Predator - A Stand Alone Suspense Romance(25)

Cara~

My head is pounding as hard as my heart. I feel drained of the little life I’ve managed to get back over the past few weeks.

I feel filthy.

Disgust swallows me in thick smutty swells.

I’ve been poisoned by their vulgarity and cruelty, and it’s killing me fast.

I’m not going to make it.

The car jerks to a stop and it only takes seconds for Damian to open my door. He yanks the seatbelt off and then he pulls me out of the car. My body feels numb as he presses me to him. My arms hang lifelessly next to my sides while his are steel clamps that are holding me so I don’t shatter to pieces.

“I’m sorry, Cara,” he whispers. When he picks me up, I’m thankful, because I can’t make my legs walk.

He moves fast and only once we’re in the house does he slow down. He kicks the door shut and then he sits down at the bottom of the stairs. He cradles me on his lap, and again, he holds me.

I rest my pounding head against his chest and fresh tears warm my cheeks. It feels like I’m going to explode but instead my voice is empty when I whisper, “It never stops.”

“Come on. Let’s get you in bed,” he says. He gets up, never letting go of me. My tears wet his shirt but I don’t care.

When he walks into my room, he doesn’t put the light on. The darkness is only broken by faint moonlight streaming in through the window. His movements are nothing like when he first found me. It doesn’t feel clinical anymore.

He sets me down on the side of the bed and then he walks over to the cupboard. I watch him take something out and then he comes back.

“Shirt off,” he growls, but the bite is gone again, and it makes him sound caring.

I take hold of the hem and I pause. Damian tilts his head. “Should I leave?”

I shake my head quickly and then strip the shirt off. He holds an old t-shirt out to me and I grab it, quickly yanking it on. It falls to just above my knees.

“Are you going to sleep in the skirt and boots?” he asks.

I quickly strip the skirt off and then the boots. Standing in front of him in only a shirt and panties makes me feel way too vulnerable.

“Get in bed,” he commands softly. I sit down on the edge of the bed and then scoot back. When he takes off his shoes and socks, my heart all but stops.

I make a strangled sound and somehow I manage to squeeze the words out. “You’re going to sleep by me?”

“Yeah, move over.”

When his shirt is halfway off, my breath slams into my throat. Half of his chest is covered with the same tribal marking I’ve been seeing on his arm. I get a full view of him and it looks like a claw is worked into the design coming from his shoulder and spreading over his chest, as if it’s ripping his flesh off.

He throws the covers back and sits down. He stretches his legs out and places a pillow behind his back, and then he leans back against the wall.

I move back a little more so there’s plenty of space between us. He stills when I move and I glance at his face for the first time since we got home.

His eyes are dark on me. He reaches out and then his fingers close around my arm. My stomach dips with uncertainty. “Come lie down, Cara. I’m just staying to make sure you’re okay. Come sleep.”

I inch a little closer and then lie down next to his side. I make sure we don’t touch as I curl into a small ball.

Seconds pass and then he brushes some hair from my face. “Sleep. You’re safe.”

His hand disappears but I keep my eyes wide open.

Minutes pass and not one of us breaks the silence. He doesn’t move and soon my eyes grow heavy. I’m physically and emotionally drained.

I lose the fight against sleep just like I’ve lost every other fight in my life.



Cara~

I wake up in that exact position, but there’s something heavy on me. Somehow Damian has folded his body around mine. I lie with eyes wide open, not sure how I feel about this.

“How do you feel?” he mutters into my hair. He sounds a little angry.

“Okay,” I whisper.

He gets up and leaves the room in his silent manner. I quickly glance over my shoulder and when I see the door is still open, I pull the covers over me and stretch my body out.

I finally drag myself out of bed around noon. I take a quick shower before I go down to the kitchen.

When I walk into the kitchen, Damian turns from where he’s standing by the back door. I feel his eyes on me.

Only when I’m done making myself some coffee do I hear him leave. Good! I need the silence. I can’t deal with anything right now.

The backdoor is still open and I go sit on the top step. I sip at the coffee while my eyes scan the backyard.

Since I had the panic attack it’s been harder to suppress the emotions. I keep smelling the piss and vomit. I keep hearing the lock being opened. I keep feeling them, not the punches and kicks – I feel their hands groping at me. I feel them inside of me and it makes everything in me cringe with disgust.

I feel filthy.

At first the sound doesn’t register. My heart rate spikes and the hair on my body rises slowly. The sound of the wheels crushing over the gravel outside finally registers. A car!

My legs move and I run for the attic. I don’t knock and slam the door open.

“A car.” The words are only a gasp. “There’s a car!”