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Hopefully, he understands we’re free to go, to a point, but the family would prefer it if we stayed. It’s not life or death; that’s the key takeaway. Not yet anyhow.

Natalie’s grandfather seems nice, but I know a man of his stature can be tough. Downright cruel if pushed that way. He must be if he allowed what happened to Natalie all those times before and didn’t step in and say something till now.

He might not be holding us hostage at the moment, but if pushed against the wall… I’m not sure what he’d do if Natalie just walked away.

“We figured as much. We got a care package ready to send you. Think you can get us the address? I don’t think you packed enough stuff for a long trip.”

“Yeah, that would be great. What time tomorrow should I call you to give you the address?”

“Anytime after noon your time should be fine.”

“Sounds good. Talk soon.” I hang up and take a breath. I just have to make it to noon tomorrow, and we should see some friendly faces around here.

Not sure who’s coming, just happy for anyone.

I’m still not looking to take Natalie’s decision from her. But she needs to feel safe. And I hope that with some familiar people around, she might feel like she can breathe enough to come to a conclusion on what she wants to do on her own, in her own time. Without the pressure of whatever her grandfather is currently thinking up to use against her.

I start the shower and jump into it before it’s warm. I curse at the water hitting me, but I just want a quick rinse. Just enough to clear my thoughts, to get my dick out of my head and my brain on tight.

Because I’ve been holding a half chub the entire night, ever since I saw Nat in that red dress. Sometimes more when she moved too close to me or I got a whiff of her soft fragrance. After being hard for this long and knowing that I’ll be sleeping in the bed right next to her and not touching her, a new form of hell I was unaware I could endure, a cold shower is warranted.

Hopefully, my pecker will hide for as long as possible so I can get a few hours of sleep before it realizes that her soft body is just an arm’s length away.

If I had the time, I would rub one out. But that would just lead to more complications, and despite what I told her earlier, we don’t really need more.

She’s proven that she can handle a lot, but adding sex to the mix will be too much.

For me.

Because once I’m inside her, I can never go back to what was. I will never be able to let go.

And that might still be something I have to do, depending on what she decides.

Chapter 23 - Natalie

The nightmare hits like I expect. It always happens at night, not when I sleep during the day. I have so many of them that I don’t wake up with a jolt or a scream like some people do or you see in movies. That only happened once.

Now, I just open my eyes and know that I won’t be able to sleep till I calm down.

If I were back home—I mean at Atom’s place—I would watch TV or work out in the gym. But this room, while lavish, has neither of those things.

I roll away from the blinds and onto my back. It’s too dark to make out the mural, but my eyes adjust enough for me to see objects. Like where the head of the bed is. Where each post of the bed stands. And when I look left, I see Atom.

Snoring softly, lying on his side facing me.

The hallway light is still on, and the small dimness brings me details in the dark. But even without that, I know what he looks like.

I’ve known for years.

He may have thought he saw me first, but I had always seen him. Always noticed when he was close. But I forced myself to look away. To not seek him out. He was something I couldn’t have. I knew that. Having someone close to me was never an option.

Or so I thought.

He’s not bulky with muscles like some of the other Hounds, but I’ve seen him with sleeveless shirts enough to know he has definition without the need to put on the extra show of it for a bodybuilding competition. His hands are calloused, a worker’s hand, and yet he can be soft and gentle. He takes care of me, and his cats, plays with them in a way that I’ve forced myself not to notice before.

Back when I thought he was just another hostage taker. When I thought he was my captor.

He never was, though. I felt that from the beginning. It was just my mind refusing to believe that he could be anything else. Fighting with my soul’s need to be free. To feel it and be it at the same time.