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Authors: Kelly Ilebode

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BOOK: In Search of Grace
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Alex
knew she was dreaming this time
and tried to will
herself to wake up
knowing what was coming next.
She felt the impact of the ground
as she fell f
ace first into the
moss
.  She felt him
attempting to rip off her clothing
;
his
hands clawing at her
,
scratching her skin.  She grabbed the ground and tried to hang on as h
e forced her over onto her back

“Wake up
,
Alex
.
” she
screamed loudly
in her head, willing herself to come out of this nightmare.  Wanting the demon
away
,
she tried to scream, but his hand came over her mouth muffling all sound.   Seth
flashed across her mind
.  Immediately
her demon dissolved away.  She
woke
with
her body drenched in sweat
, h
eart pounding deep in her chest
.  Alex
found it hard to
breathe
as the room closed in around her
.

             
Hudd
ling beneath the
sheets while gasping for
air,
she tried to close her eyes but only saw her attacker

s face
again.  Glancing at the clock
, she groaned at how early it was.  Having been down this road before, she sat up and swung her legs off the bed while switching on the lamp.
 
Experience told her that s
leep would not come again tonight.
  Sliding her sweat
pants on
,
Alex
padded
barefoot towards the
kitchen
, switching on all of the lights as she went.  She needed the lights
; t
hey pushed the
demons
away
to the shadows.
  Filling the
teakettle
with water
,
she turned on the stove
,
then stared blindly out at the darkened backyard.  The only thing she saw was her reflection staring back at her in the window.  Hair disheveled, face pale, with dark circle
s
under her eyes
,
she thought about the nightmare and wondered if they were coming back because it was coming up on the anniversary
of when it happened.
Alex jumped when the kettle started whistling to let her know her water was ready.   She poured the
steaming
liquid in
to
a large mug with the tea bag
before walking
over to
a
small desk
in the corner of the kitchen that held h
er lap
to
p.    Turning it on,
she leaned back in the chair holding the steaming mug to her face
while
inhaling deeply.  Feeling
better,
she took several
more
deep breaths
before focusing
on her current work.  Opening the file, she knew that this was probably one of her best works.  The heroine was off to
Europe
on a great adventure and
had
met her soul mate. It was easy for Alex to visualize herself as the character, her words weaving a perfect world of love, some conflict, intrigue
,
and happiness
.
  Each book would ine
vitably have a happy conclusion;
the
kind of
end
that she had always dreamed about for herself
, yet
one which seemed so unattainable.
 
Her
nightmare
faded
as she became engrossed in her
fantasy
while
her fingers flew over the keyboard.

             
Seth pulled down the street in his truck
,
glad his shift was
finally
over.  Alex had been on his mind
again
all day
,
and h
e wanted to see her
.
  It has been a long time since a woman intrigued him enough to want to
get to know her
.  Alex, he felt
,
had a few walls built
up
that he
would need
to tear down
first
,
and having built a few walls of his own
,
knew how stron
g those walls
were
and how hard they were to tear down
.  Pulling in
to his driveway,
he was stunned to see all the lights were on inside of her house.
Frowning
,
he glanced at the truck’s clock to see it was 3:45
am
.
  Concerned
,
he
did not
hesitate to walk to the front door.  Knocking for several
minutes
,
his concern escalated
when she didn’t answer

             
Inside the
house,
Alex’s heart started to beat
rapidly in h
er che
st
.
Walking
to the
door,
she
pressed her ear against the wood. 
“Who is it?”

             
“Alex?!  It’s Seth.  Open the door!”

             
Filled with relief but
surprised
,
she cracked it open several inches.
He was
dressed
in his
State
Trooper
uniform
,
and she
realized
that he
must have
just retu
r
ned from his shift at work.

             
W
orried
,
he took in her
paleness
, which only served to deepen the
dark circles around her eyes
.

             

Are
you ok?”

             

Of
course I am
,
Seth…I was just working.”

             
“At 4:00 am?  Let me in
,
Alex.”

             

You
hardly
know me
.  Maybe I don’t even sleep
-
I am fine, really Seth
,
I was just writing.”

             
How much he should push her he had no idea. 
She was right
,
t
hey
bar
e
ly knew each other
,
and realizing
he
was not
going to get any further with her
tonight
,
he stared at her
for a moment

H
is voice softened.  “
Please l
et me in Alex…
Did you have the nightmare
again?
” 
Her face unreadable,
her silence was all the answer he needed
.

             
“Why didn’t you call me?”

             
“I am fine.
I really am writing
.”

             
She was touched at his
concern, her body slowly
relaxing as her
heart rate slowed back to its normal pace
.
  “Ok
ay
.  I saw all of your lights on and was concerned.
”  Reaching across the threshold Seth brushed her
face
with his fingers

H
is thumb strayed down her chee
k
,
and as if with a mind of its own
,
brushed against her lips. 
Mesmerized
,
Alex stared back at Seth,
watch
ing
as his breath drew in sharply when her lips parted slightly at his touch.  Her breathing quickened, this time not from fear. 

             

You had better
get used to me Alex
.  Y
ou cannot shut me out forever
,
and
I am not going away.”

             
He watched the lines form on her
forehead
as she frowned deeply
at his words
.
 
H
is fingers moved
the hair that had fallen over her face
and tucked it
behind her ear. 
The touch and simple gesture felt
intensely
intimate
,
and her he
art fluttered in her chest.

             
“I am sure you

r
e
not. Good night
,
Seth.

             
“Good
night
,
rabbit.
” Seth
waited,
turning
only when
he hear
d her turn the lock on the door, before walking
to his house. 

 

             
He watched as the Trooper walked up the front walkway and knocked on
her
door
.  Frowning
,
he realized that t
his
could be a problem he
had not
counted on.   His eyes
closing
to slits
, fixating
on the two
holding their
conversation
while
his body stiffen
ing
when he saw the
cop
reach
ing
out to touch her.  How dare he!
  She
did not
open the door completely for him, but the fact that she even answered it caused a sick
,
jealous rage
to rush
through him.  He needed release from this pent up frustration
,
and he
was not
sure he would be able to wait for her.  Maybe, he thought, he could find a substitute
again
until she was ready for
him
.  He smiled in the darkness as the
thought
took form and expanded.
That is
it…h
e would practice on someone else
again
to get it down perfectly.  Waiting with
indulgent
patience, he watched as the Trooper walked to his house and the lights turn off
before starting the van and pulling away
.

CHAPTER 5

             
Charles’ voice boomed over the line. 
“Personally, if I
was
you, and obviously I am not, I would
bake
that man some cookies
, brownies, anything

It would have to be s
omething sweet and
decadent
,
because
how sweet was that that he came to check on you at 4:00 am
?
” 

             

Really
,
Charles
?  It
wasn’t sweet.  I am up all
of
the time working late at night.  I can’t have people knocking on my door
;
it scared me.”

             
“He was worried….I think that is
sexy - just
saying.”

             
Al
ex silently agreed with Charles

Seth had looked very sexy in full uniform
but
was not
ready to admit that
,
even to her best friend
,
otherwise
he would
never
stop.”

BOOK: In Search of Grace
12.03Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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