Adrian's Wrath (12 page)

“Brea,” Cameron whispered against her lips, that sickly, cloying cologne strangling her, causing her to gasp for air. Instinct took over and she swung her arms out, trying desperately to hurt him like he hurt her.

“God dammit, Brea, wake up!” Hands grabbed her shoulders and shook her with a force that had her teeth chattering. “Sweetheart, wake up.”

Light filled the room and she blinked against its brightness. It took her a moment to realize where she was. The nautical-themed room filled her vision and she turned to look at Adrian. A look of concern covered his face as his fingers stroked over the bare flesh of her shoulders. He was nude, the same as her, but at that moment she felt more naked than just the absence of clothing. Gripping the sheets, she pulled them over her chest.

“God, baby.” He let out a breath and removed his hands from her. He ran a hand over his short hair as he stared at her. “Are you okay? You were having a nightmare.”

Tears threatened to spill from her but she forced them back. She had cried too much already, showed too much weakness. “I’m sorry. I haven’t had one in a while. I guess talking about Cameron brought him to the forefront of my mind.” She could still smell his cologne. It had been the thing she sensed first before he came for her. She associated it with the precursor for her descent into hell.

“Christ, Brea. You were thrashing around, crying out. It scared the shit out of me.”

Cheeks heating with embarrassment, all she wanted to do was leave. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, not knowing how in the hell she thought she could have a normal relationship.

“You have nothing to apologize for. Fuck, baby.” He reached for her but thought better of it and dropped his hand. “I wish I could take away your pain.” The compassion and truth in his words had her closing her eyes and absorbing it. It was exactly what she needed to hear.

There was so much she wanted to tell him, so much more than she had already told him. She could never reveal that her time here was limited, that when she finally had enough saved up she was going to disappear. The intense pain that settled in her heart at the thought of never seeing Adrian again was like a hot poker. It was hard to breathe, hard to focus. Her feelings for him might have been fast and taken her by surprise, but the danger that she put in his life by just associating with him made wanting to be with him a selfish desire. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind Adrian could handle himself against anyone, but he didn’t know Cameron. Her ex was a classic sadist, a textbook psychopath that could manipulate and have everyone and anyone eating out of the palm of his hand right before he slit their throat. He had no remorse, no sympathy. He lived in this world for the sole purpose of inflicting pain on others. She had learned the hard way, and she was not going to bring that kind of horror on the man she loved.

Yes, she loved him.

Loving him brought warmth into her, made her feel safe, protected. God, she wished they could run away together, just vanish into thin air. The idea of actually asking him to leave with her had jumped into her mind, but only momentarily. She couldn’t ask him to give up everything for her. He might have said he loved her, but did he really? If he knew that the very devil himself was after her, intent on destroying anything she held dear, his
idea
that he loved her would go out into the ocean with the rolling waves.

“Come here, baby. Let me hold you. Please.”

Brea curled against him. She remembered falling asleep in his arms, but during the night their embrace had broken, just like everything else in her life. She wanted to feel Adrian pressed against her, feel his warmth, the love she so desperately needed. When his arms wrapped around hers, she sagged into his big, hard body. She didn’t think she would be able to sleep after the nightmare she just had, but smelling Adrian’s clean, masculine scent pushed out the sickening stench of Cameron, had her eyes growing heavy. In Adrian’s arms she felt safe and protected. Like nothing evil could touch her. She just wished it would last.

Adrian was right. The way the sun looked as it peeked over the horizon, bathing the water in light early-morning hues, was something of beauty. They sat at a little coffee shop that opened before the sun rose and shared a cup of coffee as they stared at the beach, with its calm, serene waves.

“It’s so beautiful.” Brea kept her attention toward the water and brought her cup to her mouth, taking a sip of the warm, vanilla-flavored drink.

