Page 103 of Inferno

Stan gently grasped Prissy’s arms. “Let me explain—”

“You’d better talk fast becausesomebody’sabout to get hurt up in here!”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dr. Gilliard take a discreet step away from her. Turning her head, Prissy snarled at the red-faced woman.

“Baby,” Stan tried again, “it’s not what you think—”

“No? Then what the hell was she doing all over you, Stanton? And why the hell is it so dark in here?”

Scowling ferociously, Stan barked at Dr. Gilliard, “Open those damn blinds!”

She obeyed without hesitation.

As daylight flooded the small room, Stan took Prissy’s face between his hands, his dark eyes boring intently into hers. “Baby, listen to me,” he said urgently. “Despite what you just saw here, I swear to you that there’snothinggoing on between me and Dr. Gilliard.”

“But you lied to me!” Prissy cried accusingly. “You told me you didn’t know her personally!”

“I know.” Stan looked pained. “I shouldn’t haveliedto you, honey, but it was the wrong time and place to share the truth with you. As I told you that night, Dr. Gilliard is a psychologist. What I didn’t tell you is that she’s been counseling me for the past three months because I’ve been having nightmares.”

It was the last thing Prissy had expected him to say. Stunned, she stared at him.“Nightmares?”

“Yes,” he croaked.

Choking back an instinctive surge of fear, she whispered, “What kind of nightmares?”

Stan closed his eyes in an expression of raw anguish that heightened Prissy’s alarm. “I’ve been having nightmares about the fire that killed my parents.”

Prissy’s heart instantly melted with compassion. “Oh, sweetheart,” she gently consoled, reaching up and tenderly stroking his cheek. “I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you tell me?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t want you to know, didn’t want you to worry.” When he opened his eyes, they were haunted. “You see, the dreams aren’t just about my mom and dad.”

Prissy searched his face. “What do you mean?”

Stan swallowed tightly, holding her gaze. “At the end of the dreams…I die in the same fire that killed my parents.”

The blood drained from Prissy’s head. Her mind flashed back to the years she’d spent being tormented by fears of him dying on the job, leaving her a young widow like her mother had been.

Watching the play of emotions across her face, Stan shook his head grimly. “That’s why I didn’t tell you about the nightmares. I knew they’d only upset you. And to be totally honest with you, they’ve scared the hell out of me, too.Which is why I’ve been seeing a shrink.”

A combination of guilt, shame and regret swept through Prissy at the realization that her husband had been suffering in silence because he’d been afraid to awaken her inner demons. At a time when he’d neededher themost, she’d utterly failed him.

Tears welled in her eyes. “That’s why you started sleeping on the sofa,” she whispered. “You didn’t want me to be there when you woke up from the nightmares.”

He nodded, nostrils flaring. “I know I shouldn’t have kept this from you for so long,” he said, his voice husky with raw emotion. “I honestly thought it was for the best, but I now realize that I caused you more pain and confusion than I ever intended. Can you forgive me?”

Couldsheforgivehim?

“Listen to me.” Prissy tenderly cradled his face between her hands, nearly undone by the tears shining in his eyes. “You meaneverythingto me, Stanton Wolf,” she fervently declared. “The next time you have a nightmare, I’ll be right there to kiss you, hold you in my arms and rock you gently back to sleep. I swear to you that you willneverhave to suffer through another nightmare alone.”

“Oh, God.”Overcome with emotion, Stan hauled her into his arms, clasping her tightly to him as he rubbed his jaw against her hair. “I love you more than life itself, sweetheart.”

“I love you, too,” she whispered achingly as she clung to him, her wet cheek pressed against his broad chest, absorbing the heat and strength that radiated through the soft fabric of his sweater. He was alive, vibrantly alive, and he wasn’t going anywhere if she had anything to say about it!

As he lifted her into his arms, she wrapped her arms around his neck and locked her legs around his waist. With a ragged groan of satisfied relief, he crushed his mouth to hers in a breathtakingly fierce kiss that shook her down to her soul.

“Come on, baby,” he murmured against her mouth. “Let’s go home.”

She gave a teary smile.“Thought you’d never ask.”