Love Me (Trust Series #2) (16 page)

She yawns, which causes me to also.

“Maybe we should both go nap. I want to try to go to a manager’s meeting tonight. I know we were supposed to hang out all weekend, but—”

I interrupt her, “Sam, this morning was fantastic. Go enjoy your new job. We will catch up. Anyway, I think we’d both pass out on the couch and not talk if we stayed together.”

All I get is a grunt from Sam, which causes a small chuckle from me.

The elevator ascends, and a chime pings as we reach Sam’s floor.

“See ya, bestie,” she says on a yawn.

“See ya.”

As she walks out of the elevator, I silently hope she finds what I have found one day, but there’s something she needs to work through. I’ve asked so many times, but I’ve gotten no answers.
She’ll let me in when she needs me.

Making my way back into my room, I lie down in bed, barely realizing when I hit the pillow.
So tired.

Slowly, my eyes start to open, and I feel groggy. I go to move and notice that both my hands and feet are tethered to each of the bedposts.

Where am I?

I try to struggle free, but the restraints are too tight.

“Damien?”

Looking down, I see that I’ve been changed into a silk nightgown that I don’t recognize. Panic starts to take over. I glance around and notice I’m in a cabin of some sort. I can smell bleach.

I cry out again, “Damien?”

I receive no response.

Lifting my head, I look to see if there is absolutely anything I could use to free myself. Besides the furniture, the room has been stripped bare. From the outside of the door, I can hear footsteps.

“I’m in here and tied up! Please help me!”

The wood door creaks open, and a man dressed in total black with a ski mask emerges into the room.

Oh shit.

He slowly walks toward me. “I’m glad to see you’re finally awake, Allison. I’ve missed you so much.”

His tone chills me to the core.

“Where’s Damien? Who are you? Please don’t hurt me.” I start to pull at the restraints as the terror of the situation actually sets in. My heart is pounding so fast that I can hear it in my ears.

His voice is low as he responds, “Allison, you don’t have to pretend anymore. He can’t get to you. I’m about to remind you of our feelings and show you how much I love you.”

Reaching me, he runs his hand on my leg and all the way up to my stomach. It’s revolting. I start to scream with everything I’ve got. The look in his eyes is pure fury as he grabs my shoulders and starts to shake me. I thrash about and continue to scream.

He starts yelling, “Mrs. Wales! Mrs. Wales!”

I continue thrashing and screaming, “GET OFF ME! GET OFF ME!”

He shakes me harder. “Mrs. Wales, wake up!”

My eyes snap open, and I see Bane standing over me. Immediately, I scramble to the headboard as I try to catch my breath. Bane puts his hands up and backs away slightly as I take in my surroundings. My eyes dart around the room until I’m absolutely sure that I’m safe in our hotel room. I continue to heave for oxygen.
That was a horrible dream.
I have never dreamed something so vivid in my life.

It was just a dream.

It was just a dream.

It was just a dream.

I can see the concern on my bodyguard’s face.

With his hands still up in the air, Bane asks, “Can I get you anything, Mrs. Wales?”

I shake my head.
Damien.
I don’t want him to know about this until he gets back for the evening.

As I try to get my heart rate under control, I barely whisper, “Please don’t tell Damien. I’ll tell him when he gets home.”

By Bane’s facial expression, I know Damien’s already been alerted.

“Mr. Wales was notified the moment you started screaming. It’s protocol if he’s not with you. He’s on his way. Give me one second while I advise him that you are okay.”

Bane is backing up to the far wall near the door. I put my head on my knees as he picks up his cell phone and starts speaking into it. I wish I could just be alone, but I know he’s not going to leave.
It’s probably some protocol thing.

Burying my head, I rock back and forth to try and calm myself. I don’t even try to make out what Bane is saying to my husband.

It was just a dream.

I guess the stress of everything found a way to the surface. I have been pushing it down, down, down, pretending it wasn’t there.
Maybe not such a good idea after all.
I don’t know how long I just sit there when Damien bursts through the doors.

“Alli, are you okay?” He’s by my side in a nanosecond.

His hair has gotten a good workout on the way to me as I look up to see how wild it is.

In order to keep my voice steady, I respond softly, “I’m okay. It was just a nightmare.”

Damien nods toward Bane, who discreetly leaves the room.

“Baby, what happened? I was in a meeting, and security called with a code red. They thought someone had you. Then, Bane called me back, saying you were okay, and it was a false alarm.”

He’s outwardly calm. Right now, I’m just trying to make my insides stop shaking. He continues to search my body, checking to see if I’m physically okay.

I try to speak evenly. “You shouldn’t have left your meeting. I’m okay. It was just a bad dream.”

“Alli, that was more than just a fucking nightmare. I’ve been briefed on what happened.”

I close my eyes for a moment, trying to get it all straight in my head, and one tear escapes. I need to talk to him, but I want to be strong.

Squeezing his hand, I start, “I don’t know what to tell you. I was strapped to a bed in a cabin. Someone with a mask came in and said things about you being out of the picture, so we could be together. It felt so real. Then, I was screaming, and Bane woke me up.”

There—it’s out. Hopefully purged.

Damien does a sweep over my body again, and then he pulls me to him. “Do you want to go home, baby?”

