Keep Me Safe(61)

Finally he rolled off her, disposed of the condom and then pulled her into his arms, his hands stroking over her entire body as they both shuddered in the aftermath of their releases.

He kissed her forehead, her eyes, her nose, cheeks and finally her mouth. He lingered there, stroking his tongue inward, his movements so much more gentle than they’d been just moments ago.

“I love you so damn much,” he said in an aching voice. “I hope one day you can love me, Ramie. But I’m willing to wait as long as it takes and I’ll never give up on you. I’ll wait forever if that’s what it takes.”

She cuddled into his embrace, burying her face in his chest, wishing for all the world that she could give him those words now, when he sounded so vulnerable. But she wouldn’t say them just to say them. Not until she was sure she could come to him whole. Healed. And able to give back to him every bit as much as he’d given her.

The room was dark and Tori could sense she wasn’t alone, but she had no idea where she was. Too terrified to make a sound, she huddled inwardly, praying that she wasn’t seen or heard.

The smell of blood was acrid in her nostrils, assaulting her senses. She gagged, the scent overwhelming. She was all too familiar with the odor of blood. Particularly her own.

She clamped a hand over her mouth when her stomach revolted again. Silently heaving, she closed her eyes and tried to breathe through the nausea.

And then a sound, close to her. She forced herself to open her eyes and slowly let her gaze drift over her surroundings. She frowned when she realized she didn’t recognize her environment. Blinking, she drew a shadow several feet away into focus, straining to make out who or what was in the room with her.

The shadow moved closer. Her breath caught as she realized it was her brother. Relief hurtled through her body with dizzying speed. Oh God, she’d been so terrified. But Caleb was here. He was with her and he wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt her.

He took one step closer, the shadows suddenly gone from around him. Her heart thumped hard against her chest and her mouth opened in a silent scream and she kept screaming as she stared in horror at the gruesome sight in front of her.

Caleb was drenched in blood. It covered his hands, was smeared on his chest and splattered across his abdomen. His eyes were empty and hollow, soulless pools of ice.

Tori screamed again and again, desperation seizing and twisting her insides in a panicked frenzy. She shut her eyes in a frantic attempt to block out the sight of Caleb soaked in blood, but it was as though his image were imprinted on the backs of her eyelids because it was as vivid with her eyes closed as it was with them open.

Her head wobbled back and forth and she became aware of someone shaking her and urgently calling her name.

“Tori! Tori, wake up, damn it!”

She pushed outward at the offending person, shoving so hard she tumbled backward. Her head cracked against the headboard of her bed and she saw a burst of colors. Pain yanked her from her seeming state of paralysis, and she didn’t waste any time scrambling from the bed on the other side, prepared to flee for her life.

No one would take her again. Never. She’d die first.

When strong hands grasped her arms again, she lashed out, swinging her fist. A muffled curse and cracking pain in her knuckles told her she’d connected with a very firm jaw.

“Damn it, Tori, wake the hell up. It’s Dane, for God’s sake.”

Her knees buckled and she sagged, hitting the floor with a resounding thump. Again she heard curses but the hands that touched her were gentle and nonthreatening.

Fingers carefully pushed her hair from her face and back behind her ears and then warm thumb pads smoothed away the tears silently tracking down her cheeks.

She flinched and made a guttural sound as she tried to slide backward on the wood floor. Much like an animal backed into a corner. She shoved the hair from her face so she could at least see to defend herself.

“D-don’t t-touch me.”

He immediately released her, holding his hands up where she could easily see them. She regarded him warily, the remnants of the horrible vision still lingering like a ghost in her mind. Her pulse roared in her ears and she blinked trying to bring her surroundings into focus.

“I’m just going to turn on the light, okay, Tori?”

The soothing pitch to his voice served to calm her. Gradually the red mist faded and Caleb’s bloodied body no longer confronted her when she opened her eyes.

“Dane?”

The quivery jitter to her voice made her sound like a terrified little girl. Not an adult woman who’d seen the harsh realities outside the privileged existence she’d lived for twenty-three years.

“Yes, Tori, it’s Dane. Are you okay now?”