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He grabbed his bowl and started eating again, his eyes glued to the TV despite the red tint to his face. He knew he should combat his anger when he was around me. When it came to arguments, I usually won. And Christopher knew I was too stubborn to change my mind about most things.
Hank grabbed me by the throat and squeezed my windpipe so hard I couldn’t breathe.
“Let go of me!” I fought back, kicking and throwing my arms down.
He hiked up my dress and separated my thighs with his knees. “I’m gonna fuck you until you cry, sweetheart.”
“Stop!” I threw my arms forward and pushed as hard as I could.
I jumped upright in bed and opened my eyes, seeing my dark and empty bedroom. The door was shut and locked, and the faint sound of traffic could be heard in the distance. I clutched my chest as I breathed through the agony. “Just a dream…just a dream.” The hot tears were warm on my face, and I snatched my phone off the nightstand and called the first person who came to mind.
Calloway answered immediately. “Sweetheart, everything alright?”
I couldn’t slow down my breathing, couldn’t stop the panic inside my chest. “I had a nightmare… Hank…he…” I didn’t want to say the words out loud. Once I did, they would become even more true.
Calloway shuffled in the background like he was moving. “It’s okay. He’s at his apartment. One of my guys just checked in with me.” The sound of moving keys and then the door opening and closing came to my ear. “You’re safe.”
I pulled my knees to my chest as I sat alone in the dark, clinging to Calloway’s strong voice for comfort. “Where are you?”
“I was at home. I just left.”
I knew exactly where he was going, but I didn’t object. I was still upset, still terrified.
Ten minutes of silence passed. I didn’t want to go into details about my dream because they were irrelevant. They would just work me up even more. I hadn’t had a dream like that in a really long time. Now I realized how much I took for granted. When I slept with Calloway every night, I never had a restless night of sleep. I always slept like a baby.
“I’m outside.”
I stared at my bedroom door before I got up and walked to the front of the apartment, the phone still pressed to my ear. I checked the peephole just in case, even though that seemed pointless. The memories of the nightmare were still fresh in mind, and I couldn’t shake the feeling of terror.
I unlocked the door and opened it.
Calloway hung up and placed the phone in the pocket of his jeans. Instead of a hard expression that I couldn’t read, his features were as easy to decipher as the words of a children’s book.
He stepped inside without waiting to be invited and circled his arms around my body. The second his powerful body was wrapped around mine, I felt absolutely safe. Nothing could touch me, nothing could hurt me.
I buried my face in his chest and closed my eyes, realizing how much I missed the way he smelled. It was such a simple trait, but I definitely took it for granted. My hands bundled together against his stomach, and I concentrated on the way he breathed, doing my best to match it.
Calloway held me that way for a few minutes before he shut the door and locked it behind him. He took my hand and guided me to my bedroom where my mattress sat, the sheets a mess from the way I’d convulsed during my nightmare.
He pulled his shirt over his head and dropped his jeans, his powerful body just as strong as I remembered. His pecs were large, and his tight stomach led to a V at his hips. He was still the sexiest man I’d ever seen in my life.
He got into bed and pulled me with him, cuddling with me like no time had passed. One arm sat around my waist, while the other rested in the crook of my neck. My leg was pulled over his hip and across his waist. He was soft underneath his boxers, not interested in sex. His chin was thick with hair since he hadn’t shaved in a week. The usual brightness in his eyes was no longer there either. “As long as I’m breathing, no one can hurt you, sweetheart.” Although his face was just inches from mine, he didn’t lean in to kiss me.
And I wanted him to kiss me. “I know.”
He leaned in and pressed his lips to my forehead, giving me the kind of embrace I didn’t want. It was soothing and warm, full of love and affection. It gave me shivers and left me wanting more. “Good night.”
