Page 34 of Can’t Fight This Feeling

“Night, Rob.” She closes her eyes. “Thank you.”

I nod, but she’s already dozing. I bend down and kiss her forehead. The scent of her sweet shampoo lingers in my nose as I retreat to the living room and crash on the couch. I punch the throw pillow and lay my head on it, staring at the dark ceiling.

Yeah, I’m a goddamned saint. But at least I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do, what I should have been doing from the start.

Keeping her safe.

Chapter Thirteen

Marcy

He’s chasing me. The hallway stretches out before me, an endless tunnel leading into darkness. My screams evaporate in the void.

He snatches my hair and pulls me back to him. There’s no escape.

I claw at his arms, his chest, his face, but nothing stops him. He sneers as he shoves me against the wall and rips my clothes.

When I fight him, he beats me into submission.

Exhausted, I’m naked and bleeding. He unbuckles his belt and reaches into his pants. I cringe, tightly closing my eyes.

No, no, no! This isn’t happening. It’s not real. The light streams across his face.

Rob?

I jerk awake. Sweat coats my skin. I’m wearing my pajamas, tucked into my own bed. Slowly my gaze focuses in the darkness. What a fucking dream. I wipe my brow and freeze when I see shadows shift in the far corner of the room. Even the blood in my veins stops flowing.

Someone’s in the room with me.

“Rob?” I hazard the word, but it’s not him.

A figure materializes in the darkness. The light from outside amplifies the shadow on the wall. The dream returns with a vengeance, gripping me by the throat and shaking me.

A scream wrenches free.

The shadowed figure bolts across my bedroom toward the open window. When they pass the door, it flies open, colliding with the intruder.

“Marcy.” Rob flicks on the light switch. He’s shirtless and has a frying pan in his hand. Eyes wild, he scans the room.

The dark figure groans in a heap on the floor. Rob reaches down and snatches them by the arm, dragging them to their feet.

Black leggings, black shirt, and black domino mask.

What the fuck? A burglar? The fear slowly dissolves at the reveal of the intruder. They attempt to pull away from Rob, but he tightens his grip.

“You’re hurting me,” the burglar cries out, pulling against his hold.

“A woman?” I gape at her and untangle myself from the sheet.

“Let me go.” The woman sidesteps me when I reach for her mask.

“Knock it off.” Rob gives her a firm shake.

I pull off the mask and the cap holding her hair in place. A mess of frizzy, dark red curls tumbles free, framing a pair of wide green eyes. She could be a model if the industry weren’t hellbent on every woman being a size two. In the light, her generous curves fill out the black ensemble.

Any other day, I’d say she was a knockout, but not here, not now. She broke into my fucking apartment.

“Well, well, looks like we caught ourselves a cat burglar.” Rob grins as he drags the woman into the living room.

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