Page 33 of Resurrecting His Soul
Really? That sounds like the problem I’m having. Except it’s a guy that’s got me wide awake.
I’m pretty sure my girl is more exciting than your guy.
Oh, he was smooth. She couldn’t deny him that.
I don’t know if she’s more exciting than my guy. You should see his body. And that’s not even the best part.
The three dots popped up, but it took longer before a response came through and had her worried she’d went too far. Maybe he thought she was trying to sext him. She’d never done anything like that before. Not that she would necessarily be opposed to it. Not with him. But not while lying in bed next to her sleeping best friend. Luckily, another text popped up before she could board the worry train completely.
My girl has looks, brains, and the biggest heart. The way she loves. Well, no one can top it. I swear I can see her soul when I look at her, and damn I’ve got to tell you. Heaven itself couldn’t possibly hold a candle to her.
She gasped and quickly covered her mouth, not wanting to wake Allison. A tear slipped out the corner of her eye and made a trail down the side of her cheek until it met her pillow. It was the first time in her life that she’d ever been so moved; so happy that she’d cried. It was wonderful, and amazing, and overwhelming all at the same time. As much as she didn’t want to leave Allison, she had to kiss him. There were no words that could express the immense love his words had filled her with, and she had to let him know how much what he said had meant to her.
Carefully, she pulled the blanket back and got out of the bed. As quietly as she could, she tiptoed to the door and pulled it open slowly so she could slip out of the room. She backed out of the room, quietly pulling the door closed when she backed into something solid and familiar. Strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind, and she tilted her head to the side to make room and he pressed a kiss against her neck. Electricity shot through her, straight to her heart. She could swear his lips had the ability to make her still heart begin beating again.
“Whatever it takes,” Ricardo whispered against her throat, the vibrations from his voice making goosebumps break out all over her body. “I swear I’m going to make it so you are safe, my love. Because I need you lying by my side every night. I will not sleep until I have you back in our bed with me.”
She couldn’t stop her smile. When he said things like that it made her want to believe that everything would be okay. That Melina would disappear, and they could be happy together. “Our bed, huh? I like the sound of that.”
“Mm hmm,” he mumbled against her neck between kisses.
Reaching back, she threaded her fingers through his hair. “Mmm. If you keep that up, I won’t have the strength to go back in that room without you.”
She felt him smile against her ear. “Promise?”
Groaning, she turned around and pulled away from his addictive lips. “I’ll see you in the morning.” She risked getting pulled back into his orbit, but she couldn’t walk away without leaning in and giving him one quick kiss on his mouth.
“I’ll be praying for dawn to come quickly,” he said. He took her hand, and she thought he was going to pull her in for another kiss, but he surprised her when he bent his head to kiss her hand before he reached around her and held the bedroom door open so she could rejoin Allison.
He stood in the doorway until she crawled back into the bed next to Allison, then he blew her a kiss before he pulled the door shut behind him. He didn’t walk away right away, and her mind was all over the place, wanting him to open the door and claim her, and needing him to walk away because she knew she would give in if he opened the door again. When she finally heard his footsteps moving away from the door she sighed and snuggled the blanket up to her chin with a smile on her face. When she fell asleep, the only thing still on her mind was how lucky she was to have found a love so strong.
****
Bam! Bam!
Lisandra jumped out of bed and put herself between Allison and the door. “Get in the bathroom and lock the door now!”
“I can help,” Allison started to argue, but the intensity in Lisandra’s glare must have been enough to make her friend understand she wasn’t playing that game, because all it took was one quick look from Lisandra and Allison ran to the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.
She heard voices, so she moved closer to the bedroom door. Two men. One was Ricardo’s and she could tell he was pissed. She could feel how angry he was, like it was radiating off of her. She cracked the door to the bedroom open and knew the front door was opened by the modicum of scents that were hitting her. “Melina,” she growled low. She would know that treacherous vamp’s scent anywhere, but she wasn’t alone. Another vampire was with her. Someone she didn’t… “No!”
“If you will just get Lisandra for me, she can fill you in on our relationship,” the new vampire said.
New vampire in more than one way. She knew that voice. Had lived under its tyranny for years before she finally found the strength to get away and live a life without fear and beatings on the daily menu. Jameson had most definitely not been a vampire the last time she saw him, but it didn’t make any sense for him to be one, unless…Melina.
Suddenly she was having a hard time breathing. Her chest was so heavy. Were there invisible walls closing in around her? She heard someone call her name, but it was muffled and distant like they were outside. The walls she couldn’t see must have been blocking them out. All the strength and balance, all of her fast reflexes, the confidence she had acquired with her newfound life as a vampire disappeared in an instant. She wasn’t in Ricardo’s house anymore. The love, warmth, and safety she felt when she was near him faded away. She was backthere. Back in Jameson’s house—it was never hers. “No!” she cried, but it was no use. She was sucked back into her own personal Hell, and all it had taken was hearing the sound of his voice.
Lisandra wiped the blood from her nose, but it was quickly replaced by more. Her nose was broken. She’d been down this road before, and at the rate things were going, she was bound to end up needing surgery to repair the damage sooner rather than later. She needed to go to the doctor, but Jameson would never allow that until he knew exactly what she planned to say to them, to convince them that she had somehow managed to break her nose and black her eyes all on her own. Either the local hospital thought that she was the world’s biggest klutz, or they just didn’t give a damn about a woman who chose to stay with a man who would beat her so badly. It wasn’t a choice. That was the thing people who had never been in a violent relationship didn’t understand. It damn sure wasn’t Lisandra’s choice, but Jameson had almost killed her the last time she tried to leave when he came home early and caught her packing her things. She would leave, it would just take time and preparation.
Strong hands gripped her shoulders, and she had to focus hard not to flinch. Jameson hated it when she let her fear show, and she couldn’t take another blow, not when her nose was already soaking through the towel she held beneath it as she tried to get it to stop bleeding.
“I’m sorry, babe,” he said, “but you know how I feel about wastefulness, yet you overcook the chicken every damn time. Now, you’re going to have to throw it away and cook me something else. I work hard, and it’s like you don’t even appreciate me when you waste things like that.”
He ran his hand down the side of her bruised face. Lisandra wanted to puke. It was such a farce because he was a controlling psycho without so much as a touch of true gentleness in his nature. She knew what he wanted, but she wasn’t fast enough for his liking, and he gripped her chin tightly. She wasn’t able to hold back her flinch that time, and it earned her a hard shove into the bathroom sink.
Her face was covered in a mixture of blood and tears, but she managed to hold herself up. “I’m sorry, Jameson, I’m sorry.”
“And?”
