Page 9

My arms came up and I rested my hands on his hard stomach, clenching my hands in the soft fabric of his shirt. I’d never voluntarily touched him before.

As soon as I touched him he broke the kiss, stepping back. My hands fell away from his stomach and I blinked my eyes open, not remembering when I’d closed them. His tongue snaked out and he swept it across my bottom lip as his dark eyes bored into mine.

“I’m gonna take care of everything,” he whispered against my lips. “I’m gonna take care of you. You’ll see.”

He winked at me before moving away. I had his back for a few seconds while he made his way to the open front door. Then he was gone.

It seemed the Uncle was just like the Nephew and they both wanted to take care of me.

I pressed shaking fingers to my tingling lips. Uncle Quinton had kissed me… and I could not wait for him to do it again.

Not even Chucky’s sudden appearance and the fact he’d tried to manhandle me could chase away the warm goodness I was feeling.

Chapter Four

I dreamed I was drowning. And I dreamed of the hand that pushed me down, shoving me further into the dark abyss. And I dreamed of another hand.

The only hand that reached for me while I’m sinking, while I’m drowning, while my world fades to black as the darkness surrounds me.

Long, lean, scarred fingers reached for me.

Quinton.

Quinton was here.

My light in the dark.

I sat up in bed with a start. My breath was coming too fast, too quick. I raised a shaking hand and wrapped it around my burning throat.

It wasn’t real.

None of it was real.

Tears trailed down my face, leaving a trail of wetness behind.

Drowning, I dreamed of drowning, as I had been doing for weeks. This time it was different. I’d been dreaming this same awful dream over and over again and no one had ever reached for me, tried to help me, tried to save me. The dream had always ended with me being swallowed by the darkness, screaming for all I was worth and choking to death on icy water. I would wake up crying, my throat burning, and entirely alone because I had pushed everyone away.

Tonight was different.

Tonight, someone had been there to save me, to pull me out of the darkness. I knew it had been Quinton by his fingers. Those scarred fingers I had looked at on more than one occasion and wondered where the scars had come from. I wouldn’t hold back my curiosity next time, I would ask, and because he was Quinton, he’d answer me.

I looked around my dark bedroom and could feel the walls closing in on me. Panic overrode my fear and the tears stopped seeping out of my eyes. I frantically searched the dark corners of my room looking for what, I had no idea, but I could feel something pressing into me, smothering me.

I couldn’t breathe.

The room was too warm, the walls were closing in on me and I escaped one nightmare just to choke on my own panic in another, only this one was of my own creation.

I felt like an idiot.

I flung my pretty light blue comforter with the pretty red rose blossoms on it to the side. Without the comforter the room was still too warm.

I had to get out of here. Now.

The fact that it was the middle of the night and I didn’t really have anywhere to go never occurred to me.

I crawled out of bed and practically ran to the door. I needed to get outside, to get to fresh air so I could breathe. I stumbled down the stairs, clinging to the railing and almost tripped when I made the landing.

I crossed the foyer and made it to the door. I unarmed the security alarm and unlocked the front door. If I forgot the damn alarm the thing would rage at me, loudly.