Dark Thief (The Two Sides of Me Book 2) (3 page)

I made it through that first night, barely. Four a.m. arrived accompanied by a nightmare like no other. I should have known they wouldn’t disappear immediately just because Evan was back in my life. I slip out of bed and gasp when my feet hit the chilly floor before heading to the bathroom to shower off the cold sweat I’m covered in and to warm up. What is it with this house anyway? It’s so damn cold in here! I remember with disappointment that there is no shower, just a claw foot tub here and I wonder if the house has another bathroom.  I’d really like to just quickly shower instead of soak. Tip toeing back into the bedroom I have no idea why I thought I could get past my mentally connected partner unnoticed, and of course I haven’t.

“Where are you going?” he asks in a deep, rough, sleepy voice. “I had a bad dream” “And?” “I wanted a shower but there’s only a tub, I thought maybe there was another bathroom.” “Why do you need to shower? I thought we had you all cleaned up before bed last night?”

He rolls over climbing out of bed passing over my spot, in doing so, he feels how damp the sheets are. He’s answered his own question. “Do you want some help? I’ll show you to the other bathroom, where are your socks?” he asks looking down at my bare freezing feet. “Socks? I didn’t have any on when I went to sleep.” “I put them on for you, I should have given you your meds but you’ve been drugged so much in the past couple days I thought it would be good to clear your system. Ah, here they are.”

He’s been rummaging around in the sheets when he holds up a pair of fuzzy, warm looking, lavender socks. Lavender, of course. “I must have kicked them off when I was dreaming. And whose fault is it that I’ve been drugged so long?” I snip. Padding silently to me he bends down at my feet and taps one and then the other, sliding the warm socks on, ignoring my smart comment.

My God that helps so much. “Why’s this house so cold?” “It’s old, I’ve only had minimal updates and not much remodeling done here, the fireplaces are the only heat sources.” “I’m surprised you would want to come here, it doesn’t seem much like your style.” He turns me around pointing me toward the door to the bedroom holding my waist gently pushing me forward.

“My style huh? What exactly is my style?” “Uh, big for one thing, swanky, elaborate, showy, obnoxious…” he cuts me off placing his hand around my mouth from behind and whispers into my ear. “That’s enough.” I can’t help it, I know I shouldn't but I giggle into his hand. He begins to guide me again down a short hall.  We turn into a slightly larger bathroom with both shower and tub, still modest in comparison to Evan’s usual grandiose style.

“If you weren’t undernourished and sick I’d spank you for sassing me with that smart mouth of yours.” he says while he starts the shower and looks over his shoulder at me with an “
I dare ya”
look on his face. “If I weren't undernourished and sick I might like it.” I retort with sass.

He returns to the shower testing the water temperature. “In.” he directs, pointing toward the shower and I push off my socks with my feet while wiggling out of the flannel pajama pants and tank top he has dressed me in. I haven’t seen any of my own belongings as of yet. Before I can walk to enter the shower I catch my reflection in the mirror above the sink and inhale in surprise.

It’s like I’m seeing myself for the first time in weeks and I’m shocked at how bad I look. Evan realizes what’s happening and moves to escort my paralyzed body to the shower and away from the mirror. “You’ll be fine baby, back to your normal weight in no time.” He attempts to comfort me but I am appalled at how disgusting I look and that Evan has seen me multiple times this way. “And you look beautiful no matter what weight you are.” How the fuck does he do that?  I swear he has some sort of ESP abilities. I stand under the spray of hot water, he even remembers I like it nearly scalding.

I unbraid my hair that is wet and sweaty, sticking to my face as a result of my nightmare. His hand appears through the curtain holding a bottle of shampoo and I take it gratefully watching it disappear and the curtain being pulled tight against the wall so no heat will escape. I wash and magically when I’m ready to condition his hand appears with the appropriate product and I finish up. Peeking out of the curtain I find Evan standing there with an enormous fluffy towel, some things never change, and I hesitate to step out.  One because it’s fucking cold out there and two, because I’m now leery of being seen naked. He rolls his eyes knowing what I’m thinking and steps into the shower with me, still clad in only his sexy as hell black briefs.

The water is off so he doesn’t get soaked while he pats my skin dry from head to toe and then wraps the towel around me, twice. Holding one finger up to make me pause when I begin to turn and step out he gathers my hair and squeezes the water from it before re-braiding it. Just when I think we’re finally getting out he traps me between his arms one hand on either side of my head, palms against the wall, he holds me captive with his sharp green eyes.

