I want to ask him more about his brother and Father Francis and what errand required him to visit the church, but I don’t. I lick my lips and settle back in the seat. Jaeger puts the car in gear, and we leave St. Xavier’s and Father Francis behind.
“Elodie,”a deep voice calls my name. “Elodie, wake up.”
I come awake with a gasp. I’m in the dark bedroom with Jaeger beside me. He’s propped up on an elbow, his free hand on my shoulder. He orders the lights to turn on the lowest level.
“You were having a bad dream.”
I’m still in its clutches. There was a dark tunnel of trees, and I was running like I did with Jaeger. But it wasn’t him chasing me. It was someone from the past, someone I’ve tried hard to forget.
I’m covered in a cold sweat, gripping the blankets. I suck in a breath to come back into myself.
Jaeger tucks a curl behind my ear. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“You want to tell me about it?”
Instead of answering, I curl toward him, tucking my face into his chest. We’ve grown closer these past few days, but I don’t want to tell him about that part of my past. It’ll bring up too many questions. He’ll find out the most traumatic thing that ever happened to me.
Jaeger isn’t the worst predator I’ve ever met. He’s bigger and badder and way more dangerous, but obviously, my psyche thinks he’s safe. That’s why I’m dreaming about the past—so I can purge it. Deep down, I know if I tell him the story about the man who hurt me, Jaeger would make sure that man paid the price for what he did.
Jaeger wraps his arms around me and kisses the top of my head. I’m relaxed and starting to drift back to sleep when he slips his hand between my legs.
I open my eyes, coming awake. The lights are still on, low enough for me to fall asleep but bright enough for me to see the gleam in Jaeger’s stormy eyes. It has to be around midnight, and he’s already fucked me, so I’m not sure what’s going on. Maybe he wants me to forget my nightmare?
For a moment, he only strokes me, holding my gaze as his thumb tickles my clit. My hips start to move, and he stops until I grow still, and then he starts stroking me again.
“I’ll be gone most of the day tomorrow. Will you miss me?”
I stare at him. He’s trying to have a conversation, now?
He stops touching me. “Will you miss me?”
Yes.My body knows the right answer. “No,” I lie. Each day has me closer to healing fully and escaping.
Except I haven’t thought much of escaping lately. Yeah, I’m weirded out by all the Fraternitas stuff and today’s outing to meet Father Frances. But I’m loving my lazy days in this gorgeous penthouse. Going on the run will mean living out of gross, pay-by-the-day motels, places that take cash so I can flyunder the radar. I’ll have to find a place to hide out. Get a new job.
It’ll suck, but that’s life. We’re all running and running until death catches us.
With enough running, I might be able to forget Jaeger, who’s currently frowning at me like he can read my thoughts. I wipe my face clear of expression.
“What?”
“Hmmm.” He goes back to stroking me, running his thumb up and down the seam of my lower lips. I want to grab his wrist and grind against his hand, but I don’t want to break the spell. My orgasm creeps closer as the seconds tick by. I’m about to ride the gentle swell, but he pauses again.
“What did you think of my brother?” he asks, and my pleasure dies, remembering Jaeger’s face on a cold-eyed stranger. It was a shock to see him at St. Xavier’s.
“I don’t think he likes me. Like, at all.” I shudder, remembering his threats outside the women’s bathroom at Inferno.
Jaeger dismisses this with a toss of his head. “He doesn’t like anyone.”
“Not even you?” I got the feeling Kaiser threatened me out of a protective instinct for his brother.
Jaeger takes my hand and transfers it to the bulging pectoral muscle under his collarbone. My fingers graze the raised ridge of a long-healed wound. I’ve come to realize his tattoos hide a maze of scars. This one is large and very close to his heart.
“What’s this?”
“From the time Kaiser tried to kill me.”
