Page 48 of Save Me

“You’re supposed to give me time to turn around,” he grumbled.

All he could see was my back. My bare back, because I wasn’t wearing a bra. I hadn’t had one on since I’d taken it off to nap with him earlier. “I’m too tired to care,” I said as I pulled my pajama top on. I lay back in the bed as I had done earlier and took my shorts off. I just kicked them to the floor and then put my Batman bottoms on. After I was changed, I dropped my bag on the floor and climbed under the blankets.

I listened to Knox move around the room before he got into bed. As soon as he was under the blankets, he pulled me close. He put his arm under my head. “What do you need?”

I put my hand in his and laced our fingers. “Make me feel safe.”

His fingers began to comb through my hair. “No one can get to you,” he said with a confidence that made me believe him. “No one can hurt you when you’re in my arms. I have you, Shiloh.”

I let myself relax and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.

* * *

Shayla held her hand over my mouth as we listened to Mr. X grunt each time he stabbed our mom’s body. I had watched him stab her the first handful of times before Shayla had pulled me back behind the couch and covered my mouth when I’d let out a tiny strangled noise in order to stop myself from screaming.

She held me tightly. I could feel her whole body shaking and hear her heart pounding in her chest.

Mr. X let out a roar that made us both jump. We held our breath, listening to him. His feet shuffled on the wood floor as he moved around the room. “Shiloh! Come out! Come out, wherever you are!”

* * *

I jerked awake, surrounded by darkness. Arms tightened around me and Knox’s voice filled my ear. “Shh, I’ve got you.”

I rolled over so I was facing him, not caring that I was lying on my stitches.

He ran his hand up and down my spine. “Try to go back to sleep,” he said tiredly.

I took in a shuddering breath, trying to calm my pounding heart.

Knox leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “Close your eyes.”

I did, and I eventually fell back to sleep.

* * *

The morning light woke me and my chest caved in a little with relief. I hadn’t had another nightmare after falling back to sleep.

I closed my eyes, thanking whatever higher power would listen for letting me have a few hours of dreamless sleep. As I went to stretch, I finally became aware that something wasn’t right. I was still wrapped up in Knox’s arms, facing him, but with my head tucked under his chin. It appeared that my hand was the only body part of mine that had decided to do some wandering last night.

My hand had found its way into not only his shorts, but also his boxers, and I was holding his…Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, no, no.My hand just twitched around him and the rest of his body went stiff. My cheeks were on fire. “You’re awake, aren’t you?”

“Yup.” There wasn’t any grogginess in his voice, which told me he was wide awake.

I started to pull my hand out of his boxers, my fingers running up his length. He inhaled sharply and he twitched against my hand. I froze. His chest rose and fell with shallow breaths. I tilted my head back so I could see his face. I found his eyes squeezed shut and a pained look furrowing his brow. He was hard in my hand. Hard like his muscles became when he flexed them. If he was hard down there, didn’t that mean…

I moved my hand back down his length and curled my fingers around him at the tip.

His eyes shot open and bored into mine. “Shiloh,” he growled.

I stroked up and the backs of my fingers brushed his balls. “Do you want me to stop?” I asked as I moved my hand down again.

His hips bucked. “Fuck.”

He didn’t stop me. Instead, he fisted the back of my shirt. I couldn’t get enough of how he reacted to me touching him. This big, strong man was at my mercy. “Am I doing it right?”

“Harder.” His voice was like rumbling thunder. I did as he said, and his breath hitched. “That’s it.”

The corner of my mouth twitched as I fought a smug smile. His eyes dropped there, catching the twitch, and he released the back of my shirt. He moved his hand up into my hair and tugged a little. He wasn’t hurting me, but it toed the line, making me gasp. “Do you like touching my cock, Shiloh?”