I think about what he’s saying for a minute before I respond with my head down. “No, I want to stay. I guess I’m more stressed out than I thought I was. It feels like we are going from one drama to another. Between the psycho out there, Martin, Ben, and Cassandra, I’m just overwhelmed. I’m not working, and I feel kind of worthless right now, like a gypsy wandering without direction. Did Bane find anything else on Dustin?” My voice cracks at the end after I lay it all out there.

He rubs soothing circles on my arm. “No, nothing noteworthy. Bane is still looking into it.” He lifts my chin up, so he can see my face. “Why didn’t you tell me how you were feeling, Alli?”

Giving a little shrug, I respond, “I want to be strong. I thought I was okay. I just kept sweeping it to the side, not thinking about it, and it seemed to be working. I don’t want to be a burden as your wife.”

A finger comes under my chin to lift my eyes to his. “Alli, you’re not a burden. You’re my wife. You’re my reason for living.” His fingers leave my chin, and he grabs his cell phone and dials a number. “Mother, we won’t be able to make it tomorrow. I understand, but something has come up. I’ll be in touch. Yes, we can still do a reception at the house to celebrate Alli and me. The Becky celebration should be done separately. Good-bye.”

I look at him curiously. “Why did you cancel?”

“I’m not about to subject you to my mother or Cassandra tomorrow, Alli.”

“I’ll be fine. I can handle myself.”

He pauses for a moment. I’m guessing he’s probably choosing his next words carefully.

“I know you can handle yourself. However, there’s no reason to pile unnecessary drama on you right now. We’ve got enough on our plate, and we’ll still have some kind of reception with them. You could never be a burden on me. Remember our vows—for better or worse. This is my shit that’s causing the problems, Alli. This is my worst, and we are handling it together. I need you to communicate with me.”

I think about it for a second.
He’s right.
Why add that on the pile?
Even though I just met his mother yesterday, deep down, it does hurt how his parents act toward me.
I’m his wife. We’ve chosen to spend the rest of our lives together. I hope they come around.

“How are we going to keep this under the radar since Cassandra has an open tap to your life through Ben?”

“We’ll go somewhere tomorrow, just me and you. They can spin whatever story they want. Alli, you’re my first priority. I don’t give a shit what they think.”

I hear the truth in his words.

“That sounds nice.” Then, my mind wanders to the other drama we have going on. “Have you heard anything from Martin?”

He stirs uncomfortably beside me. “I’ll get a message to him to reschedule.”

That has me shooting straight up from my huddled position. “No, you will not. When does he want to meet?”

“Alli—”

I put my finger to his lips to stop his statement. “Damien, listen to me. The sooner we figure this out, the sooner the major part of all this stress is going to disappear. I want my life back. I want us to have a normal life. You’ve talked about having kids, which I want to, but we can’t bring them into this. If I were having your baby and this psycho was out there—”

He holds up one hand, and I stop.

He just stares at me for a second. “You’re right.”

I let out a breath I was holding. “Where does he want to meet?”

By his reluctance to answer me, I can tell that I am not going to like it.

“He wants to meet tomorrow morning at a doctor’s office.”

“He, what?”

Oh my gosh, I never thought in my wildest dreams…

He starts rubbing his forehead, obviously in distress. “Martin responded to the email, and I think he is capitalizing on what the papers are saying about us. It seems like the press is taking you being pregnant a little too far.”

There’s a tenseness in his voice.

I just give him an exasperated look and mutter, “What time are we meeting him?”

“Nine in the morning.”

At least it’s sooner rather than later.
“Sounds good. Do you have to go back to work?”

“No, I’m done for the day.” He’s watching me closely. “Are you okay?”

Laying my head on his shoulder, I respond as I play with his wedding ring. “I am now that we’ve talked. The whole situation is a lot to balance. The nightmare felt so real. I’m ready to change the subject.”

I hope he doesn’t continue to press. I need to feel safe and connected right now with Damien.

“I think I have an idea on what we can do.”

With his change in tone, I know he’s completely followed my words, but I’ll play along. “What’s that?”

Before I have a chance to do anything, he hauls me up to him until I’m straddling his lap. “We can practice making babies.”

I lean down and nibble on his lower lip as I slowly grind against his erection. “Don’t you think we get enough practice?”

He grabs my nipple and pinches it through my shirt, rubbing it between his fingers, and I moan.

“Baby, this is one thing you can never have too much practice on. Trust me on this.”

“Oh, I do. I most definitely do.”

With that, he flips me on my back, and then he brings his body on top of mine. I can see the mischievousness on his face as he moves against me. We become a mess of tangled limbs, unable to tell where one of us begins and the other one ends.

This helps keep me—well, us—balanced. As he slides into me, all remnants of the nightmare disappear.

Ugh.

Damien’s been on the phone all morning, continuing to discuss security measure with Bane. I went ahead and took a shower to get ready. If I get my clothes any tighter, I’m going to look like a full-blown hooker. Instead of dressing like a total streetwalker, I change into a light fall sweater and skinny jeans. It’s doesn’t matter what I wear at this point. The rumors are going to run rampant. I generally don’t like to read the gossip columns, but I did look this morning to see what had been said about me being supposedly with child.

They had asked Damien for a comment yesterday after the event, and his response was,
Alli and I look very forward to having children when the time is right for us.