“What? What the hell, Ava? What happened?”
I’m staring at the door, chest heaving, every breath too fast and not deep enough. My oxygen’s cut off, and blackness seeps into my vision as my panic takes hold.
“Something hit the door,” I manage to push out. “It slammed into it. Hard.”
He’s up in a second, fully alert now. His tense naked form’s an afterthought. His eyes sweep the room, then lock on mine. He moves with the swiftness of an agile hunter, stepping over the broken lamp to grip my shoulder, pulling me into his heaving chest.
The night outside is quiet now. Making a liar out of me, mocking my ability to show this man the truth.
But I know something’s still out there.
It wantedmeto hear it.
“Are you sure?” Scott asks, his voice low like he’s trying not to spook me further. “Are you absolutely sure it wasn’t a nightmare? You must have been dead asleep, baby. Your heart’s still racing.”
I flinch at his words. Not because I’m scared—though I still am—but because that slight, careful doubt in his voice is undeniable.
My head snaps up. “You think I’m lying?”
He hesitates, mouth gaping like a fish out of water.
“You think I just dreamed that something pounded against the door, damn near hard enough to bust it off the hinges? That I screamed bloody murder and accidentally broke a goddamn lamp because of a nightmare?”
“Ava—” He stops, his voice placating.
His grip loosens as I jerk away from him, tiptoeing carefully between the shattered ceramic shards sprinkled across the wood floor.
“No,” I bite, wrapping the blanket tighter around my chest, covering my naked body. “Don’tAvame. I know what I heard. I’m not imagining things, Scott.”
He runs a hand down his face, through his beard, andbreathes out hard. “I’m not saying I don’t believe you. I—look, sometimes your brain doesn’t wake up with your body. Dreams bleed into reality. I’ve had it happen, too. I’m not trying to gaslight you, alright?”
I cross my arms, feeling the shake in my limbs even as I try to stand tall. The unease that settles deep in my stomach pulses stronger with every word he uses to pacify me.
Something did hit that door. I know it. I felt it in the way the air changed and in my bones—literally.
I get what he’s saying. I know that feeling, but this wasn’t it. This wasreal. And I can’t help the feeling that whatever’s going on out there in the dark hours of the night wants this. It wants us at each other’s throats. It wants to build a divide.
Scott steps toward me slowly, palms up like he’s well aware he fucked up. I’m two seconds from spinning on my heels and leaving him here with his bullshit excuses.
“Come here.”
I don’t move.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “I didn’t mean to make you feel like I didn’t believe you. It’s just—” He sighs, pressing his lips together before continuing. “There’s no one out there, baby. There can’t be. It was likely a raccoon or coyote scavenging for food. This place is remote. It’s not uncommon for animals to come close when they smell the potential for a meal.”
His coaxing tone tries to soothe the anger swirling in my chest. But it’s not what breaks through my outrage. He called me baby, again. I can’t deny that one little word does something to me. It feels like a claim, in the simplest sense.
He ignores my obstinate stance and closes the space between us, drawing me gently into his strong arms. His bare skin is warm against mine, flaring the feelings of a couple of hours ago back to life.
I don’t fight it, even though I want to. But the truth is, I’m freezing, exhausted, and now turned on.
“Let’s get off the floor,” he murmurs into my hair. “Come lie on the couch with me.”
I let him guide me, my feet numb against the biting hardwoods. We step over the mess of debris and move toward the worn leather sofa. He grabs the extra blanket from our makeshift floor bed and shakes it off, then settles down, pulling me onto his chest.
The fire’s almost out. Only embers pulse with their remaining heat, but I’m not getting up to bring it back to life. It’ll be one more choice I’ll likely regret come morning.
“I’ll stay up,” he whispers, his lips brushing my temple. “I’ll keep watch while you sleep. You’re safe now, Ava. Nothing’s getting to you, not even the nightmares. I promise.”
