So much blood. So damn much blood.
It grows sticky as it congeals, but the steak knife in my hand feels slippery, like it’s covered with oil. Blood trickles down from a corner of Andy’s mouth. It’s so wrong that a face that friendly and sweet hides an unspeakable monster inside. He sneers at me, his pale blue eyes burning.
“They’re taught a lesson. But too steady a diet of nice girls can get dull. They just lie there like corpses. The last four were like that. I might as well have broken into a damn morgue.”
Air catches in my throat. I have to press the panic button Tolyan gave me, or I’ll wish I were in a morgue.
Andy comes toward me, his unhurried steps somehow more threatening than a dash would be. I know I’m not leaving here until he’s on the floor, unable to get up.
“I love it that you fight. It would’ve been boring if you gave in like the other girls. I knew you wouldn’t be like them. Too much pride. That fucking Pryce pride.” A soft, hyena-like snigger. He runs the back of his hand over his mouth, swiping the blood trickling down from his busted lip. “It’s going to be so much more gratifying when I finally take what’s mine.”
His hand lashes out—connects with my cheek. A huff of air comes out in a pained gasp.
Half my face throbs. Being backhanded hurts so much more than I thought.
The marble floor is freezing as I crawl backward, my thin dress offering zero protection against the cold or the violence. My fingers brush against my purse, which Andy kicked away earlier. I plunge my hand inside and hit the button.
Then I wait, watching Andy coming closer, closer.
“He isn’t coming.” He laughs.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I say, my tongue thick and awkward in my mouth.
“Your savior knight. He isn’t coming.” He crouches in front of me, runs his hand down my undamaged cheek. “He left you for me. As a present.” He licks his lips, his tongue flicking like a reptile’s. “My precious prize.”
No!
I start awake, drenched in sweat, the sheets twisted and clammy around my body. The sound of my breathing is unnaturally loud. Squinting against the light coming in around the blinds, I look around, adrenaline still thrumming in my veins.
There’s nobody in the room except me, but the air’s too still. Even the waves seem quieter than usual.
My stomach drops half a foot. It’s the same nasty feeling I had before Grandma Shirley told me she was going to have Dominic arrested for rape…and when I went out for my third date with Andy.
The back of my neck bristling, I jump off the bed, put on my robe and rush downstairs. I’m just being paranoid. Nothing could’ve happened.
But I can’t shake the foreboding.
I shudder with relief when I spot Dominic in the kitchen, the coffee maker gurgling. See? Look at that. Nothing’s wrong.
He turns around. His gaze sweeps over me, and instantly, he pulls me into his arms, uncaring that I’m sweaty, my hair tangled like a madwoman’s.
“Are you all right?”
I nod jerkily, then do it again, more to reassure myself than to answer him. “Yes. I’m fine. Just a bad—terrible—dream.”
His arms tighten around me. “Wanna talk about it?”
“No.” It was a fragment of my past, and Dominic already knows about it. There’s no point in bringing it up again. “It’s just a dream.”
“Okay.” He runs a soothing hand along my hair, then down my back. “It’s okay. I got you.”
Only then do I realize I’m still shaking. God. I always thought I was good at hiding my feelings. Grandma Shirley taught me, but the time I spent with Dominic seemed to have undone a lot of her training, making me more exposed.
“I just had a bad feeling after waking up. I’m fine. Really.” But I don’t pull away. His body heat seeping into me feels too nice. The soft, comforting way he strokes me is somehow centering, bringing calm back into my heart.
“I know you’re all right. I just want to hold you, that’s all,” he whispers into my hair, his hand still moving up and down.
He continues to pet me until my tremors subside. Only then does he let me go and say, “Want some coffee?”