I fell asleep nuzzled against Cal’s side, his arm wrapped around me, making me feel brave enough to allow myself to drop off, in the hope that he would keep away the nightmares I feared.
Some part of my subconscious must have still been wary of the nightmares though because I wasn’t fully asleep, trapped in that strange place of half wakefulness still, some part of my mind not allowing me to give in completely, knowing the nightmares would be close after a small trip down memory lane that day.
So when strong hands slipped under my back and thighs, and gripped me, lifting me from the bed, I woke quickly with a strangled cry of terror.
I scrambled to get free of the grip, twisting my body and hitting out blindly in the dark room.
“CAL!” I cried as I caught sight of him asleep on the bed, while also throwing my elbow back hard into the chest of the person who had grabbed me. There was a loud grunt but the grip on me didn’t release.
“What the…?” I heard Cal groan, obviously just opened his eyes. “Cara!”
I glanced to the side to see Cal jumping from the bed and coming towards me. Using the distraction, I cried out as I threw my entire body, throwing all of my weight to the side in the hope I’d get free, and I believed I was winning as the grip on me floundered, but then they caught me again before I could get free.
“Stop fighting before you hurt yourself!”
My fight stuttered as I realised I recognised the voice.
“D-Dante?” I whimpered shakily.
Adrenaline was racing through my body, causing waves of violent shaking, and making my heart pound so hard it felt painful.
“Dante?” Cal repeated. I couldn’t see where he was in the dark room, but his voice was close. “What on Earth are you doing?”
Dante didn’t say a word as he just gripped me even tighter and stormed from the bedroom, out into the dimly lit living area of the hotel suite.
I blinked furiously, my eyes adjusting from the darkness, to look up at Dante. He was breathing hard, his chest heaving against me, and when I met his eyes, they were wide and a little wild looking.
“Put me down, r-right now!” I growled, angry and breathless.
“No.You’re mine!You stay with me,” he grunted like he had gone full on caveman. He hadn’t stopped crossing the room and I felt uneasy as I realised he was taking me into the room that he had been sleeping in.
“Cal!” I called.
“Put her down, man. What the fuck are you playing at?” Cal called, and when I tried to look behind me to see him, he was pulling a t-shirt over his head as he followed after us.
“Keeping her safe. She doesn’t understand, but she will. She’s mine!” Dante barked. He stepped into his room and slammed the door closed behind him, locking it with a twist of the catch on the handle.
“DANTE!” Cal yelled, as he rattled the door behind us.
Inside the bedroom was pitch dark again. I could hear Dante’s heavy breathing, mixed with my own panicked gasps.
“Dante,” I said as calmly as I could. “What are you doing? You…you need to put me down and let me out of this room.”
I could hear Cal calling for Arran outside the door, as he continued to rattle the handle, obviously trying to rip it open.
“Dante! Open the door!” Cal yelled at the top of his voice.
It was lucky for us that the additional men we brought with us were the only other one’s with a room on that floor, or we’d have likely had the whole hotel coming to see what was going on.
“Listen to him, pl-please. Y-you’re scaring me,” I pleaded.
I placed my hand against Dante’s cheek, and I knew he had to feel how badly it was shaking.
“No! I need to protect you!” Dante snapped viciously. I pulled my hand back and curled more into myself, realising I wasn’t going to get through to him.
Was this a side of Dante that I had missed? I had always found his oddness and directness endearing. I had seen his darkness too, but it didn’t scare me, it spoke to me. It was like his darkness knew my own, and that had always made me feel safe. But now Dante was scaring me. He seemed like he had come undone, and his unpredictability was worrying.
“Dante! Open the door, lad!” Arran bellowed next with an almighty knock.
