Page 22 of Happenstance
Chapter 7
Lana
Heat. That’s all I could feel. Everywhere I went, hot slices of fire erupted across my skin.
I stumbled outside seeking the relief of fresh air and smacked my dry lips together. My body was covered in a fine coat of moisture, while my mouth had none. Even the air flowing down my parched throat felt like sandpaper.
Water, that’s what I needed. A lot of cool, clean water. Harper had a pool, or was that Riley?
My brows furrowed as I searched the foggy landscape for a shimmering patch of liquid. There was a lot of green and red. Roses, I think. Harper’s mother planted them before she left. Or were they carnations? That’s what Paisley liked.
I glanced around. Was I at Riley’s? Maybe I was at home? Where was Henry? That grumpy little bastard had the softest fur. I wanted to run my fingers through it. But the grass looked so cool. I fell down to my knees and slid my hands across the ground.
Dampness trickled down my skin from the tiny green blades, making me sigh in relief. The coolness felt so good. I needed to feel it everywhere. Dropping down, I rolled onto my back and groaned as I dug myself further into the cold ground. Was grass always this soft? Maybe it wasn’t grass?
“You’re looking a little under the weather, Doll.”
I smiled at the brown eyes gazing down at me. Sean. He’d help me. He always helped me.
“I want to go home,” I whined, “It’s too hot here.”
“Maybe you should take your clothes off?”
That was a good idea. Wait… what did he say? I turned away and pressed my cheek into the grass, nuzzling into its coolness. God that felt good.
“Don’t worry, Doll, I’ll help you feel good.”
I frowned. Why was his voice so deep? Was he mad at me? Harper and I only had one drink.
Suddenly there were hands tugging on my shirt. Rough and mean hands, shredding the cloth off my skin. I didn’t like it. I tried to crawl away, escape the coarse hair abrading the skin on my neck, but I couldn’t. Something heavy was on me, grunting hot breaths in my ear.
I dug my fingers into the ground. Help me, grass. Hide me from the ogre. But the grass didn’t help. It didn’t do anything when I was flipped over, or when my legs were pried apart. I shook my head and swung my arms, trying to avoid the hooded brown eyes staring down at me.
And then the eyes morphed. Lightening in color, vividly lit up with lust.
“You’re so beautiful, Angel.” Parker’s hot tongue slid along the column of my neck, “And you taste fucking delicious.”
I moaned and arched my back, silently begging him for more. He smelled so good, I couldn’t get enough of it. I buried my fingers in his soft sandy locks, and pulled him in closer. The solid planes of his chest pressed against my breasts, weighing me down in the most delightful way…
Weight, heavy and grunting.
I couldn’t breath. Couldn’t push it off. Couldn’t escape the smell of sweat, or sound of horrid grunts that turned my stomach. I stared up at the moon, shining brightly in the night sky.
Except it wasn’t the moon, it was the soft glow of a lamp. The ogre was gone. It wasn’t him on top of me. It was my grey eyed knight with his strong hands and tempting mouth. He chased the ogre away. Took me to a safe place where love wasn’t dirty or wrong.
“You’re mine, Angel.”
“Parker,” I moaned, wrapping my arms around him. My knight. My protector. My safe place. But even he couldn’t chase the ogre’s voice away.
“Remember to keep your mouth shut, Doll.” The ogre smiled down at me, moonlight glinting off his gold tooth. “No one would believe you anyway.”
…
I shotup in my bed, fighting to catch my breath. It was just a dream. Sean wasn’t here. I was safe in my bed, with Nan in the next room. That didn’t stop my skin from crawling when I pictured that gold tooth. My brows knit as I searched the shadows. Sean didn’t have a gold tooth. He didn’t have facial hair, either. But it had to be him. I’d never forget those eyes. Brown with gold flecks, just like Harper’s. They were his eyes. I knew they were.
But were they?
I could still feel his hands on me. Maybe I was crazy. I mean, it was Sean. He wouldn’t do that to me, right? All thought fled my mind when the soft flick of a lighter rang through the air. My heart stopped. The small flame across the room lit up a face worse than any childhood monster or boogeyman. I would’ve preferred the ogre from my dream, because the face I was looking at now was the face of pure evil. A man that had no morals.
