Page 19 of Sweet Possession
Istartled awake, a choked gasp escaping me as the silhouettes of themen who’d been haunting me faded away into the shadows. With my hands shaking, and my heart pounding, I sat up and let my gaze roam around the luxurious bedroom as it came into focus.
There was no one there.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
It was just a dream.
I squeezed my eyes closed in a bid to shake the lingering images ofDwayne and my dad coming for me. Was this what my life would be like now? A constant fear hanging over methatone day, I’d be snatched off the street and returned tothatwarehouse to be sold again?
But as the question circled in my head, a little voicewhispered aname.
Fox.
He promised me he’d never let anyone hurt me again, and I wantedto believe him, Ireallydid. But I couldn’t ignore the part of methatstill doubted him, still believed he was lulling me into a trap, and one day he’d break every promise he’d made and hurt me worse than anyone else ever had.
I guessed only time would tell, and in the meantime, I’d have to keepmy wits about me. Which, I suspected, was going to be easier said than done.
I’d enjoyed spending time with him this morning. He was easy to talkto, and when I spoke, he looked like he was hanging on to my every word. It was a strange feeling. Aside from Mrs. Tucker, my neighbor who’d taught me how to cook, no one had everreallylistened to me.
And when he gave me a tour of the house and acted the way he didwhen I said I couldn’t swim, I knew in a heartbeatthathe’d suffered some kind of trauma in his past.
He’d frozen on the spot, blood draining from his face. When heasked me to promise himthatI wouldn’t go near the pool without him, I heard the raw pain in his voice. It had made me want to touch him, to offer him comfort in the way he’d comforted me from the minute he picked me up.
So, yeah. Keeping my guard up was going to be hard when Fox wasalready beginning to burrow his way under my skin.
Sighing, I got out of bed, realizingthatdusk had fallen. I’d slept mostof the afternoon away, and if it hadn’t been for the nightmare, I could’ve slept for the rest of the night.
But now I was awake, my stomach growled, reminding methatIhadn’t eaten anything since the pancakes this morning. I quickly showered, washing away the sweat coating my body, thanks to the nightmarethatwas still hovering in the deepest corner of my brain.
Once I was dry, I dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a white tanktopthatSavannah had given me, and made my way downstairs, hoping Fox wouldn’t mind me making some toast for dinner.
As I reached the last few steps, voices echoed from the living room. Irecognized Savannah and Fox’s voices, but the third was someone I hadn’t heard before. I assumed it was Nash, and a pang of unease shot through me, not knowing who he was, or what the three of them were doing.
“Hey, you’re awake,”Fox said, appearing from the doorway before Ihad time to convince myself to run back to my room and hide.
The sight of him made my heart start racing, and my mouth dried inan instant. I hadn’t let myself acknowledgejusthow handsome Fox was as my gaze involuntarily swept over his muscular body.
“Hey...I’m sorry I slept so long,”I replied, my cheeks heating.
“Baby girl, you don’t have to apologize for being tired. If you need tosleep,thensleep,”he replied, giving me a soft smile.“How are you feeling now?”
Why did I like him calling me baby girl so much? It made me feelsomething I’d never felt before.
Treasured.
The little voice telling me to keep my guard up faded to a faintwhisper.
“I’m good,”I replied, before adding,“Actually, I’m a little hungry.”
“Wellthen, good job dinner has arrived.”He held out his hand forme, and I hesitated for only a second, but meeting his eyes, finding them filled with warmth, I took it.
The second our palms connected, tingles shot up my arm, the sameway they’d sparked to life whenever he touched me earlier.
Ignoring my sudden onset of confusion over a simple touch, Foxgently pulled me toward the living room.
“Happy Birthday!”Shouts from Savannah and another man I’d nevermet before nearly made me jump out of my skin. If it wasn’t for Fox holding my hand and steadying me, I would have bolted for the front door.
I cast my eyes around the living room, growing more bewilderedwhen my gaze landed on a hand-painted banner hanging on a wall. It took me a few seconds to understand the words written on it.
