Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 146666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 733(@200wpm)___ 587(@250wpm)___ 489(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 733(@200wpm)___ 587(@250wpm)___ 489(@300wpm)
All he saw in the room was her lying under a pile of blankets. She seemed to easily feel the cold. She was pretty small, and she’d gone from living in sunny Georgia to ending up in a snowstorm.
He needed to make sure she dressed warmly.
She let out another cry and started thrashing around in the bed.
Fuck!
Hack raced toward the bed, reaching for her when he got there, only to realize he still had the knife in his hand. Setting it down on the bedside table, he grabbed hold of her.
“Greer! Wake up!”
She didn’t stir, but another cry, this one louder, shook him to the core. Fuck. He couldn’t stand to see her in fear. Even if it was a dream.
He shook her gently. “Wake up, Greer! It’s a bad dream, baby!”
Her eyes opened and she stared up at him. He let out a sigh of relief.
Shit.
Then she let out a chilling scream and dove toward the other end of the bed. But he was still holding her, and she only managed to wrench herself a few inches before letting out a pained cry.
Shit! Of course she was scared. He instantly let go of her and dropped onto his knees on the floor so he wasn’t looming over her.
She’d woken up from a frightening dream to a dark, strange room to find him holding her, bending over her.
Anyone would scream.
“I’m sorry. It’s me. It’s Hack.”
He could hear her sobbing breaths and wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms.
But he didn’t want to scare her any further.
“It’s all right. You’re safe. It was just a dream.” He peered over the bed to find her huddled up against the headboard, staring down at him. Her dark-blond hair was wild around her head, her eyes wide as she stared back at him.
“H-hack?” she asked.
“That’s right. It’s me.” Damn, could he sound more awkward? He cleared his throat. “You’re safe.”
“I . . . I’m . . . nightmare?”
“Yeah.”
“I woke you.” She sounded upset. Shit. That was the last thing he was concerned about.
“Look at me.”
She met his gaze, her own filled with chagrin.
“Would you mind if I got on the bed . . . and maybe held you?” He didn’t want to do anything that might frighten her more. If she wanted him to stay on his knees next to the bed all night, then that was what he’d fucking do.
He wished he could make all the shadows in her eyes disappear. But he knew it wasn’t something he could wave a wand for and magically make it disappear.
“I . . . I . . .”
Shit. He’d pushed her too hard. He held his hands up.
“It’s all right. I’ll just stay here. Whatever makes you feel more comfortable.”
“It’s not . . . it’s not that. I’m all sweaty and gross and—”
Before she could finish that, he was on the bed. He forced himself to hold out his arms rather than just pulling her onto his lap. “Come here.”
“Are you sure?”
“Greer,” he said warningly. “Get your ass in my lap now.” He grimaced after saying that, but it seemed to do the trick as she climbed into his lap.
“I don’t give a shit about how you smell.” He held her tight. “I just want to give you what you need.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and twisted into him, pressing her face into his neck.
He ran his hand up and down her back. “Just relax. You’re safe. I would a hundred times prefer that you woke me, rather than suffering on your own. I am not upset.”
Greer couldn’t believe that she’d woken Hack up with her nightmare. She’d learned a long time ago not to make too much noise so she didn’t scare the neighbors.
Having the cops turn up on her doorstep at two in the morning because her neighbors reported hearing screams from her apartment . . . was very motivating. And humiliating.
“Are you sure you’re not upset?” The idea of upsetting him made her feel all icky inside.
“I am not upset,” he told her firmly, wrapping his hand around the back of her neck.
She needed this. Him holding her so tight that she felt like she could never break free.
It was weird, but she felt like she could finally take a deep breath. As if her worries and stresses were disappearing as he held her.
She couldn’t go anywhere . . . he was in charge. And she could be . . . nothing.
Was nothing the right word? It wasn’t like she was worthless. More like she wasn’t a mess of worry and fears. She was just Greer.
“I told you. I will only be upset if you put yourself in harm’s way. If you are hurting or ill or need me and you say nothing. And then, I’m only going to be upset because I’ll be worried about YOU. Not because of my feelings or concerns.”