“I spoke to him.”
“So did I.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I fancy him. Do you fancy him?”
“I liked him, aye.” I crossed my arms, mirroring her.
Suddenly out of nowhere, rage flooded her expression. Before I could compute what was happening, she slapped me. Hard.
“Amanda?” I pressed a palm over my stinging cheek. “What the hell?”
And then she punched me. I stumbled back, but she kept coming.
“Amanda!” I cried out in horror as her fists rained down on my body.
I tried to protect myself, falling to the ground in a ball, but she seemed to grow a hundred arms and legs as she continued to punch and kick me.
“You stole him!” she shrieked. “You stole everything from me!”
Sobbing, I shook. “Please, Amanda …”
“You took my life! You took my life!”
My eyes flew open as my body gasped awake. Chest tight, I sucked in air as terror held me in its nightmarish grip. As the now familiar room came into focus, I shook as realization hit.
It was a bad dream.
Tears flooded my eyes as the tightness in my chest increased. I couldn’t seem to catch my breath as my heart thundered in my ears … tingles exploded across my face and all I could think was:
I’m going to die.
I’m going to die.
Silent, salty tears slid down my cheeks as the night closed in on me. My fingers curled in the sheet beneath me as the panic attack seized control.
What do you see?
I glanced at the beautiful man asleep beside me.
Callan. Bed. Side tables. Bathroom. Walk-in. Doorway. My underwear and clothing scattered on the bedroom floor.
What do you hear?
He snores a bit.I hadn’t noticed that before. It wasn’t awful, but there was definitely some noise going on there.
Faint sound of light traffic.
My heartbeat.
My shallow breaths.
What do you smell?
I inhaled through my nose and out through my mouth.Callan’s aftershave. Sex.
The room was musky with sex.
Finally, the attack let go of me. But my heart still raced and I felt clammy and shaky as I quietly eased out of bed.
Callan and I were certainly making use of our six-week contract. If things had been hot between us before John’s birthday at the club, they’d gotten even more so over the past few nights since. We were doing things to each other’s bodies I’d never done with anyone. Somehow, at least with this, I trusted Callan. He made me feel … free. In a way I hadn’t felt in a long time.
