Another bang reverberates the air. My shoulders snap up around my ears. I clench my teeth to contain a scream. Nonny opens her mouth, and I shove a palm over it.
No, no, no! Please…!
I breathe roughly. The air is too thick, and it smells metallic and ugly. I can’t hear anything over the thumping of my heart.
No, no! Don’t hurt my sister! Leave us alone!
Suddenly my wrists are bound, and I can’t move. Nonny’s gone. To where, I don’t know.
“No!” I scream. “Please! Not my sister!”
But I’m too weak. No matter how hard I look, I can’t find her—it’s too dark.
They asked for it, murmurs rise around me. Got what they deserved.
A crippling pain guts me. Grief and sorrow crescendo, and I drown in a sea of anguish.
* * *
Elliot
“Wake up,” I say, keeping my voice calm but firm.
My wife struggles, her hands clenched into fists. Tears start to flow freely down her cheeks. Her chest shudders, and my hair stands at the sound she makes, one of the keenest sorrow like something infinitely precious has been ripped from her.
“Hey, wake up,” I say again. “You’re okay, beautiful. You’re safe.”
My internal clock tells me it’s after three. I fell asleep, wrapped around her, only to be jerked out of slumber when she started thrashing.
“No!”
Jesus. I turn on the bedside lamp. “Hey.” I jostle her gently. “Wake up!”
“Please! Not my sister!”
Terror contorts her face until it’s a mask of abject horror. Her hair sticks to her sweaty skin. Okay, enough. I shake her a little harder.
Her eyes open, but they look right through me. Tremors run through my wife’s body, and I grip her hard, trying to anchor her in reality.
“I got you, beautiful,” I say. “I got you.”
She blinks, and her eyes finally focus. “Elliot?”
“Yes. You’re okay.” Then I quickly add, “Nonny’s fine.”
A huge breath heaves out of her, and she goes limp. “Thank god.”
I rub my thumbs over her cheeks, streaking the tears. She blinks up at me, her eyes wide. It’s as though she didn’t even realize she was crying.
“I couldn’t save them,” she whispers, her voice broken. “I couldn’t do anything.”
“It was just a dream.”
“No. It’s more.”
The wooden flatness of her voice makes my chest ache. I’ve seen her devotion to her sister, and know the sacrifices she’s made to ensure she gives her sister the best life possible. The nightmare must’ve been harrowing to touch on that. She’s so far away, someplace I can’t quite reach. She’s actually slightly clammy to the touch.
A compulsion I don’t quite understand urges me to make it right. Make her feel safe and protected.
“Shhh…” I whisper, kissing her on the forehead. I rub my cheek against hers, offering her comfort that I can’t give with words. I’m not a poetic guy. If it can’t be done with action, I don’t do it at all.
She tilts her head, angling so our mouths touch. I go still. She’s in a vulnerable state, and I don’t want to misinterpret and take advantage.
Her hand grips the back of my neck and pulls me closer. “Please…” Her breath fans against my lips.
I let her lead, unsure of exactly what she needs—and wants—from me. I’ve never dealt with a woman after a particularly nasty nightmare, so I’m actually in uncharted territory here. It’s an odd feeling.
She strokes my mouth with her velvety tongue. I meet her halfway, then more as she drags me deeper into an endless kiss. Her mouth is a treasure—infinitely tender, sweet and seeking. When I kiss her I feel like I’m a sailor lost at sea, storm-tossed and clinging to the only bit of flotsam that can save me. Her scent, her taste and her softness are overwhelming, and yet I wouldn’t change a thing.
I lose all track of time as we kiss. Desire starts to simmer in my blood. She shifts without breaking the kiss. Her delicate hand slips between our bodies and wraps around my swollen dick.
Her pupils are dark and wide, so dilated that I can barely see the green rings around them. She spreads her legs and guides me to her slick heat.
I pull back. It would be so easy to glide into her without the barrier of a condom, but somebody’s got to be responsible. None of us wants to risk pregnancy—something that would jeopardize our plan to end this arrangement after a year.
I reach into the drawer for a packet. And once I’m fully sheathed, I slide slowly into her.
Her chest rises and falls in a sharp inhale and exhale. Her legs wrap around my waist, her heels digging into the upper swell of my ass. I cradle her face with both of my hands while dragging my cock back and forth along her swollen pussy.