Page 13 of In Her Shadow

I’m here, right beside her, I can make her feel better…at least I hope I can.

“Eloise, wake up. You're just dreaming.” I shake her a little harder, but I still get no response; she just makes more painful expressions as her sick, twisted memories play out inside her head.

“Hey, you're not there anymore, you're here. You're with me.” I climb over her body and take her wrists in my hands,pinning them behind her head. “You're mine now, remember?” I growl into her ear, hoping my voice will chase away her nightmares and bring her back to me.

Slowly, I start to move my body against hers, kissing her skin, and it doesn’t take too long for her body to start to relax. “That’s right, come back to me,” I whisper. Her eyes are still tightly closed like she’s scared to open them, but I know she can hear me.

“It’s me, you're safe now. They can’t hurt you,” I assure her.

I’ve always been so desperate to be the person who gets to comfort her, to be the person she wakes up to who makes everything better. I was so sure I’d spend forever tormented by just having to watch her suffer, but now I’m here, in her life, up close, and touching.

I can never go back to having that distance between us.

I hook my fingers into her panties and slide them to the side, clearing a path for my cock and as I slowly push back inside her, the satisfied little moan she makes assures me that I’m giving her what she needs.

“Mine, Eloise. They’re dead, they can’t hurt you,” I remind her. Steadily thrusting inside her and watching the pain on her face turn into something else.

“Ren.” She opens her eyes and smiles as if she’s relieved to see me. I’ve been saving this girl her whole life, and never once have I wanted any gratitude for it. This smile, right here, as I fuck her out of one of her nightmares is all the gratitude I’ll ever need.

“You hear me, don’t you? They’re dead, they can’t hurt you.” I repeat my words, making sure they stick.

“How do you know that?” she whispers, blinking back tears.

“Because I know everything about you, Eloise Meadows, Everything.” I kiss her clammy forehead and close my eyes. She’snot ready to know that the reason I know those assholes are dead is because I ended them myself. I don’t think she ever will be.

“Why does that not surprise me?” She’s still wearing that smile when I pull back to see her face again. Knowing she’s not taking anything to stop her from getting pregnant makes me even more determined to make sure it happens. It’s not right of me to lie to her, but obsession can do things to a man that he’s not proud of. I have to ensure that I keep her somehow. I can’t go back to being the guy who just watches her. A long time ago, Eloise filled the empty void inside me, and now I’m going to fill the empty void inside her. She’ll be mine to breed, mine to take care of, and mine to worship.

I’ve heard her talk to her friend about wanting a family of her own, years ago, and I’ve fantasized about being the person who gave it to her ever since. Now that fantasy is gonna become a reality, and I don’t care if the way I go about it is immoral.

“Are you going to come inside me again?” she asks, wrapping her arms around my neck and looking between our bodies.

“Kitten, I intend to come inside you for the rest of your life.” I don’t hold back in telling her how things are gonna be between us, I’m not holding anything back from her anymore, and when she makes those hot as sin purring noises for me again, I ensure that my cock is as deep inside her as I can get before I flood her freshly broken pussy full of my seed.

“Guess we really do need to get that pill now.” She giggles cluelessly, having no idea how her life is about to change.

It’s six am when I kiss her on the cheek and leave her sleeping. I wish I could be here when she wakes up, but I don’t want to face all the questions she’s gonna have for me. How are you supposedto tell a girl that you’ve been following her every move for the last fifteen years? How do you explain that you have cameras and microphones hidden all around her house so you don’t miss a single detail of her life? That you killed her prom date for the way he hurt her feelings, and that her daddy didn’t hang himself, it was me who tied the noose and kicked the chair from under him?

The only way for me and Eloise to progress is for me to learn how to control myself. I know from watching her that Eloise makes the best of life, she enjoys her job, and she likes spending time with her friend. I can’t expect her to put all that aside for me. I’ve never considered dating or being in a relationship unless it’s been through one of my fantasies. But even I know it can never be the way I imagined it. It would be unhealthy.

I need to give the girl some room. She may be acting differently than how she usually does, but pretty soon, reality will hit. She’ll doubt herself, she’ll doubt me, and I have to prove that I’m not just some creepy-ass stalker. I need to show her that I can do normal. Even if I don’t quite believe it myself.

I head across the street to the warehouse, taking out my cell and scrolling straight to Hugo Jones' number.

“What sort of time do you call this?” he answers in that over-exaggerated English accent of his that always makes my eyes roll. The guy hasn’t lived in England since he was twelve.

“I need a favour.”

“You know, one day one of those barbaric illegal fights is going to kill you,” he warns me.

“I haven’t been to The Pit, I’m not injured. I need you to speak to that pharmacist friend you got.”

“Just tell me what you need, I’ll write you a prescription.” I hear the sound of women giggling in the background and figure out why Hugo’s trying to rush me off the phone.

“This isn’t the kinda thing you can prescribe. I need something that will pass as a Plan B, and a few months' supply of a contraceptive pill minus the contraceptive,” I explain.

“What on earth do you need that for?” he asks.

“What I need it for ain’t your concern, can you get it or not?”

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