Page 32 of Marriage and Malice

I don’t know if I’m going to be able to sleep without nightmares.

“Zoe!”

I sit up in bed, sweat coating my skin.

My voice is hoarse from screaming, and the man with the gun is still standing in front of me even as Christian turns on the light.

His eyes are wild as he looks around the room before walking over to the bed.

My breathing comes in rapid bursts as I scramble backward on the bed, trying to make sense of everything going on around me.

“Zoe, it was just a dream. Everything is okay. It was just a dream.” Christian sits on the edge of the bed and takes my hand. “Listen to me, okay? It was just a dream. You’re safe and in bed. Just take some deep breaths and try to focus on the sound of my voice.”

“He was here.” My voice wavers. “He was here, and he was going to hurt me. You weren’t there to stop him this time. I was going to die.”

“You’re okay now.” He pulls me into his arms, holding me tight against his chest.

I should want to shove him away but instead, I cling to his shirt, trying to let the smell of his spicy-sweet cologne ground me. “It felt so real.”

“I know it did. Everything is going to be okay. That man is never going to be able to hurt you again.”

After a few minutes, I pull away from him, some of the fear fading from my body. I look around the room, noticing how dark it is despite the crack in the curtains.

“What time is it?” I ask, running my hand through my hair.

“Close to midnight. You slept through the entire day.” The corner of his mouth twitches. “I’m going to head to bed soon. Is there anything you need from me before I go? I can make you something to eat if you’re hungry.”

“Please don’t leave.” My voice is barely more than a whisper as I lean back against the headboard. “I’m not hungry, but I don’t want to be alone right now. Please don’t leave.”

He hesitates as he looks at me before stretching his legs out on the bed and leaning back against the pillows beside me. “I’ll stay.”

“Can you talk to me about something? Just distract me?”

He nods. “What do you want to talk about?”

“What did you spend your day doing?” I try my best to relax even though my mind is racing with everything bad that could happen to me right now.

“Just work things. Not that exciting. I have a couple different businesses I run and a trainyard I own to keep up with.”

“Tell me about that.” I glance to the windows before looking at the bottom of the curtains, half-expecting to see a pair of feet sticking out beneath them. “I want to know what you do for a living.”

As he begins to talk, I find myself melting back into the pillows.

I know that I’m safe with him, even if the rational part of my brain says I shouldn’t be.

Christian isn’t going to hurt me, that much I know is true.

It’s just everything else about him and my new life that I’m questioning.

9

CHRISTIAN

Zoe is already out of bed when I wake up the next morning.

I don’t remember falling asleep beside her, but I know I stayed up with her, talking about my various businesses until her soft snores filled the room.

Staying with her last night was a mistake. Staying with her in bed was an even bigger mistake.

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