“Yes, it is.” The way Adrian said it had Brea looking at him. He wasn’t staring at the sunrise, but at her instead. He brought his own cup to his lips, taking a long sip while he watched her over the rim. Cheeks heating from his comment that was obviously directed at her, she had to look away from his intense stare.

“You want a muffin?” The B&B had a breakfast spread, but they had woken up before the sun had risen and her appetite had still been sleeping.

Right now his suggestion had a loud rumble coming from said stomach. “Sure, that would be great. Anything besides blueberry, please.”

The sound of the crashing waves had her turning her attention away from Adrian’s retreating form and looking back at the water.

“Business or pleasure?”

The voice was behind her and she looked over her shoulder, seeing a thirty-something man wearing dark aviator glasses and a worn brown leather jacket. “Excuse me?”

“You.” He lifted a cigarette to his lips and brought his lighter up to the end, inhaling deeply as the tip glowed a bright orange. “Come here for business or pleasure?” He inhaled again, holding in the smoke for several long seconds before exhaling in her direction. The stench from the smoke had her nose wrinkling in distaste.

Right away warning bells went off. She hadn’t lasted this long away from Cameron with giving away precious information to strangers, especially when those strangers looked like ex-cons. “Just visiting.” She might be wary, but she also didn’t want to draw anymore unwanted attention to herself by being a bitch, so she smiled at him before turning her attention forward again.

“Yeah, me, too. Just passing through. The scenery was too good to pass up, though.” The way he said the latter had the hair on the back of her neck rising.

“Yeah.”
Hurry up, Adrian.

“Know any good places to stay overnight? Maybe a good bed and breakfast?”

She shifted in her seat, growing more and more uneasy with each passing second. Had Cameron found her? Was he having her followed?

“Me and my old lady are looking for a quiet place to lay low for a while. Just got hitched and are on our way north.”

She turned around then, taking in his appearance again. Maybe she was just being paranoid? “Your wife?”

Flicking the ash from his cigarette, he took his sunglasses off and stared at her with black eyes. He lifted up his left hand, showing her a thin gold band around his ring finger. “Yeah, she saw a T-shirt stand down the boardwalk and wanted to get a few souvenirs.”

“Oh.” She cleared her throat and brought her cup to her lips, taking a long drink of her now-lukewarm coffee. “Well, I can’t really help you out, but when my boyfriend gets back I’ll be sure to ask him if he can recommend a place.” When he didn’t say anything she looked over her shoulder, seeing him watch her with an emotionless expression, his cigarette hanging from his lips.

When he grinned after several long, uncomfortable minutes, her palms became clammy. Ever since she had started seeing Adrian, the fear of Cameron had grown. It was bad enough that he threatened her life, but the thought that he could hurt Adrian, too, made it that much worse. Claiming him as her boyfriend. to this stranger, a man that had warning flags rising, was a stupid, stupid move on her part.

“I’d appreciate it, thanks.” Hands scuffed up and fingers with grimy fingernails lifted up and pulled his cigarette out of his mouth and snubbed it out.

“They had cinnamon, sweetheart. I hope that’s okay.” When she heard Adrian’s voice she immediately felt at ease. He walked out of the coffee shop and her attention was right on him, watching his big body move like a lethal weapon. When he was seated in front of her he slid her muffin across to her.

“Thank you. This guy wants a recommendation on what’s a good place to spend the night. I told him I didn’t know but maybe you did.”
Please don’t recommend where we are.
This guy most likely was completely innocent, but she didn’t take anything at face value. She always had to be on alert.

“Guy?” The confused look on his face had her looking over her shoulder. An empty table and chair greeted her, and the only lingering thing that solidified his presence was the smell of cigarette smoke and his snubbed-out butt.

Brea couldn’t stop herself from standing and looking down the boardwalk. There was no sign of him in either direction, and panic started to swell inside of her.

“What’s wrong?” Adrian was right beside her, his hands on her shoulders, turning her toward him and looking down at her with concern. “What is it, baby?”