His gaze moves to my mouth where he pauses for what seems like forever, my pulse is pounding and that familiar whoosh starts in my ears. Moving in, he starts so gently pressing his lips against mine, no tongue just soft kisses, holy hell I’ve missed this man’s touch!  I try to intensify the kiss but he murmurs “No, no.” and I let him set the pace. Torturing me with baby kisses on each corner of my mouth just like I remembered, center, just like I remembered and then oh God, down my neck, just like I remembered.

I can’t help myself and I reach out to touch him, he allows it, twisting my fingers through his hair I pull him closer, he allows this as well. But, when I try to slide my tongue into his mouth he pulls away and scoops me up, pulling back the curtain, we are blasted with cold air.  I shudder from the sudden halting of intimacy and the chill. I wrap my arms around his neck and nuzzle into his chest as he moves us briskly back to bedroom where he grabs a clean pair of purple satin pajamas.

He dresses me and tucks me in so tight I think his subconscious is working overtime, still worrying that I’ll leave him again. I watch as he returns to the fire and loads several logs onto the dying embers from a pile next to the fireplace. He stuffs some kindling under them making the flames take hold and I can feel the heat from across the room. It’s still dark and the only light is from the fire, he looks majestic standing there with the light playing on his gorgeous chiseled body.  I want him, and I can see he feels the same way, his cock straining against the material of his briefs. He returns to me in the bed, ignoring the fact that he is completely hard as a rock and slides in behind me pressing it against my ass. “We gonna do something about this?” I say nudging against his swelling manhood. “No baby.” I put my bottom lip out but he can’t see as he’s spooning behind me.

“Put that lip back before a bird perches on it.”  Seriously? This is getting insane! “How do you know I’m pouting?” I exclaim and he just tightens his hold on me slipping his leg between mine but I can sense a smile going on back there. “Sleep.” Well, shit…I’m getting tired of these one word text like answers but I know it’s no use complaining, it’s just his way of simplifying the conversation.

I sigh and he chuckles his warm breath into my neck. I lay still and quiet, I’m not going back to sleep it’s six a.m. too late for sleeping pills and he’s right, I should try to purge myself of all medications for a while.  If I can figure out how to sleep that is. I’m soon warm from head to toe and I see a slit of light coming through the curtains across the floor while I listen to his soft breathing, thank God he doesn’t snore.  I wonder what day two of this dramatic Italian kidnapping trip will bring.

So this is your Aunts house? I ask after we have finished lunch the following afternoon. Sitting across from each other at the small kitchen table, the fireplace is snapping softly behind me sending a shiver of Goosebumps zinging through my body. “Are you cold? I thought I had you close enough to the fire.” He asks, a frown line deepening between his eyes that accompanies his now constant concern. “No, no just thinking…” “About what?” “Your aunt, you as a little boy, what you went through. Why would you want to come here? Why would you even want to keep this house, return to this town?”

I turn toward him after a moment of silence and one of my top three reasons for running out of Evan’s life is staring back at me, void and empty dilated eyes.  That moment, that exact moment in time, panic floods my body and my blood turns to ice. Fucking hell I can’t do this, why did I stay? Why didn’t I fight harder? Why didn’t I run farther? I actually want to pass out right now but of course my cruel brain has chosen this particular moment to remain alert and very aware, figures. Maybe a survival tactic? Who knows what he would do to me if I fainted.

I can't move, frozen I stare at a stranger. He’s blacked out before but this time feels different. This time something tells me to stay still, to wait him out, that something is very, very wrong. Evan continues to stare blankly at me, directly into my eyes a vast emptiness envelopes me. I wasn’t cold a second ago but now I’m trembling like a delicate flower in a spring storm.  His unresponsive gaze is scaring the shit out of me. Slowly, he begins to move, but not in a natural way, not the fluid graceful way that I’ve witnessed since waking in this cottage.

Slowly, he rises from the table and takes a step toward me pausing, a spark of recognition passes over his face briefly but vanishes as soon as it arrives. My heart is pounding, breath coming in shallow huffs. I break into a cold sweat that covers me identically to the way it does during my nightmares. He turns to take small hesitant steps toward the front door, I watch him move through the quaint modest living room, slowly. He stops with his hand on the door knob, something clicks in my mind and I have the overwhelming urge to bolt, so I do just that. As fast as I can in my weakened condition I run and slide in my socks on the stone floor which is how he catches me.

