Page 96 of Beautiful Beast

Now the dark is terrifying.

I can’t move, I can’t see, and the room is dead silent.

Is it even Adam on top of me?

It can’t be.

But it is.

The familiar weight of his body is unmistakable, even if how he’s touching me is foreign and all wrong.

I try to buck my hips, to free my arms that he’s pinning down with his elbows, to kick my legs, to scream, to do – anything.

But I can’t.

Jesus.

Am I actually going to die tonight?

How long can someone live without taking a breath?

Adam is saying something that I can’t make out, but anger laces his words. It’s like he’s having an out-of-body experience because he certainly wouldn’t hurt me if he was aware of what he was doing.

And he’s not speaking English.

The beast.

His military nickname keeps circling my mind, but that’s not the Adam I know and love.

I manage to twist one of my legs out from underneath him and snap it back, kicking his calf as hard as I can to try and bring him back to me.

It doesn’t work.

So, I do it again,

And again,

And again.

Weakness is setting in, and all I want to do is take a big gulp of air.

Adam shifts his weight, trying to change his position – to do what, I’m not sure. But I use the temporary respite to yank my arm free and lash out, my nails tearing through the skin on his chest hard enough to make him bleed.

It’s still not enough to get his attention or snap him out of whatever is happening.

He wasn’t lying – he was trying to keep me safe by making me stay away from him. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to be with me. It was because he knew that I could end up hurt.

And I wouldn’t listen.

And now… now what? Is he going to kill me without realizing it?

Buster’s familiar bark fills the room, and while I can’t make out what’s happening, the mattress dips as my boy jumps onto the bed, growling and snarling at Adam, who shouts from what I can only guess is a very painful dog bite.

And suddenly, Adam is completely still, the pressure slowly easing as he removes his hand from my throat and lifts himself off me.

The barking stops and the silence in the room weighs a million pounds.

“Belle?” Adam’s voice is a tormented whisper, and I already know that whatever comes next is either going to make or break us.

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