Lips suddenly dry, she looked left then right again. “Nothing. It’s nothing.” It had to be nothing, because if she let herself even entertain the idea that she was being followed, that Cameron had found her, she might as well flee right now. The feel of Adrian’s fingers flexing on her flesh drew her back to the present. No, she was fine. They were fine. Her overactive imagination and fear were trying to drive a bigger wedge in her life and she wouldn’t allow it. The man hadn’t seemed overly suspicious, aside from his rough exterior. If Cameron knew where she was there was no doubt in her mind that he would have already gotten to her.

She looked into Adrian’s eyes, saw the crease of worry between his brows, and lifted her hand up to smooth it away with her finger. “I’m fine, really.” She hoped the smile on her face was reassuring.

“You would tell me if you weren’t, right?”

“Absolutely.” After a long moment he exhaled and nodded, and led her back to the table so they could finish their breakfast.

After their breakfast he threw away their trash and stood. “Come on. I want to show you something.” His hand was stretched out and she didn’t hesitate on taking it. They walked hand-in-hand down the boardwalk, the smell of salt in the air growing more intense as the sun continued its ascent. He led them onto the beach where people were already setting up umbrellas and beach towels. It was still fairly early, but she had no doubt the beach would fill up quickly, especially with the temperature forecasted to reach in the seventies.

They must have walked for ten minutes, the twists and turns he took causing her curiosity to grow. The silence between them was comfortable and it gave her time to think about last night. He had been very comforting and understanding when she had told him about her past. There was a small part of her that regretted opening up her mouth and showing the ugly side of her, because it would make what she had to do in the end that much harder.

Towering rocks stood to their left, like a mountain growing before them. The ocean was to their right, the waves picking up as the time passed. The sound was calming, a gentle
whooshing
noise that could have lulled her to sleep.

“It’s right over here.” He veered off to the left, toward a small cave that was nearly invisible as two large, protruding outcroppings concealed it.

Is he going in
there?
She dug her feet in the sand, her pulse racing at the thought of being in such a tight, confined space. When he felt her resistance he stopped and looked at her. Nothing was said and she knew her fear was showing. There were a lot of frightening memories associated with dark places. His face took on a hard mask and he cursed under his breath.

“I didn’t mean to frighten you, Brea. We don’t have to do this.” Wrapping his arm around her shoulder he led them the other way. It didn’t take a genius to know that Adrian put two and two together.

“No.” The strength in that one word surprised her, but she saw that same emotion in Adrian’s face when he stopped and looked at her. “I trust you.” After a heartbeat he smiled down at her, brought her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. He led them back toward the cave, but his steps were slow, almost uncertain. Licking her too-dry lips, she followed him into the coffin-like space. Her breathing was extreme as it left her. The sound of dripping water echoed around them, but the deeper he led them into the cave the closer and clearer the noise of the water became. The scent of wet earth filled her senses and she scrunched up her nose at the pungent smell.

Adrian’s big body blocked her view, but his large frame was silhouetted by the light that was becoming brighter the closer they got to the dripping water. The walls around them were close enough that she could place her hands out beside her and lay her palms flat on the rough surface. Before she could totally freak out, the walls opened up and the smell of fresh seawater filled her. When he stepped to the side, a beautiful pool of water and trickling waterfall were revealed. Her breath caught and she found her hand going to her mouth, blocking the gasp that would have spilled.

* * * *

The look on her face had made bringing her here better than he could have imagined. That gasp of pleasant surprise she made as she saw the pool-sized pond and intimate waterfall had his chest swelling with pride. He had found this treasure trove when he first got to the city over a year ago. His thoughts had been dark and turbulent, and all he wanted to do was escape. He had driven until he saw the coast, then started walking down the beach without a destination in mind. The alcove had been small, but he just wanted to disappear into the darkness. It seemed fitting for where his thoughts had been during that day.