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Echo brushed against my leg to remind me I wasn’t really alone. At least I’d be able to get Lara out on schedule first thing tomorrow morning, and I had my dog. I reached down to scratch behind his ears. I knew he’d never leave me.
“You can thank me over tiramisu,” Josh called through the door.
“Deal.”
Ten minutes later, I was under the covers, in the dark, and alone with my demons. The fire spitting from the plane’s engine ran through my head. The screams of the other passengers filled my head. Putting my hands over my ears didn’t help. “It’ll be okay. I’ll keep you safe.I promise.”Josh’s words echoed in my ears.
Hehadkept me safe. In this shittiest of all days, the only time I’d felt safe was with his arm around me.
I rolled over. The flames disappeared, only to be replaced by the awful threat on Grandpa’s carpet—Leave or die. I rolled the other direction, and the screams began again. Shivers of fear overtook me.
“I’ll keep you safe,” he’d said. My island of safety in this tumultuous day had been Josh.
Leave or die,the words flashed before my eyes when I closed them again. Staring up at the ceiling didn’t help. Counting imaginary sheep was even worse, as they died jumping the fence.
“Who would do this?” Josh had asked.
I wasn’t any closer to an answer now than I had been at the house. I had no fucking clue—not a one, zilch, zero, nada, zippo. Visions of the flames came back again, this time with that awful phrase superimposed over them.
Getting up, I padded to the door and opened it. I should have asked Josh for a stiff drink—or three or four. Dim light from the city filtered in through the full-length windows of the great room. After a short search, I found his liquor cabinet and a small glass. Opening the fridge for a little light in the room, I rummaged through his liquor until I found a large bottle of rum. More gulps than I could count later, the buzz began. I downed another partial glass for good measure.
When I closed the fridge door, the room went dark again. I braced against the wall, which seemed to move beneath my hand. Making unsteady progress in the dimness of the hallway, I found Josh’s door was ajar.
“Can’t sleep?” he asked as I passed his doorway.
Safety from my nightmares beckoned.
I took the plunge and pushed his door open a few inches.
Maybe I wasn’t as crazy as I thought. “I’m scared.” Alcohol-fueled courage allowed me to ask the impossible. “Can you hold me?”
He didn’t say anything for a moment.
I knew I’d overstepped and backed toward the hallway.
“Only if you don’t kick,” he said softly.
I snorted out a laugh. “Deal.” With less trepidation than I should have had, I made it to the edge of his bed without stumbling, and climbed under the covers.
“How much did you drink?” he asked.
I shouldn’t have been surprised by the question. The alcohol had to be obvious on my breath. “I’ll pay you back.” Too scared to admit how much I’d gulped down, I turned away.
“Not an issue.” He pulled me against him, and for the second time today, I spooned up against this man’s warm, hard body. If I hadn’t almost died today, this could be sexy. I resisted the urge to wiggle my butt against him.
In the darkness, I imagined the view of the business jet cabin from the couch. This was a repeat of that. With Josh’s arm over me, I was back in the safe zone, protected from my demons. My knight would safeguard me. When I closed my eyes, empty blackness replaced the visions that had plagued me earlier.
He’d vowed to protect me, and seemed overly determined to keep his promise.“I’d never forgive you if you didn’t let me…,”he’d said. Here, up against him, safe and protected is exactly how I felt. His arm around me became my shield against everything bad out there.
Chapter 7
Josh
Monday morning,I woke to the scent of coconut. Nicole’s hair smelled wonderfully tropical. My arm rested over her, and my hand cradled her warm tit through the T-shirt. Pulling my raging hard-on away from her, I gingerly disentangled myself and slipped off the bed.
She didn’t wake—compliments of the booze, most likely.
Gathering up today’s clothes, which I’d set out on my dresser last night, I snuck across the hall to the guest bedroom.
