Kian (Undercover Billionaire, #1)(12)

“Lily and I really should rest,” she told the brothers as she glanced at Lily, who was shifting in Kian’s arms.

“I agree,” Kian said intensely as he captured her gaze.

Roxie suddenly forgot about Kian’s brothers being in the room. The bolt of electricity sparking through her made her stress disappear, and her hormones light up. Maybe it was her wanting to forget her sorrow, and maybe it was the fact that she’d been refusing to think about her feelings for this man. She didn’t know and didn’t care. She suddenly wanted his lips on hers in a way she’d never thought she’d want again.

Lily stirred in his arms again, and that broke the spell between them. She looked away in relief, knowing there was certainly something wrong with her. Maybe more than she could ever possibly fix.

It was both with sadness and relief that she was led away from the Forbes brothers and into a room where the two of them tucked Lily into bed. She stood next to Kian, and all of the trauma from the past few weeks began to truly sink in. Her body trembled as she looked at Lily, who let out a sigh as she turned over in bed, clutching her favorite stuffed pink horse.

“She’s strong,” Kian said, pure awe in his voice.

“Yes, she’s been through far too much already,” Roxie told him.

“We can do this,” he assured her.

Tears dripped down Roxie’s cheeks. He’d said “we” not “I”—not just him. She wanted it to be just her, or did she? She wasn’t sure of anything right now but the need to clear her head. She didn’t say anything more to him.

After another couple of minutes, he led her from the room. The two of them shared one more intense look before she shut her own bedroom door and leaned against it, letting a few more tears fall before she stood strong.

Tomorrow would be a new day. She’d be much stronger then, she assured herself.





Chapter Six

Dreams could be wonderful, or they could be terrifying. Because Roxie had always dreamed in color, which she was assured was a rare thing, hers were so much more real than the dreams of others. She also rarely tried to fight her dreams. She chose to go on the adventures her brain took her on.

Stirring in her unfamiliar bed, Roxie wanted to fight the dream she was currently having. She didn’t want to face the reality her emotions were causing her to face when she needed a dose of fiction instead.

Tonight’s dream was making her stir restlessly in bed. She tried pulling herself from the dream, but it was so real, so burdensome, she couldn’t get away from it. Her sister was at the end of a dark road, reaching out to her, calling Roxie’s name.

No matter how fast Roxie ran toward her, she couldn’t catch her. Then, from a small opening in the wall, a huge man stepped out, a bloody knife in his hand. Roxie screamed at her sister to run as the man drew nearer, but Pam couldn’t hear her, couldn’t see the man coming up behind her.

Suddenly he reached out from behind her, one hand gripping Pam’s throat as the other one—the hand with the sharp blade in it—lifted high before arcing down.

With a scream, Roxie ripped herself from sleep as she sat straight up in the bed, her heart thundering, her body trembling. She was in a panic as she called out Pam’s name, her feet trapped within the blankets.

“Pam! Run!” Roxie was between sleep and wakefulness, and the panic wasn’t fading.

When a light shone beneath her doorway, it only amplified her confusion. The door burst open and was filled with the shadow of a huge man, and Roxie screamed again. Pain and fear rolled through her as she searched for her sister.

“Run, Pam!” Roxie called again.

The man stepped into the room, and Roxie tried to untangle her feet and get away. She had to run, had to get away, had to save her sister and her niece.

“No!” she shouted as the man sat on the edge of her bed and reached for her.

“Roxie, it’s okay, it’s just a dream. Roxie, it’s me,” the man said. The calming timbre of his voice wasn’t computing in her brain. When he reached for her, she clawed at him as she tried to scoot away.

“You need to wake up, Roxie. Wake up!” he said more forcefully as his hands grasped on to her shoulders and shook her.

“No!” Roxie cried again.

“Roxie!” His sharp word along with the hard shake of her body finally pulled her awake.

Roxie stopped moving as she focused on the hands holding on to her and the voice of Kian as he whispered soothing words. She began shaking as tears poured down her cheeks. She called out Pam’s name, horrific sadness invading her.

Kian pulled her into his arms and continued comforting her, but Roxie felt as if she was beyond comfort. She should have been there for her sister, should have spent more time trying to get to know the woman she’d become. Now she would never have that chance.

“Roxie, it’s okay, I’m here,” Kian told her, his hands rubbing gently up and down her back. “I’m right here.”

Roxie clung to Kian as she focused on the feel of his hands, on the sound of his voice. Something within her shifted as she felt the fogginess of her dream begin to fade. It had been so long since she’d been held, so long since she’d felt anything other than pain.

“Talk to me, darling,” Kian said.

Roxie buried her head against his neck as she inhaled his tangy scent. Then, without much conscious thought, she kissed his throat, her tongue sweeping out and licking the pulse that suddenly began to beat faster.