Page 27 of Her Noble Protector

She wrapped up her sandwich and put it into one of the bags.

“What kind of food do you like for dinner?” he asked again.

She sighed. “Italian.”

“What is your favorite dish?”

“Eggplant parmesan.”

“I’ll pick that up tonight. In the meantime, why don’t you put your food in the fridge, and take some time to yourself? Read a book, or get some sleep. How does that sound?”

“Yeah, I’ll put this in the fridge,” she agreed.

He watched as she gathered everything up, then shut the door and closed the blinds. He prayed that he hadn’t pushed too hard.

9

Curling up in the clean sheets and comforter in the guest bedroom felt good, real good. She hadn’t wanted to sleep here before because there were no locks on the door, but with Raiden outside, she felt safe enough to do so. The temperature in the house was finally right, too. Not too cold and not too hot, just comfortable.

She was tired, but she had too many thoughts whirling around in her head to go to sleep, so she’d grabbed a couple of books off her bookshelf to re-read. Because Raiden had mentioned fantasy, she’d plucked a book by Stephen R. Donaldson off her shelf and dove into that. It kind of fit her mood. All about a man who woke up in a strange world and didn’t fit in.

* * *

“No!”

“Stop!”

“Please, Damon, stop!”

She tried to fight, but she couldn’t get him off her. No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t get away. He wouldn’t listen to her.

“No! Please, don’t hurt me!”

Lisa heard pounding. A voice that wasn’t Damon’s was shouting her name. “Lisa, answer me! I’m coming in if you don’t answer me. Can you hear me?”

She looked at the lamp beside the bed and realized the pounding was on the window and the voice was Raiden’s. It had been a bad dream.

“I’m coming in.”

“No!”

“Okay, you haven’t answered me, so I’m coming in.” Raiden’s voice sounded almost frantic.

“No! Don’t come in, Raiden!” She didn’t want him to see her like this. She didn’t want him to see her house like this. She would die if he saw what she’d been reduced to. “Please, don’t come in.”

“What’s wrong, baby? Talk to me.”

“It was a bad dream.”

“Come to the patio door. Let me see you. Come talk to me.”

“It was nothing. Just a bad dream.” How come Damon was still stealing her life away after all these years? Almost ten years later and he still was wrenching bits and pieces of her apart, leaving her with nothing. She’d never even been with a man; she couldn’t trust them after Damon.

“It wasn’t nothing. God, Lisa, let me help you.”

Now it sounded like it was wrenching Raiden apart. How was that possible?

She dropped her head into her hands. Years. Years and years and years she had gone without having nightmares about Damon, but since Mexico, the dreams had come back, and they were mixed up with her hanging by her wrists in the jungle, that animal putting his hands on her, pawing at her, his hands on her breasts, bruising her, his hands down her pants. Everything was all mixed up. Everything was a nightmare. One that made her stop caring for herself.