“NO!” he roars and moving with superhuman speed he grabs me around the waist and slams me against the wall. I feel the weight of my body leave the floor and his fingers around my throat, choking me he’s crushing my larynx and I’m unable to make a sound while I struggle desperately to escape. I’m helpless and dangling inches off the floor, clawing at his arms leaving deep bloody gashes from his elbows to his wrists, over and over I claw.

Darkness begins to close in and strangely the smell of homemade bread invades my senses while numbness tingles in my fingers and toes. Without warning he abruptly releases me and staggers back, stumbling over a coffee table, while my frail body slides down the wall and crumples on the floor. I gasp for breath trying to resupply my body with the oxygen it’s been deprived of and I try to focus and make sense of what the fuck has just happened.

Stunned Evan is sprawled on the floor mere feet away from me scanning the room wild eyed and rapidly taking in the situation as if he had just arrived. I’m not waiting to see what comes next, no way, been there done that.  As soon as I’m able I crawl a few feet before using the wall to drag myself up and back to the bedroom slamming and locking the door. Not far enough, not secure enough…the window, I can get out through the window! I throw open the heavy grey curtains only to have my heart plummet almost as far as the drop I would have to make if I attempted to escape this way. Fuck me!! I whirl around and do the only thing left to do, I silently scurry across the floor when I hear him coming down the hall.  Go, go, go…run, run, run…hide, hide, hide!!

The bathroom is small but the door is sturdy and it locks, I’m in. Weapons, I need to find something to protect myself with, I’m in full on survival mode now.  He’s almost here, I hear him rattling the bedroom door, not pounding or yelling just gently rattling off and on. Desperately searching the cabinets and under the sink for anything sharp I come up empty handed armed with only a can of some sort of aerosol cleaning spray.

Not enough to keep a man from attacking, not a man of Evan’s stature, I’m not going through another round of torture. I stare at myself in the huge mirror over the sink and see bruising starting on my neck, finger marks on either side of my throat, petechiae spreading under my eyes and cheeks. He could have killed me. 

The realization spurs another round of super self-preservation and I grab a hair dryer and smash the mirror into a million pieces. I whip a towel off the bar next to the tub and wrap the largest piece up half way so I don’t cut myself but I’m able to wield it as an effective weapon. If he makes it through the bedroom door, and then the bathroom door I’ll be ready. Trying and failing miserably to avoid cutting my feet I step into the white tub smearing blood all over the bottom of it. I squat down and wait…and wait…nothing.

Silence, the only sound is my heavy breathing and thumping heart. After what feels like forever my breath begins to catch with every inhalation as quiet sobs begin to escape. I try so fucking hard to keep quiet, I don’t even know why.  It’s not like he can’t find me, there was only one place for me to go, but why isn’t he trying? Why isn't he breaking down the doors? What the fuck just happened here?!

I’ve completely worn myself out, with not much reserve to begin with I can hardly keep my eyes open after the adrenalin rush leaves my body drained and exhausted. Being nearly choked to death didn’t help much either. I can’t be sure how long I sat bloody, bruised and exhausted in that tub but it had to be several hours when my head was nodding and my legs had long since gone numb crouched under me. I finally had to sit back on my ass, not the most defensive stance but better to have blood circulation when I needed to move.

The bathroom was dark, earlier the light from the bedroom was visible under the crack of the door. Another way I know I’ve been here a long time, the sun has set. The house is eerily quiet, the sound of my protesting stomach occasionally reminding me that it was way past dinnertime. Will he ever come looking for me?  Is he still here? Why is he doing this to me?

I turn my head and rest my cheek on top of my knees that are drawn up and loosen my hold on the shard of mirror. Pain floods my hand and I realize I must have been gripping it so tight that it cut me, even through the towel. I remember Evan saying once that pain was not unfamiliar to him and I’m discovering it’s not for me either. It anchors me, forcing body, spirit and mind to stay connected and to work as a team. 

I welcome it and squeeze the crude homemade weapon again, this time tighter, feeling the glass digging into my flesh I feel more alert, focused. I hear footsteps and movement in the house somewhere and my already screaming muscles stiffen. Heels? Yes, not a man’s steps but a woman in heels is approaching the bedroom.  Then the soft click of a lock, oh God she has a key! 

Whatever adrenaline that’s left in my fatigued body surges through my blood stream as I hear more steps bringing this woman closer to the only barrier separating me from him, them, whoever! Another soft click and the door is gently and slowly opened, the lights are switched on and when she takes a step in wow does she get an eye full. Crazed Mia crouching in the bathtub ready to kill.

The woman gasps and covers her mouth with one hand, steps back and presses her back to the wall and gestures with the other to stay back, yea no worries lady I’m not moving until you do!