AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I moved toward her but stopped when she headed into her closet. She’d changed into a sleep set when she stepped out, making me narrow my gaze.
“We sleep naked, Sophia.”
“In this house, we don’t. Besides, we aren’t together. You’re lucky that I will let you share the bed with me. I could be mean and tell you to sleep on the floor.”
“Always the brat.”
* * *
“No, no, no. I don’t want to hear anymore. Please, no more.”
I jolted up hearing Sophia’s panicky cry. I blinked rapidly, trying to clear the haze of sleep, only to see the darkness engulfing the room all around me.
“Why wouldn’t he leave me alone?” Sophia’s anguish tore at me.
I turned on the light and found her curled in the fetal position, covered in sweat and shivering. Pulling her to me, I lifted her into my arms and held her close.
“Sophia, wake up. You’re safe. No one will hurt you. You’re safe.”
She shook her head. “He’s always around. I punched him. Now he wants to make me pay.”
My stomach dropped. Sophia was reliving the time after that fucker Keith Randolph assaulted her.
If he weren’t dead already, I’d take great pleasure in killing him slowly.
The only solace in this was that his father’s empire sat on the cusp of falling. Randolph Senior had catered and covered up his boy’s deeds and now sat poised to defend himself on a slew of charges from bribery to murder.
I pushed the damp hair off Sophia’s face and repeated, “You’re safe. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
Sophia opened her eyes with another whimper and stared at me, not saying anything.
After a few moments, she jerked, trying to sit up, but I held her close. “Damon. It’s you.”
“It’s me.”
She dropped her head against my shoulder and wrapped her arms around me as if trying to hold onto a lifeline.
“Make me forget these nightmares. I don’t want to remember the past.”
I inhaled deeply, knowing what she asked of me. “Sophia, you don’t want this. You’ll regret it in the morning.”
“You don’t get to tell me what I want or what I’ll regret. No one will make my decisions for me ever again.” The edge in her voice had me looking down at her.
Tears soaked her cheeks. However, the determination in her eyes made it impossible for me to deny her anything.
I shifted us, laying her onto her back, and leaned over her.
God, she was breathtaking.
The contrast of her fire and vulnerability pulled at something deep inside me. I wanted to own, consume, and revel in every part of her.
Brushing my lips over hers, I teased her with soft, gentle passes, wanting to drive up her desire and eliminate any remnants of her nightmare.
Her fingers threaded into my hair, and she pulled me closer, desperate to deepen the kiss. In response, I nipped her lower lip, causing her to whimper, and took hold of her wrist, pinning them to the mattress above her head.
“You wanted me to make you forget. That means I’m in charge.”
“You’re always in charge.”
