Page 53 of Fiercely Protective

As soon as the words left my mouth, he pushed inside me again. Any protest I would have formed was lost in the haze of lust that descended upon me as he fucked me again. The man was insatiable and I …was lost.

Chapter Twelve

Rogue

“No! Don’t touch me!”

The panic and terror in Bri’s voice woke me from a dead sleep and I reached for the pistol that I kept under my pillow.

“Get off me! Stop! No!”

She was thrashing about in her sleep, sweat beading on her forehead. I reached out to touch her, and her fists pounded against my chest as if she were fighting off an attacker.

“Angel! Wake up, it’s me.”

Tears streamed down her cheeks; her eyes still closed, fighting off an invisible demon in the hell she was trapped in. I grabbed her wrists and pinned them to her sides.

“Baby, it’s ok. You’re safe. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”

She was sobbing now. I pulled her into my arms and held her, my hand caressing her back in slow calming circles. At first, she resisted the comfort I was trying to give, but her body soon began to relax against me.

“Shh, it’s alright, love. Wake up and look at me, baby. You are safe with me.” I softly kissed her forehead. “Whatever monster has hurt you; I will destroy it.”

Her sobs softened to sniffles, her body clinging to me as she came back to the present. It took some time for herto completely relax and breathe normally again. She was still holding on tight to me but no longer shaking and her sobbing had stopped. She raised her head, her beautiful eyes swollen and red-rimmed from crying. I pushed back her hair and cupped her cheek.

“How often do you have nightmares, sweetheart?”

She tried to pull away, but I refused to release her.

“They aren’t as common as they once were. I’m sorry that I woke you. I haven’t had one like this in a long time. I guess after talking to Allison and knowing that Tony is in Chicago looking for me triggered something. I thought it was over, but I don’t know if it will ever be over.”

I kissed the top of her head as I held her, hoping to reassure her. “You no longer need to fear him. You are mine now, my wife, and I will protect you. Let me defeat your demons, fight your dragons. Trust me to do whatever it takes to save you, to protect you.”

She sniffed again and I positioned us so I could hold her as she leaned against my chest, hoping she would be able to get some sleep tonight.

I didn’t ask her to explain, but when her fears started pouring out of her, I listened.

“The dreams are always the same. I see his face and I run, but he always catches me. It’s almost as if I can feel him hitting me. I hear the sound of him ripping my clothes, sometimes it is paralyzing. I can’t move or fight back, other times, like tonight, I fight with all I have only to have him hit me until I can’t breathe.”

She snuggled closer, laying her head against my chest, her hand resting over my heart. “The nightmares started once I was released from the hospital. For months I relived the events of that night. There were times that I thought I would never be free of the fear and pain, but after being in Chicago for a few weeks, they started to become less frequent, but now…” Her voice broke. “He’s back.”

I rolled her to her back, then positioned myself so that I hovered over her. “Baby, I will find him, and I will end this. I will take away all your fears.”

I leaned forward and kissed her lips softly. They were still a little swollen from the hours of sex we had before she fell asleep in my arms.

“I fought him that night and I fought the fear afterward. I didn’t want what happened to me to make me weak, to make me hide from the world. But I don’t think you can save me from him, I can feel it. He will find me. I had no connections, no friends, nothing in Chicago. That’s why I came here, but he still found me. Eventually, I will have to face him again.”

“You must trust me, darling. He hasn’t come up against a force like me, protecting what is mine. He isn’t a real man. He might have felt strong fighting against you, but I promise you, I will bring him to his knees. He will tremble in fear and know true terror before I send him to the devil. I will be your vengeance, Angel. I will be his reckoning as I am your salvation. That’s one of the reasons I dragged you to that gala tonight. I want everyone to know. I want him to know the fury I will unleash upon him if he dares to hurt you. I want him to already be watching his back, knowing that I am coming for him and that there isn’t a damn thing he can do to stop me.” I wrapped my arms around her andheld her close. “And when I am done and you come to accept that you are fully mine, he will no longer haunt your dreams.”

She didn’t argue or contradict me. But I could feel the wetness from her tears on my chest. Eventually, she did fall back asleep, but I lay awake staring at the ceiling, listening to her breathing gradually getting deeper, her body more relaxed. I continued to hold her close so that if her nightmares returned, I could quickly wake her before she had to relive the terror again. But as I lay there in the darkness holding her soft sweet body against mine, I was calculating every way I would make this man suffer. He would pay dearly for what he had done to her, and I was the man that would collect that debt.

Bri

My arms stretched out in the large bed and met nothing but cool sheets. I sat up quickly and seeing that I was alone, a little bit of panic coursed through me. The memories from last night came back to me. I remembered the nightmare, the way Rogue had held me, kissed me, and spoken soft words to calm me. Now I was alone, and the fear began to settle back in the pit of my stomach. I sat up, pulled the sheet over my body, and searched the room for any sign of Rogue. Had he left me? Had he decided that I was too damaged, too much of a burden to put up with? I was about to get up from the bed when the door opened, and Rogue walked back inside wearing a pair of blue sweatpants and nothing else. His chest was bare, and I could see a few of the places where I had bitten him last night during our frenzied lovemaking My cheeks heated as the images of what I had done and allowed him to do came to mind.

“Good morning. I thought I would let you sleep in since you had a restless night.”

I watched as he came farther into the room. “I’m sorry about that. If you would allow me to sleep in the other room, I wouldn’t disturb you.”

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