Page 4 of The Predator

I’ll message him back later. With a chuckle, I shove my phone back into my pajama pants. There’s no way in hell I’m going to run around the forest with Lee, not when I’ve got the most beautiful girl in the world in my bed waiting for me.

The reminder gets my brain going once more. Maybe I should wake her up, show her my appreciation all over again. She’ll be sore, but I’ll be gentle.At least this time.

The thought alone gives me the encouragement I need to finally go inside the room. The warmth hits me first and my gaze lingers on the trail of clothes, followed by towels, and dirt. I don’t even try to suppress my smile as I cross the dark room, with only the light of the fireplace guiding me.

Last night was unexpected but everything I needed. I can’t believe I fought for so long against the inevitable. That’s over now. I won’t be fighting against what we have. Not when I’ve barely gotten a taste of what’s to come. Oh no. Ely is mine. All mine.

Once I reach the edge of the bed, I curl my leg up and slide against the sheets, reaching for her. At first, I only find the soft sheets. I try not to panic, but I can feel the alarm building in my throat. I shift my hands around anxiously, but there’s nothing but bedding.

Dread chokes me when I grab the blankets in a big wad and toss them to the floor.

The bed is empty. I scan the dark room for my missing piece, but she’s not here.

“Elyse?” I whisper her name, the word a prayer.

My gaze swings around the room, stopping at the bathroom door. Of course. She’s probably using the bathroom. My shoulders sag in relief. I cross the room and rip the bathroom door open, my heart sinking into my stomach.

The light’s off, and there’s no Elyse..

I try to focus around my swirling emotions.

Where the hell did she go?

Immediately my mind rockets another way.She left. She fucking left me.Anger ripples across every nerve ending in my body.

Oh Ely, you have no idea the mistake you’ve made.

I didn’t lie when I said there was no going back. I smile grimly, looking down at my hands. By the time I’m finished with her she’ll be begging for mercy.

CHAPTER 2

ELYSE

I’m always so cold when I have these dreams. The chill is bone deep, threatening to freeze me from the inside out. It's the perfect backdrop to the pain radiating through my limbs. My shoulder twitches from the phantom bullet inside it, the one embedded deep in the muscle memory.

No matter how many times I have this nightmare, it's the cold keeping me from seeing all the pieces of the puzzle. My brain temporarily freezes, locking me out, barring me from seeing the truth.

The longer I focus on it, the more it changes, the edges becoming hazy.

Sinking deeper into the dream, my eyes catch on the glittering crystal of something above me…a chandelier? It's lovely but nothing like home, nothing like the house I grew up in, or the room where I was beaten over and over and over.

The dream feels real, like I'm experiencing it for the first time. I'm so close to the end of that night, so close to seeing what really happened, to filling in all the blank spots in my memory.

A shadow moves back and forth in the crystal light. A darkness breaking up the infinite gleaming light.

The cold breaks, and warmth wraps around me like a heavy balm. Hands cup my cheeks, then the back of my neck. I sigh.

Sebastian. Sebastian.

This is a dream. A nightmare shifting into a better light.

I’m tempted to curl into the warmth, to have it chase away the lingering cold, but I don't. I can’t. Not until I see his face.

The dream bursts like a bubble popping. A sharp burst of pain slaps against my cheek, and I gasp, my eyes fluttering open. An onslaught of sensations crashes into me all at once.

The bruises and cuts from last night ache, and the heat in the room is almost sweltering. Beads of sweat slip down between my breasts. Under my ripped T-shirt, Sebastian’s shirt, that I snatched off the bed.

I rear back, hitting the hard edge of a wooden chair with my shoulder blades and crushing my hands, bound behind me, with my own weight.

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