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“Why do you do this? Why do you defy me?” he demanded.
Olivia raised her chin and glared at him. She knew she should be more submissive. He liked her to submit to his will and he hurt her less when she was obedient. Even now she had the chance to placate him and make excuses. He might listen to her and forgive her for defying him. She opened her mouth to explain but no sound came out.
“Who are you preforming for? Do you think I appreciate it? Dancing reminds me of whores, Olivia. Do you wish to prostitute yourself? I told you, you’re mine. You will not dance again.”
She wanted to argue that he could never take it away from her but she remained silent. She was already defying him; he would take only so much disobedience.
“Remember, I did you a favor. The accident was an important part of your destiny. Have I never told you the details?”
Olivia gave a small shake of her head. What was he talking about?
“My plan worked perfectly. We injected a lubricant in the sole of your partner’s shoes. Bret Johnson didn’t have the right to put his hands on you and I needed to make sure he stopped. That night, every step he took made the floor slippery along, with the bottom of his shoes.” Ethan flung his arms up in a dancer’s pose but his sneer was mocking. “It was the perfect performance. The grand finale, when he hoisted you high above his head, you were poised like an angel in innocent splendor. And then his foot slipped. So tragic! His hold trembled and you flew out of his grasp. You flew from his arms into straight into mine,” he added with a gloating laugh.
Olivia clenched the chair until her fingers ached. She hated him so much. He’d hurt her on purpose. He destroyed her career. She’d never walk normally again because of his insanity. She wanted to scream at him but she remained silent. Only her eyes told of her fury.
Ethan crossed the room and gripped her chin in his cruel fingers. “I broke you that day. Your wings were clipped, never to fly again. And yet I see you defying me at every turn. You’re broken, my beautiful one, tamed for me. How many times must I teach you this lesson?”
Olivia cried out as his fingers threaded into her hair and he jerked her head back cruelly. Tears sprang to her eyes. “You belong to me. I have told you a million times that you were created for me. I will not let you go and only death will separate us.”
“You will never own my soul, Ethan,” she stated quietly. “You may have stolen my career and my freedom but you will never touch my heart. It is dead to you but alive within me, and there is nothing you can do!”
She cried out again as rage filled his face. He looked like a demon about to strike. He raised his fist threateningly –
“Liv honey, wake up. Wake up! It’s only a nightmare. You’re safe. I’ve got you.”
Olivia flung up her arms to protect her face. “No! Don’t touch me! I’m sorry! Don’t hurt me, Ethan!” She could see his face and feel his anger. He was going to kill her. Tears poured down her cheeks as she fought against his grasping hands.
“It’s only a dream, honey. He isn’t here. Come on, baby, you have to wake up.”
Someone tried to shake her and she tore at the hands that clutched her. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t move. She was pinned to the bed and she was about to die. She knew this day would come.
She braced herself for the blows but something unexpected happened. She felt gentle kisses on her cheeks, her eyelids, her forehead, and lips. “Come on, Liv honey, wake up. It’s a dream. Only a dream. I’m here and you’re safe. He’s not going to hurt you.”
The words penetrated the darkness and Olivia snapped open her eyes. “Paul?” she croaked.
“Yeah, honey, it’s me and you’re safe.” She could hear the relief in his voice. She couldn’t see his expression because the room was dark.
She threw her arms around his neck and clung to him fiercely. “It was Ethan.”
“I know, but it was only a nightmare.” He held her close.
She shook her head as she pressed her face into his neck. She knew she ought to let go but she couldn’t. “No, it was a memory,” she whispered with a shudder that moved through her entire body. It was difficult to separate the dream from reality but the darkness was beginning to recede.
She let out a surprised squeak when Paul scooped her into his arms and held her against his chest. She gripped his shoulders. “What are you doing?”
“I’m taking you to my bed where I can keep an eye on you,” he stated firmly as he strode out of her room and into his.
Color flooded her cheeks as he set her down on the rumpled covers that he recently vacated. “This really isn’t necessary, Paul. I’m fine now. It was only a nightmare.” She felt self-conscious in her thin cotton nightgown. As she tried to scoot from the bed Paul blocked her path.
“Yes, and I’m sure the dream was triggered by today’s events. You’re living with a lot of anxiety and it’s wearing you out. I want you to stay in here and get a good night’s sleep. I’ll watch over you. I intend to prove to you that you can sleep peacefully in a man’s arms with
out feeling harmed or threatened. You have nothing to fear from me.”
“But it isn’t - well, it isn’t appropriate,” she hedged as she eyed him doubtfully. He might feel confident having her in bed with him but she felt flushed and awkward and didn’t know how she’d sleep a wink.
“This isn’t about sex, Liv,” he answered with a rueful smile. “There’s too much going on in your life to complicate matters more. You’ve been through enough. You don’t need to fend off my advances on top of everything else. When the time is right and you’re feeling secure, we’ll consider it. But for now I want you to know you can trust me. You need to feel safe, not just bodily but emotionally as well. So you’ll sleep on your side of the bed and I’ll sleep on mine. I’ll keep my hands to myself - but it won’t be easy,” he added with a wink.
It was the wink that set her at ease. “All right, you win,” she answered as she snuggled into bed. She allowed him to pull the covers up to her chin as she nestled her face into the pillow. It smelled like him, a smell she was beginning to associate with safety. She was glad he insisted she stay. She didn’t want to go back to sleep, especially in the other room where she was alone. The terror she felt still clung to the edges of her mind and she didn’t want to face the darkness.
