Toxic - Zoe Blake Page 0,66
at me.
“Elizabeth! Elizabeth!”
“No! No! No!” I screamed.
“I think you’ll look much better in red,” she cackled.
“Elizabeth!”
I began to shake violently as I rocked back and forth.
“Elizabeth!”
In the unlit room, you could see the bright flash from the muzzle as the loud report from the gunshot reverberated around the room.
“No!” My shrill scream drowning out the echo of the gunshot in my head.
“Elizabeth! Wake up!”
Looking down, a sickening crimson stain spread across the center of my chest, soaking my white silk nightgown.
“Elizabeth! Baby, wake up!”
Suddenly, I was standing at the altar in Westminster, staring at Richard. His face contorted with pain and shock. The same crimson stain was blossoming across his chest.
“No! No! No!”
“Elizabeth!”
I couldn’t stop screaming even after I realized it was a dream.
After shaking me awake, Richard snatched me to his chest, holding me tight with one arm wrapped around my back and the other pressing my head next to his beating heart. He was rocking me as he just kept saying over and over again, “Don’t cry, baby. I’m here. I’m here.”
“It felt so real,” came my muffled reply as I buried my face in the crook of his neck, inhaling the warm familiar sandalwood scent of his cologne.
Rubbing my back in soothing circles, he stroked my hair as he kissed my forehead. “I know, my love, but I’m here and you’re safe. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
It had been a week since our wedding. The night terrors had started a few days later. It was always the same indistinct face with blonde hair preying on my insecurities about Richard before she fired the gun. I felt terrible waking Richard up with my screams each night, but he never complained. Each time he held me close and soothed me till I fell back to sleep.
As he continued to hold me, he leaned back into the pillows. I snuggled into his side with my leg over his and my arm wrapped around his lean waist. Richard played with a lock of my hair as we both just stared at the dying embers of the fire.
“Do you think we could get away somewhere?” I asked in a hushed whisper as the tips of my fingers caressed the hairs on his chest, careful to avoid his bullet wound.
I needed to get away from here… away from the nightmares. I wanted to go someplace where it was truly just Richard and me and no one else. Someplace she couldn’t find us.
“We haven’t discussed a honeymoon yet. Where would you like to go?” he offered.
I thought about it a minute. The thought of that woman still out there, stalking us, chilled me to the bone. The only thing that seemed to comfort me was the warmth of Richard’s arms. “How about someplace warm?”
Richard was quiet for a minute, then he said, “I own a private island in Fiji. Would you like to go there?”
An island sounded perfect; leave it to Richard to suggest just what I wanted and needed.
Leaning up on my elbow, I pushed my hair out of my face and looked at him. “I don’t think I will ever get used to you casually saying things like ‘I own a private island,’ as if you were mentioning some timeshare condo in Florida.”
Richard chuckled. “You do realize I’m very rich, right?”
Pushing my nose in the air, I flipped my hair and rolled my r’s as I teased him with a fake high-society voice. “Darling, but of course! Don’t you know I only married you for the money?”
Richard flipped me onto my back. Pushing his knee between my legs, I opened for him as he settled his hips against my own. I could already feel the hard press of his cock. “Is that the only reason why you married me?” he asked, his voice a seductive low growl as he ran his lips up my neck to my earlobe.
My back arched as I dug my nails into the hard muscles of his upper arms. Breathlessly, I conceded, “Well… it’s not the only reason.”
Richard then chased away the evil dreams.
Richard
It was a game well played, in my not-so-humble opinion.
Of course, I could have just taken her to the island, willing or not, but where was the fun or challenge in that? It was so much more satisfying, knowing she had asked to be taken there. I would remind her of that fact when she begged and pleaded to be returned to civilization.
The island was her idea.
Her choice.
I had accomplished the impossible, with