Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 95898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Nick turns back to me and places a kiss on my forehead. “I want to feed you dinner in my bed tonight, and then I just want to hold you all night long.”
“I don’t think I can eat, Nick.”
He looks down at me with irritation. “You haven’t eaten all day, and you already look as if you’ve lost some weight. I know you’re working through a shitload of shock, but you have to keep up your strength.”
I stay quiet just for the sake of not arguing. I really don’t want to eat, and I know he will personally feed me if I shuffle my food around. All I want to do is find a dark corner somewhere and die.
Nick
I’ve waited so long to wake up beside my girl every day, and the icing on the cake is I don’t think she’s bullshitting me. I think she actually wants to be here. Only a few days have passed since I brought her here to my house, and she’s been very clingy the entire time, not wanting to leave my side for a second. She has been quiet, and that’s to be expected with the blow she took from her dad. I showed her the art studio I had made especially for her in hopes to lift her spirits, but she displayed indifference, and that concerned me. But even with all the stresses she’s had in the past and at the facility, she was still enthralled with art, but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.
She rolls over and looks at me with those sleepy bedroom eyes, and flashes me a small grin. All I want to do is crawl back in bed and hold her close to me. I tighten the knot on my tie a little too tight, reminding myself to keep my shit in check. I want her. I want her real bad, but I’m not taking her until she approaches me and begs for it. I’m trying something different this go ‘round. Maybe it’s a little bit of reverse psychology, mixed with me wanting her to make the first move.
I had Jared work with her morning dosage of Blyss by adding in something for depression, and then tweaking her evening dose with a sleeping pill to help her get a good night’s rest. I’d like to think she’s slowly coming around.
“Good morning, baby,” I say with a warm smile.
She stretches out like an alley cat, and my dick twitches in response. Her hard nipples protrude through her thin negligee as her back arches in a long, drawn out stretch. “Hey,” she softly whispers.
I purposefully remove my gaze, turning around to run some gel through my hair, fighting myself tooth and nail from taking her. The woman looks perfect in my bed.
“How’d you sleep last night?” I try in vain to keep the conversation moving.
“I slept pretty good. I’m actually surprised I haven’t had any nightmares since I’ve been here.” I spin around, and she immediately covers her mouth as if what she said was a spilt secret.
“What was that?” My eyebrows pinch together as I stride to the side of the bed and sit down beside her.
She sits up against the headboard, pulling the sheets up over her chest, looking shy. “Um…I guess I’ve had a nightmare or two, but it’s nothing to worry about.”
My lips thin. I’m not happy this is the first I’ve heard of it. “Is this something to worry about? What are your dreams about?”
She worries her thumbnail between her front teeth, and I pull her hand away to get an answer. “Julianna?” My stern voice tells her I want an answer.
“Sometimes, I wake up in the middle of the night dreaming about all the shooting and stuff from when those men invaded the cabin.” She tries to play it off as no big deal, but I know better. I’ve been held at gunpoint before, and I remember the first time seeing someone drop to their demise.
With the news of her father, it didn’t even dawn on me she’d be dealing with that post-traumatic shit too.
“Fuck,” I blurt out and grind my teeth. My idiot men…and God only knows what’s happened to them. I’m sure they’re all six feet under by now, including Mitchell. I haven’t heard back from them, and I want like hell to ask, but she’s in too fragile a state to interrogate. I don’t need her reliving yet another nightmare, when she just had the mother of bombs dropped on her. Soon, though, real soon, I’m going to need her to tell me about everything Travis Jackson, so I can pin the bastard down.
She sinks back into the pillows and shirks away from me, my outburst startling her. I let out a deep sigh and shake my head. “Baby, I’m not upset with you. I’m so sorry you’re having nightmares.” I reach out and cup her cheek, softening my eyes. “Promise me if you have one, you’ll wake me up, yeah?”