It heals a little piece of my tattered heart.
“Lordknowsthemanloves nothing more than spending time down here with his new pets.”
“Have you been trying to hide from me, Indie?”
“Don’t cry yet, Indie. We’re only just getting started.”
“Just relax.”
“Don’t worry, Indie. He actually won’t suffer too long. In fact…”
I jolt upright as my eyes snap open, choking on a breath.
A cold sweat soaks my entire body as my pulse rumbles like a violent wave in my ear. Images all flashing and merging into one taunt behind my eyes.
A sob works its way up my constricted throat, and my cheeks are soaked from the nightmare still chasing me. I blink rapidly into the pitch-black room, a little disorientated on my surroundings.
Fuck.
Am I still there?
Fear grates up my spine at the thought that I’m still in Conrad’s basement.
But the rough, sleep-heavy voice blankets me in the safety of its familiar shadow, anchoring me as his arms tug me towards him lying in bed. “You’re okay, darling.”
Saint pulls me to his chest, banding his arms tightly around me as I fight to control my breathing. He whispers softly against my shoulder, “Just a bad dream,” and peppers feather-like kisses against my skin.
I haven’t had a nightmare in so long, and now I have new variations of torment dogpiling on.
His hand works up and down my bare arm; each stroke of his callous palm tames my wildly beating heart.
Saint leans away from me, flicking on the lamp, and then rolls me over to face him. My tear-soaked eyes blink up at him, feeling the burn working again, and my breath catches in my lungs.
He’s real.
He didn’t die.
They didn’t get me.
“Hey,” he whispers, running his thumb to catch the tear that’s escaped, “you’re okay, Indie.”
I nod frantically, but the string still builds, and my voice sounds like I’ve swallowed sand. “I-I’m. I’m okay-y.”
Saint kisses my forehead, tracing a soft line of his lips to my neck, and then my collarbone. Each feel of his touch chases the storm away, and he retraces the path back and forth until my breathing mellows out.
He holds his kiss on my collar bone, my eyes fluttering closed as he speaks against it. “I promise, no one’s ever going to hurt you again. Not even me.”
I feel his throat work against me, struggling as it flexes. Butterflies brush their wings within my chest as I quietly ask, “Please don’t ever leave me again.”
Saint is my everything, and when he’s not there, the only thing that keeps me grounded is imagining the sound of his voice. It’s no match to having him with me.
Now with what I’ve lived through, Ineedto have him here. Maybe I have too much reliance on him, and that makes what we have dangerous.
But there’s no safer place on earth for me than being by his side.
He shakes his head slowly, lips grazing my sensitive flesh. “Never again, baby.”
I need him to know just how serious that statement is from me. He promised me forever, then risked it so I could go on. It’s not that I’m ungrateful, far from it. It takes a certain kind of bravery not many people would truly be willing to do.
