without feeling her intrsuive gaze on me.
Cova helps his sister out of my arms and I watch her go, my jaw clenched as a wave of frustation slams into me.
What is it about this woman that gets to me?
I’ve gone years without feeling a fucking thing, but why is it, when I look into her emerald green eyes, there’s an indescribable tightness in my chest that refuses to be ignored?
Just as I’m turning to leave, I lock eyes with Jose who’s seated at the counter in the kitchen. He shoots me a mirthfilled smirk and I grimace.
Motherfucker.
It’s well past three in the morning when I’m walking down the hallway, heading to my quarters for the night, and I hear it. As I’m passing Sophia’s room, I hear the pained whimper. It sounds like a dying animal. It’s the sound of great pain. One that leaves all the hair at the nape of your neck standing at attention.
My eyes narrow and I pause in front of her door, adrenaline soaring through my veins at the thought of someone sneaking in there and hurting her. When I hear the sound again, I break into action without thinking it through. I storm into the room, expecting to find someone else in there with her, but I stop short when I realize she’s alone.
She’s having a nightmare.
She’s reliving the horrors of all those months in that fucking basement.
I stand frozen in front of the door, still unsure of what to do. Hell, there’s not much I can do that will make it go away, but the fact that I want to; the fact that I want to protect her at all is a problem. An unwanted fucking problem that pisses me off.
Sophia suddenly sucks in a sharp breath, waking with a start from her nightmare. She hisses out a breath of pain and tries to sit upright. It’s then she notices someone standing there, in her room. My only saving grace is the darkness, it works as a shield.
A few silent beats pass until slowly, she lowers herself back onto the bed and falls back to sleep almost immediately. I use the time to slip out of her room and close the door behind me. Instead of walking back to my own room like I know I should, I make myself comfortable outside of her door, in case she really is in danger.
At least that’s what I tell msyelf.
I know the only reason I’ll stand here into the early hours of the morning is to make sure she doesn’t have another dream that causes her such pain.
I know that pain well and if I can save her from it, I will. But it’ll be on my terms and no one else will ever know. Least of all, not Garrett.
Enjoying Deception and Chaos so far? Want to meet the infamous Creed Sabella and his white rose? Get your copy here. (http://mybook.to/DeceptionandChaos)
Make sure you stay in the loop with me for any updates on new releases, sales, free books, and behind-the-scenes peeks of upcoming projects, here: