Page 68 of Tamed By You

“Relax, she’s away visiting a friend. I live with her when I’m here, but this apartment is huge, so I rarely see her.”

I must look like a deer caught in the headlights because he walks towards me, smoothing his hands up and down my arms.

He chuckles. “Relax, she’ll love you. I’d like you to meet her.”

I swallow the lump in my throat.Meet his sister? He wants me to meet his sister?

My walls are instantly back up and I do what I do best. I push his buttons. “I feel like you have brought me here under false pretenses. I was promised mind-blowing sex, not a family reunion.”

“Oh, you will get plenty of that,” he tells me, wrapping his arms around me and walking us backward to the couch.

“Starting now.”

The warm spring breeze blows through my hair as I skip through the long grass, running my hands over the sharp tips of the greenery. My eyes never leaving her, always watching. I try to catch up with her, but I can’t. I call for her, but she doesn't respond, she just keeps running.

“Wait, wait for me.” I pick up my pace. She’s moved between the trees now and I can’t see her anymore, just a flash of white.I gather my long lilac gown and head for the trees. I run so fast the branches from the overhanging trees scratch at my bare chest.

I call for her again, but she doesn't answer. I can't see her. A heavy weight thuds in my chest, a crushing weight that slows me down. I try to push against it, fight it, but the weight only gets heavier. The trees now sting my skin, but I don’t give up. I have to get to her.

My legs feel like lead as I drag them across the ground.

It’s getting harder to breathe, harder to see, harder to speak.

I call her name again, but it hurts like I’ve swallowed a hundred razor blades.

A flash of white flashes before me and I see her.

I call for her again and watch as she disappears into the ground. I try to scream, but it’s muffled. I try to move, but my legs are stuck. I fall to the floor and drag my body to the spot where she disappeared.

I need to get to her; I need to save her.

I dig my nails into the hard ground, pulling myself up. It’s almost impossible to breathe now. A sharp sting shoots through me. I scream and suddenly fall, spiraling into a black hole. I fight to cling to something, anything that will keep me from falling, but there’s nothing. The sting is now an unbearable burn. All I can do is give in and fall, praying that we are both falling to Wonderland.

“Ali… Ali, wake up.”

Large hands land on my arms.

“Get off me, get off me.” A strangled scream echoes around the room, one full of pure terror, and I realize it’s mine.

“Baby, you're okay, you're okay. It's me.”

I open my eyes and they widen, my breathing erratic as I clutch the comforter to my burning chest. I take in mysurroundings: large wooden bed, dark walls, and gray carpets. This isn't my room. Then it hits me: I’m in London with Harry, and he’s just witnessed the one thing I have tried to keep hidden from him.

“Ali, baby, are you okay? Here, have some water.” He hands me a glass and my shaky hands take it. I gulp every drop, welcoming the wetness soothing my dry throat.

What the hell, why am I having another nightmare?

I gasp, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand and running my other hand through my tangled hair. My shirt feels damp against my clammy skin.

Shit, that was a bad one.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asks, concern in his voice.

I shake my head. “No, I’m, I’m sorry, it must be the jetlag. I sometimes have bad dreams when I haven't slept enough. It’s nothing.”

Harry eyes me curiously, but he doesn't push and I'm grateful for that. I excuse myself to freshen up in the bathroom.

I stare at my reflection in the mirror and flick on the faucet, splashing my damp face with cold water, trying to wash away the memory of what just happened. That familiar heaviness in my chest comes back and I rub my palm across my chest, feeling a sting as I do. I look down.

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