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Reality pushed in for a second, and fear came with it.

Sleep.

It was a battleground for me.

Not comforting.

Not ease.

Memory.

Terror.

Alaric shifted his weight, moving to my side, pulling me hard against him. There was no leaving. His arms were a cage around me. His hand slid between my breasts, fingers splayed across my chest, pinning me against his body.

It was enough.

Right?

My shoulders dropped.

Eyes closed.

Thunder was a soft snarl now.

Darkness waited.

22

ALARIC

She twitched.

Hard.

That was the first thing I noticed.

I wasn’t asleep. How could a man sleep with her in his arms? But she was here… and she was real.

I lowered my head, inhaling the scent of her.

She was real.

Then she jerked.

I froze.

Did I do that?

Did I scare her?

I opened my mouth to murmur it’s okay. It’s just me. But then she arched her back and this time it wasn’t seductive. It was fear.

“No.” She moaned. “Nononono.”

I listened to her whimpers. Inside I was falling… sinking deeper. And it wasn’t love. Not this time.

No.