Page 45 of The Gilded Cuff
Icy water, the thick cold sponge raking over his skin. The piercing sunlight so sharp and painful after hours in the darkness.
“The worst part was at night.” His skin crawled from the mere recollection.
“What happened then?” Sophie’s eyes were wide, full of sorrow and worry. The emotions swirled like blue clouds over the silver of her eyes.
“The bugs and rats came. Cockroaches got under our clothes, rats crawled over us while we tried to catch a minute or two of sleep.”
Tiny paws scampered over his bare arm, the squeak of a rat shocked him and the painful pinch of tiny teeth sank into his forearm.
A scream tore from his throat. Fenn grabbed his arm, hushing him.
“S’okay, Emery,” he murmured. “Did it bite you?”
“Uh-huh,” Emery replied in a half-whimper.
“It’ll be okay. I’ll watch for them. Go back to sleep.”
Even though it was too dark to see his brother, he found Fenn’s hand and clasped it in his own, the touch a simple and vital reassurance. They were together.
“I got bit. A lot. After…after I got home, they took me to the hospital. The doctors were worried about infections and I remember getting several shots.”
He shuddered at the memory of the way the hospital nurse had jabbed the needles repeatedly into his skin without warning. He’d cried. Cried for his mother, his father, for Fenn. He hadn’t been able to stop. And when he’d finally run out of tears and was only sucking in ragged breaths, he’d been forced to stay all night in the sterile hospital room. His mother had curled up around him on the hospital bed, holding him, while his father had slept next to him in a chair. Even though he’d been safe, he hadn’t slept a wink that first night. It was only when dawn arrived, washing the room out with its glow, that he’d drifted off to sleep and slept for nearly two days without waking.
“Don’t drift away from me.” Sophie cupped his face in her hands, her elbows resting on his upper chest. “Keep talking, but don’t let the memories drag you back.”
Her request sounded so easy, but it was impossible. He could no sooner stop the tides from pulling the sea out each night.
“We’ve opened a can of worms, Sophie. I’ve spent years trying to bury these memories. You wanted them; now you’ve got them.” He hadn’t meant to snap at her, but his reply came out clipped.
Her flinch made his chest ache with regret. Determined to apologize, he curled his hands around her wrists just beneath her cuffs, his thumbs stroking the delicate skin of her inner arms, where he could feel the rapid fire of her pulse.
“I’m sorry. It’s not easy to relive this. When I was a kid I convinced myself it was just a story, that all that happened wasn’t really tome. But telling you…it brings it right back inside me. Ican’tstay distant.”
Her lashes dropped, spiking over her cheeks as she closed her eyes. She sighed. “I know how you feel.”
He laughed bitterly. “You don’t. People always think they understand. They don’t.”
Her lashes flared up, revealing aggressive gray eyes. “Actually, I do.”
“What?” He tightened his grip on her wrists.
“I guess you haven’t read the file that Cody gave you?”
Emery blinked. “No. Not yet. Why?”
“Well, you should. It’s a real pager turner.” Sophie tugged her wrists free and rolled off him. The second her feet hit the floor, she walked away from him.
The instinct to chase her down was strong, but his mistrust got in the way, kept him where he was. He sat up and rested his elbows on his knees as he watched her.
Sophie paced the length of the library, her gaze taking in the room.
“This place is so beautiful. Every room is like something out of a fairy tale.” She stopped before a shelf by one wall where a gilded picture frame sat. Inside was a picture of Emery, Fenn, and Brant. Brant stood in the middle, his arms locked around their necks in a fake chokehold. At eighteen, he’d been older and stronger, and he’d always pushed his younger cousins around.
Thankfully Brant had outgrown his headlock phase. Of course now he was all about creating deadlocks with the company board. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. Damn. Today was a string of disasters between the meeting with Brant, the fire at the stables, finding Fenn’s shoe. A moment of peace with this unique and haunted woman. That was all he wanted.
He focused on Sophie, tracking her every move. Her breasts bounced just the slightest bit as she set the frame down and walked back a few steps. Hunger for her, for the pleasure she could give them both, made his body taut.
“Sophie, come here,” he commanded.
