Page 43 of Sweet Possession
Tears welled in my eyes, and my hand flew to my throat as the needto rip the invisible chain away from me became too much.
“Dwayne…he…I can’t breathe,”I managed to choke out, the wordsburning as I gripped my throat.
Fox grabbed my hand, pulling it away from where I tried to break thechain, and placing it against his chest. His big palm covered the back of my hand as he held it where his heart was beating, and he placed his other hand on my chest, reassuring methathe was there.
He was there, and he wasn’t going to leave me to fight my demonson my own.
“Breathe with me, baby girl,”he said calmly, despite the worryreflecting in his eyes.“Feel the way my chest moves as we breathe in and out together. Knowthatyou’re here with me and you’re safe. I won’t let anyone hurt you, Cora.”
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
I concentrated on the steady rhythm of his chest rising and falling,allowing my breathing to fall into the same pattern. Slowly, the room began to come back into focus, along with the face of the man who was watching me with worry in his copper eyes.
“There you are,”Fox said tenderly after a few minutes of us breathingtogether passed by.“You had me worried, baby girl.”
“I’m sorry,”I whispered as the panic began to ebb away.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Cora,”Fox replied, dropping thehand pressed against my chest to cup my cheek again.“You want to tell me what happened?”
I swallowed, a thousand knife blades slicing my throat as I tried tofind the words while the image of Dwayne’s face danced in my head. But with Fox’s warm hand pressed against my cheek, reminding me he was there, I pushed it away.
“When I…when I was inthatplace, Dwayne, he made me strip offand shower in front of him, and he…”I took a breath and forced the rest of the words out.“He masturbated while watching me.”
“Motherfucker,”Fox hissed, his voice low and dangerous. He tuggedme into his arms, wrapping them around me and holding me to his solid chest as he stroked a soothing hand down my hair.“Fuck, baby girl. If I’d known he’d donethat, I would have castrated the cunt before I ended his life.”
I pulled back to look up at him, finding a muscle in his jaw ticking andhis eyes filled with rage. Not aimed at me though, it was as if he was stuck in his own memory, reliving the moment he killed Dwayne.
“How did he die?”I blurted, suddenly feeling the need to know howDwayne met his fate.
Fox didn’t answer right away. I wasn’t sure if he was giving himself aminute to calm the anger brewing in him, or if he was giving me a second to take back my question. Either way, I held his gaze, waiting for myanswer.
“I put a bullet in his head,”he said, his tone void of anyemotion.“And you know what his final words were?”
I shook my head, curious as to what a man like Dwayne would say inthe last few seconds of his life. Did he confess his sins and beg to whatever god was listening to forgive him? Or did he brag about what he’d done and all the hurt he caused?
“He cried. He pissed his pants and cried for his mom.”
I blinked up at Fox, allowing myself to picture Dwayne. Only he wasno longer my tormentor, the man who had once terrified me beyond belief. Instead, he was a feeble, scared, little boy, rocking in a corner as he cried for his mom.
I didn’t feel an ounce of sympathy for him.
“I’m glad he’s dead,”I said after a beat of silence passed between us.“He can’t hurt anyone else now. Ijustwish the thought of him didn’t make me feel like I’m back inthatshower.”
Now the panic attack was fading, disappointment was creeping in.Every time I’d showered in the last few weeks, I’d imagined Fox under the water with me, washing my body, his hand running over my breasts and between my legs.
And yet, when the opportunity for my fantasy to become a realityarose, I’d let the memory of Dwayne ruin it.
“You know, someone once told methatthe best way to deal with amemorythathaunts you is to take away its power,”Fox said, his head tilting to one side.“They said to facethatmemory head on and reclaim it. Change it into somethingthatmakes you feel the opposite of what it used to make you feel.”
“What do you mean?”I asked, my brows furrowing in confusion. NotthatI wanted to ever see Dwayne again, butevenif I wanted to face him, he was dead.
Fox was silent for a few seconds, lost in his thoughts.“Do you trustme, Cora?”he said, surprising me with the sudden question.
