Page 79 of Unbroken

It was weird to think, but his reaction was refreshing. When I’d been found, the cops acted like it was just another day. There was no outrage or anger for the woman who had been chained up in a basement for several months. And when my parents finally deigned to retrieve me from a few states over, they acted like it was a burden. Like I’d inconvenienced them by being kidnapped and traumatized.

Feeling and watching Devon’s anger felt good. He cared enough to be angry on my behalf.

“I know I haven’t told you, or anyone really, about the details?—”

“You don’t have to,” he said quickly, and I appreciated his sincerity.

“I know, but I want to tell you. If you want to hear it?” Wrapped in Devon’s arms, I wanted to open up. Suddenly, I wanted to tell him everything.

“I’ll always listen, Blake. Anything you want to tell me.”

I took a deep breath and let his masculine scent wash over me. “I don’t think now is exactly the time to rehash it all, but I just wanted you to know that he never touched me…like that. He never…”

My words tapered off, and I couldn’t find it in myself to voice the words. Hell, I couldn’t even think of them, because although it never happened, every time I heard his heavy steps on those wooden stairs, I thought,this is it. This is when it happens.

“Fuck,” he growled. “That doesn’t make it any better, but at least…”

Nodding my agreement, I sighed. “But right now, I’m really enjoying right now,” I muttered into his skin.

It took a minute or two, but I felt Devon eventually relax beneath me. His breathing steadied, and his heartbeat evened out. His calmness eased my own anxiety, and sleep creeped into the edge of my consciousness.

But I heard Devon whisper right before sleep took me. “I love right now.”

THIRTY-FIVE

Devon

I couldn’t becertain what woke me the next morning. At first, I thought it was the sunlight streaming through the open window and the voices the wind carried in with it. I glanced at the clock across the room and noted it was barely seven and people were already outside enjoying the warmer morning.

But then Blakely whimpered again, and I quickly realized it wasn’t the sun or the voices. It was the woman cradled in my arms that had startled me awake.

Her entire body was stiff, and I was suddenly on alert. There was a mirror next to the bed, leaning against the wall and perched on top of a long dresser. And although her back was pressed against my chest, I could see her reflection in the mirror.

My first thought was how beautiful she was, and then her expression morphed. She whimpered again, and her features twisted in pain. Propping up on my elbow, I smoothed a hand over her arm.

“Sweetheart,” I whispered, the pet name easily tumbling from my lips. I brushed the snake tattoo wrapping around her left wrist that was cradled near her chest. She whimpered again,and I could feel the pain of the sound in my chest. I readjusted behind her and pushed her hair back from her face.

Leaning forward, I pressed the softest kiss I could manage against the side of her head. When she leaped awake, she almost headbutted me, but I was half a second quicker.

She gasped, eyes wide and panic-stricken. Her eyes searched the room, and I saw the second she realized where she was and recognized me in the bed beside her. She took a deep breath and fell back into the pillows and onto my outstretched arm.

“Fuck,” she muttered.

I slowly lifted my hand to brush away a piece of hair stuck to her lip. I kept my hand there and clasped her cheek, stroking my thumb against her flushed skin.

“Stupid nightmares have been happening a lot recently,” she explained. “I never remember them afterward, but I wake up like this.” She motioned down her body and placed her hand on her chest. Even though I couldn’t feel it, I knew her heart had to be pounding.

“You never remember them?” It had been a while since I’d had my last nightmare, but I knew it was about Blakely. For months after she’d disappeared, I was plagued by nightmares. Not knowing what happened to her made my imagination go crazy.

She shook her head and covered my hand with her own. “No. I just wake up in a panic. I calm down eventually, but it takes me a while. And this time…” She didn’t finish her sentence, and her eyes drifted away from mine.

“What about this time?” I asked.

She rubbed her eyes and groaned. “It was a little worse, because…I felt you behind me.”

“Fuck,” I muttered, about to pull away and give her the space I thought she was asking for.

But her hands flew out and caught my shoulder, the other cupping my face. “No, no, don’t go anywhere. I’m okay now.” My eyes dropped to her lips as she caught the bottom onebetween her teeth. “Now that I know it’s you, I like this too much.”

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