Page 15 of Out of My Flocking Mind

“You being attacked was my fault.”

“Pretty sure you didn’t do it.” I paused, a nagging concern I couldn’t quite identify refusing to go away. “You didn’t do it, right?”

He tilted his head as though he couldn’t make sense of my words.

“I mean, you did show up both times I was attacked, and you are a Mind, right? So, you didn’t do it, did you?”

He blew out a slow breath as though I were a lot to deal with. “No, Grey, I did not attack you. I am apologizing because I never thought you would be targeted. You told me what the attacker said, and I disregarded that. For that reason, you being attacked a second time is my fault.”

I waved my hand at him to dismiss his worries. “Please. I get attacked often enough that it’s hardly anyone’s fault. You can’t take that on your shoulders.”

“Regardless—you are being targeted by someone who is under my command. That makes me responsible. If he has attacked you twice, I see no reason he wouldn’t make a third attempt. For that reason, you should remain here. Under my protection, you will be safe.”

“What happened to the whole—I am an island, I must live alone—thing?”

“You do not appear to be affected by my powers. I can’t read your mind or feel your emotions and you don’t react to my feelings. You seem to be perhaps the only person who can remain this close to me.”

I pursed my lips as I thought about it. That was almost some weird romantic notion, like fate had bound us. Maybe it had? Fate was one random ass bitch, after all.

“What if I don’t want to stay?” I asked.

“I won’t force you. You can leave if you wish. However, there is a very good chance that you will be attacked again if you do. Given your reaction this time, I suspect you’d rather that not happen?”

I snorted at his high and mighty tone. “You know I have other friends, too, right? You’re not my only option.”

“Actually, I am. Minds attack in a way that other Spirits cannot defend against. A vampire or a werewolf or a justice or even a druid could do nothing to keep you safe. However, no Mind is stronger than I am, and I would immediately sense them before they even got close. Also, this one has fled from me twice, so I doubt they’ll approach while I am here.”

I exhaled in a quick rush, feeling entirely outmaneuvered. “Fine,” I said when I could come up with no other option. He was right that I didn’t want to experience that hell again, so I lacked any actual choice.

Harrison nodded, then rose, reminding me he was taller than I realized. “I expect that I will handle this issue within the month, at which point you can return to your old place and your normal life. Until then, I will try to make this as easy a process as possible. You must be tired—and still drunk—so follow me to your room.”

I did as he said, because it was far from the first time I’d had to be put to bed to sober up. Of course, it wasn’t usually in a strange house with a man who probably wasn’t going to sleep with me.

This was shaping up to be a really fucking boring sleepover.

* * * *

He was touching me everywhere. It made me want to scream, but nothing came out of my mouth, fear tightening my throat. I shoved, but he grabbed my wrists and held them in a single hand, making me curse the fact that men were so much stronger.

The sharp edge of his belt buckle dug into my thigh since he hadn’t removed his pants. This wasn’t important enough for him to do that. So instead of bare skin against mine, it was just rough cloth and droplets of sweat.

“Relax, Grey,” he whispered. “Just let it happen.”

Just accept it. Just do what I was supposed to. Stop being so difficult. I’d heard it all my life, the vicious words that had carved out so much of my soul.

“Grey,” the voice repeated, the tone slightly different. I shook my head and tried to push away both the man and the voice. The calling of my name went on, shifting from that breathless, vile, lust-filled voice to a more familiar one, though the edge of panic was new.

“Grey!” That last shout got through, and I bolted upright.

I stared around, having no idea where I was for a long moment. Light streamed in through a window, the warmth of it a nice way to wake—my racing heart aside.

On the other side, standing next to the bed, was Harrison with a strange expression on his face. Fuck, I didn’t know his face could do that. Normally he had little to no emotion, so bad that he reminded me of older women who paralyzed their faces to the point they couldn’t move them anymore. Maybe that was why the way he looked at me was even more startling than my nightmare.

“What a way to wake up,” I muttered, leaning forward on the bed to catch my breath.

“You were crying and whimpering,” Harrison said. “Why?”

“What, you’ve never heard of a nightmare?”

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