Page 204 of Redeemed

“Go to sleep, Haven.”

“I can’t.”

With a deep, annoyed breath, he turns in his chair to face me. “And why’s that?”

“How am I supposed to fall asleep when there’s an angry man in the room who’s hurt me before with little to no remorse?” I ask, and I see the silhouette of his body go stiff.

“I haveneverlaid a hand on you,” he snaps. “I’m not Colton.”

“That could change at any moment,” I whisper.

He winces, which confirms what I’ve thought for years. Someone used to hurt him. A bully, a family member, someone like that. And being compared to that person is the deepest wound someone could give him.

Lucas shuts his laptop, and the darkness swallows him whole. The only indicator of where he’s moving to is his footsteps on the carpeted floor.

I tense as I hear him crossing the room toward the bed. The mattress sags, and I realize Lucas is crawling onto it from the other side. I throw back the covers to scramble away, but his arm locks around my waist before I can.

“I’m sorry,” I blurt as I try to squirm out of his hold. “I didn’t mean—”

“I’m not going to hurt you, little fawn.” He pulls me closer until my back is pressed into his stomach and his body is cocooning mine in warmth.

Terror swirls through my mind. “But—but you—”

“I just want to help you relax.” He slips one arm underneath my head and pulls the blankets over me again with the other.

“How?!”

“Like this.” He plants a lingering kiss to the top of my head and strokes his hand down my body. “Just close your eyes.”

“But what if—” But I don’t want to say it. I don’t want to speak the idea of Lucas physically hurting me into existence.

“I’m not going to turn into him.” He squeezes my side in reassurance. “I’m nothing like him. Xander says so.”

“Like… Colton?”

“No. Someone much, much worse.”

I turn around so I’m facing him, even though I can’t make out his face. “Who?”

He hesitates before saying, “My dad. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him not angry. When he was at his worst—which was most of my childhood up until my mom left him—he’d turn violent. I took the brunt of it. Rora was so young. I didn’t want her anywhere near it.”

My stomach sinks. “That’s why you always have your back to a wall.”

I feel him nod. “I hated it when he managed to sneak up on me.”

“I did the same thing.”

His breath stutters, and then his arms tighten around me. “I’ll never hurt you like that, Haven. I swear on my life. I couldn’t do it.”

“Monsters with limits,” I mumble, chest aching.

He lets out an amused breath. “Sure. Something like that.”

“Do you think we could ever…” I press my lips together. I can’t ask that.

Stupid, stupid girl.

“Pick up where we left off?”

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