She giggled, the sound a sweet song drifting into the room. I leaned down to kiss her cheek, and soon her breathing evened out as I watched over her.
I jerked awake,disoriented and unsure of my surroundings. I glanced around the unfamiliar room, trying to right myself. A whimper came from beside me and I glanced over to see Raven on her back with her brows creased and her eyes squeezed shut.
I must have dozed off while she slept. I only meant to stayfor an hour or so before creeping out to make sure the rest of my plan for her was in place. Breaking into her house was only the beginning.
Scooting back, I brought myself flat against the wall after having slumped down in an uncomfortable position in my slumber. Raven cried out, her breaths coming in pants and tears leaking from her eyes. I hustled to my feet and pulled back the covers, sliding in beside her. I hated that my clothes were between us so I pulled my hoodie and T-shirt over my head and threw them to the floor.
Pulling her into my arms, I rolled her onto her side to face me and held her head to my chest. “Raven, baby, it's just a dream,” I soothed, loud enough to bring her out of sleep, but quiet enough to not startle her.
Her breathing began to return to normal and she shifted in my arms, bringing her hands up to my bare chest. Her nails dug into my flesh, but I didn’t care. I would rather her cause me pain if it took hers away.
She moved her head back, and I glanced down, meeting her eyes. I smoothed the hair that was plastered to her face away and wiped her tears like I had a few hours before. She was beautiful even with tear-stained cheeks and hair mussed from sleep—looking at me with emotions written on her face that I couldn’t decipher.
“Are you all right?” I asked, and as soon as the words left me, her tears welled up again.
She shook her head and buried her face back into my chest. “He came after me. In my dreams,” she sputtered. “I was into what happened earlier, but before I knew it was you I thought he found me.”
I pulled back and searched her face. “Who found you? Raven, tell me what happened.”
Sighing, she sat up in bed, pulling her robe back into placeafter it had fallen off one shoulder. She dropped her head in her hands like she was ashamed. “When I was eighteen, I was sexually assaulted. Before I decided to go to college to pursue finance,” she admitted, wiping her eyes. She glanced over at me and must have seen the rage plastered on my face because she rushed to add, “The guy wasn't able to go all the way before they were dealt with and the other one just held me for him. I wasn’t raped, but he touched me.”
That didn’t help. Just the thought of someone touching her without her explicit consent prior made my blood boil. I would have never done the things I had with her if I hadn’t known her boundaries beforehand.
I gritted my teeth. “You can tell me as much or as little as you want, but I have to know one thing. Are you still in danger from them?” I asked. I was terrified of her answer given that she was nervous someone was following her, but if she was being threatened I was going to lose my shit if anyone came near her.
“No. The guy that did the most is dead now. His friend who held me down ran away before the cops came.” She clasped her hands in her lap. “He’s still out there, and he threatened me before he left, but I haven’t seen or heard from him since.”
She peered out into the room, her voice dropping to a whisper. “I sometimes dream that he finds me. My therapist said it can happen for decades after the event.”
Realization hit me like a ton of bricks. Raven thought I was him earlier. I dropped my head into my hands and balled my fists in my hair. “Fuck!”
I couldn’t bear to look at her. I’d done too much, went too far. I brought all of that back for her. Her soft touch caressed my arm. “Ryan.”
I lifted her hand from my arm, bringing it up to my lips. “Raven, I’m so sorry. I?—”
She put a finger to my lips. “I know what you’re thinking. Stop. You didn’t know and honestly, once I knew it was you, I was ready to do anything you told me to. You make me want to submit in a way I’ve never wanted to before.”
“I’m supposed to be the one comforting you right now, you know?”
She smirked. “Yeah, well, it’s in my nature to be the composed one.” She shifted closer, moving so she was nestled into my shoulder, staring out into the room. “But with you, I feel like maybe I don’t have to be.”
My heart squeezed like a vise in my chest, and even though I was already obsessed with this woman, the night solidified the idea that I was beginning to feel something more than that.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Raven
Sunlight streamedinto the bedroom as I rolled over and stretched. Sunlight. I never stayed in bed after sunrise unless I was sick. What day was it? Then everything smacked me in the face. Ryan.
He had broken into my apartment and then I asked him to stay with me. I bolted up and glanced around the room, thankfully not seeing any trace of him. He must’ve left before I woke up. Heat rushed to my cheeks as I thought of how awkward I would've been if he had still been there. I groaned. I was never going to be able to talk to him again, or I’d die from embarrassment.
Rubbing my eyes, I padded to the bathroom where I stopped dead, the memories from the night before floating back one by one. I had told him. Not everything, but I’d told him about the one thing I didn’t tell anyone. Mom and Dad knew most of it, but they were forbidden to bring it up unless I did.
Another realization barreled into me. Work. Fuck! I was late. So late. I ran to the nightstand and grabbed my phone,seeing that the clock read seven fifty-five. When I turned the phone over, there was a sticky note on the screen.
“Open my texts before you freak out.”
Too late. Already there, buddy. I tore the note off the phone and saw new message notifications from Ryan and Joanne. Ignoring the thread with Ryan, I tapped the message from Joanne.
