Kory nodded. She was nowhere near ready to reveal all the darkness and hideousness of her past to Stone, but she thought maybe their relationship had progressed enough that she could shed a little light on a few things. She wanted to. She thought he would understand then how much she’d grown to trust him…and how important he was becoming to her.
She’d just have to wait until the time was right.
Chapter Sixteen
THE TIME TO tell Stone came sooner than she’d expected. Kory spent the night with him that night—managing great sex without having any breakdowns—and had fallen asleep in his arms, but her midnight cries awakened herself, Stone, and the dog. There was no way to pretend everything was okay when she awoke everyone screaming and crying in the middle of the night.
Yeah, another goddamned nightmare.
She’d awakened herself hollering at a bad guy who was no longer any threat to her, but in her dream, he’d felt so real again, and she’d felt vulnerable and helpless. She’d been unable to move, to get away from him, and he’d begun doing unspeakable things to her…until she’d finally managed to pull herself awake with her screams.
She sat up, feeling like she couldn’t breathe, and as soon as she was able to suck air into her lungs, tears started pouring from her eyes. She felt Stone’s arm around her shoulders then. “You okay?”
She struggled to find her voice. “I don’t know.” He pulled her into his chest as she tried to calm down.
“Did you have a nightmare?”
She nodded her head. She remembered visiting with Natalie and worried then that Stone might think she was some kind of nutcase. She was, really, and she never would have thought it until all this shit had started resurfacing. What the fuck?
She needed to be honest with him, because he was going to otherwise think she was completely insane. “I guess I have some things to tell you,” she said, sniffing.
He touched her cheek. “You feel up to talking about it?”
“Yeah.”
“I can make some coffee…but you’re not big into coffee, are you?”
She smiled, but she doubted he could appreciate it in that dark room. “I could go a cup if you make it.”
He chuckled and she felt him shift. In seconds, the lamp on his side flooded the room with light and he slid off the bed. She admired him from the back. The guy was seriously the most tattooed dude she’d ever met. He had a couple on his legs, but his back was covered, along with his hands, two full sleeves, his neck, his chest and belly…but not his dick. She was strangely grateful for that. She’d seen pictures online of guys who’d done that. She’d wondered if they had to be hard when they were tattooed (of course, silly, she thought) and, more than that, she was curious as hell how the tattoo artist felt about inking an erect penis. Maybe Stone could have tattooed his own cock, but still…
What was inked, though, made him look hotter than hell, and she felt so lucky to have him in her life. He was amazing and special and wonderful, and that he enjoyed spending time with her meant more than he could know.
He picked his jeans up off the floor and slid them up his legs. Once he’d zipped and buttoned, he asked, “You want a t-shirt or something?”
“Yeah, sure.”
She turned and slid her legs off the side of the bed, letting them dangle, while he got into one of the drawers of his dresser and pulled out a black t-shirt, one of several that looked pretty much the same, except that each had a different band on it. He walked over and handed her the shirt. Without even looking at it, she pulled it over her head and got out of bed. Stone pulled her into his arms and held her against his chest until he let her go and smiled down at her, kissing her on the forehead. Then he led her across the room and down the stairs, holding her around the shoulders the entire time.
Somehow, that gesture made her feel secure.
Loved.
Safe.
When they got to the kitchen, he pulled a chair away from the table. “Go ahead and have a seat. I’ll make some coffee. I have some hazelnut creamer that I think you’ll like.”
She smiled and while he filled the coffee pot with water, she looked down at the t-shirt. Guns N’ Roses. Ah. Stone didn’t stop being cool. She was already feeling better—warmer and more content—just from being around him.
He was taking his time moving around the kitchen. He reached into one cupboard and pulled out a package of Oreo cookies and set them on the table in front of Kory. She looked up at him and he grinned. “Coffee and cookies kick ass together.”
He walked back to the counter where the coffee pot was and pulled out a sugar bowl and a jar of creamer. He brought them to the table and said, “Yeah, so it’s powder, but trust me. It tastes really good.” Lady finally settled next to Kory on the floor and Stone walked over to the tall cupboard where he kept her snacks. She knew what he was doing and followed him, but she didn’t beg. He got out a dog biscuit and then squatted down. “Shake.” The little dog stuck out her paw and let Stone shake it before he held the biscuit in front of her mouth. Kory smiled. She was starting to love that little dog, and she thought it was so cute how Stone was with her.