The Struggle(53)
~
Josie
When I opened my eyes, I didn’t know where I was.
The room was dark and I was lying on something soft, which didn’t make any sense to me, and—oh my gods, I was naked under a sheet. I was on a bed and I was naked. A hundred horrible fears poisoned my brain. Had Hyperion—? I couldn’t even finish the thought. My heart leapt into my throat as I realized my arm was resting against a hard, warm surface that felt an awful lot like a chest.
Panic exploded like buckshot racing through every cell. My body moved before I could slow down and process anything. Jackknifing off the bed, pain flared all across my body as I threw my legs off the bed. I toppled forward, my knees cracking off the stone floor. Eyes wide, I scanned the dark room as my heart thundered in my chest. Where am I? What is happening? The form on the bed—the body on the bed—moved, sitting up.
I scuttled across the floor, my palms slipping off the smooth stone. A scream built in my throat, but I couldn’t get enough air in my lungs.
“Josie?”
Stilling at the sound of the voice, I drew my knees up. I knew that voice. Seth. It was his—that deep voice that was musical in quality, slightly accented. But that didn’t make sense, because how could I be here with Seth? Unless everything had been a nightmare—no, no what had happened wasn’t a nightmare. It had been real.
The shape on the bed suddenly moved closer. Feet landed on the floor and took a step toward me. A strangled sound left me as fear overrode my senses. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t do—
The shape froze. “It’s okay, Josie. You’re here with me. You’re safe.”
That voice—it had to be Seth, and I’d heard that word before. Safe. Alex had told me that when I . . . when I woke up earlier. I struggled to push the cobwebs of sleep and confusion aside.
“Seth?” I whispered.
“Yes. It’s me. It’s just me and you in here. I’m going to turn on the light. Okay?” he asked, and when I didn’t respond, he turned. I heard a click a few seconds later, and buttery soft light flooded the room. No longer in the darkness, the events of the last couple of hours rushed to the surface.
Seth stood in front of the bed, his arms at his sides. He was bare-chested and was wearing a pair of loose sweats. Blond hair fell in a mess of waves over his forehead and curled over the tips of his ears.
I remembered.
He’d found me in the shower and he held me while I cried. I wasn’t in that horrible room anymore. I wasn’t being dragged from the dank cellar to serve as a battery pack for Hyperion or Cronus. I was here with Seth. I remembered seeing him outside on a balcony, embracing another woman.
Sucking in a shallow breath full of pain, I curled my arms around my knees to try to hide my nudity. Not that Seth hadn’t seen it all and then some, but I was uncomfortable and overexposed.
Especially with the way he was staring at me.
His amber gaze roamed over me, and even though most of all the private parts were hidden, I knew he was seeing the network of bruises and red marks—the bites and torn, frayed skin. I knew this because of the way his striking face was tight and drawn. It was in the way he spoke next.
“Josie, babe . . .” Seth’s amber eyes glimmered as he crouched in front of me, not coming any closer. “I . . .”
As he trailed off, I squeezed my eyes shut. What was I doing? Other than sitting on his floor naked as the day I was born? My throat felt raw as I forced my tongue to move. “I woke up and I didn’t remember where I was. I thought I was still back there. I’m . . . I’m sorry.”
I didn’t hear him move, but my eyes flew open when I felt his hand land gently on my arm. “You do not need to apologize, psychi mou.”
Psychi mou? Seth had never called me his soul before.
Sorrow filled his brilliant amber gaze. “Let me get you something to wear, okay? And then we’ll move on from there. If you want to stay right where you are, we can do that. If you want to go back to the bed, then that’s the plan. You let me know what you want to do, and we’ll do it.”
Glancing down at my bruised knees, I nodded jerkily.
Seth was still for a moment longer and then he rose, stepping around me. I kept my eyes closed until he returned and soft cloth was draped over my shoulders. The last thing I really needed at this moment was to fully process the fact I was naked on the floor with my arms around my knees.
A girl could only take so much.
Forcing my eyes open, I avoided Seth’s gaze as I shoved my arms through the sleeves of an unbelievably soft and fluffy robe. He tugged the belt forward and I reached down, gathering the sides of the robe closed.