Page 29 of Forsaken
She felt like slapping herself upside thehead, but she couldn’t undo the past, and on the list of things shewould change, this one ranked near the bottom.
“I’d like to take a nap. I have to return tothe gallery at four,” she said.
Julian glanced at her bed, and for a second,she didn’t think he was going to move, but then he nodded and rose.She was acutely aware of how big he’d gotten as he prowled towardher. Every bit of him was a predator, but she’d never felt like theprey around him, until now.
Aida shuddered, but she didn’t know if it waswith fear or desire as his eyes slid leisurely over her. She almostjerked away when he rested his hand on her cheek, but like a plantseeking the sun, she craved his touch.
“I’m going to prove you can trust me again,Aida,” he vowed.
“We’ll see,” she said.
Stepping away from him, she wrapped her armsaround her waist. Julian hesitated before lowering his hand andleaving the room. Aida closed the door behind him and trudged overto her bed. She plopped onto it before falling back onto herpillows.
Julian’s scent of allspice lingered on hersheets, and she cursed before grabbing one of the pillows andthrowing it off her bed. When she lay back down, she realized shemissed his scent and swore again.
She sat up, retrieved the pillow, andclutched it against her chest as she lay back down. Call her aglutton for punishment, but she nestled deeper into the scent whiletrying not to think about the way he made her feel so alive.
However, it was all her mind could focus on,and with the kiss came the reminder of his fangs, and with hisfangs came the bleak memories.
CHAPTER 14
“Aida! Aida!”
Screams tore her from sleep, and when someonegrasped her shoulders, she instinctively lashed out. Her fists flewas the screams continued from somewhere.
“Shit!” someone hissed when her hand thwackedagainst something.
Pain shot up her arm, and her eyes flew open.She searched for the source of the screams and realized they werecoming from her. Clamping her lips together, she silenced thescreams as tears burned her eyes. She blinked against the dim lightfiltering past her curtains as Julian leaned over her.
“Are you okay?” he demanded.
Shame swamped her, and she pulled away fromhis hands as she rolled over on the bed. She stared at her wall andshoved her fist in her mouth. Her body trembled like she’d grabbedan electric wire while she tried not to sob. She worked to getcontrol of her shaking as Julian rested a hand on her shoulder.
“It’s okay,” he said. “Breathe in. Out.In.”
Years ago, when she woke screaming from hernightmares, she woke Mollie the first few times. Her sister wouldcome rushing into her room, panicked someone was trying to killAida. When she realized it was only another nightmare, she wouldsit on the edge of the bed and restrain Aida from racing outsideand plunging into the night.
On those nights, she hated the walls aroundher, and she resented her sister for not giving her the freedom shesought. After the third time, Aida accepted that the nightmaresweren’t going away anytime soon.
She devised a gag that muffled her screamsand kept Mollie from coming into her room. On those nights, shefled the house and raced into the woods where Julian would findher. He didn’t try to talk her back into the house; he’d simplykneel beside her and tell her to breathe. And just like then, herbreathing slowed to match the soothing tone of his voice.
Getting her arms beneath her, she pushedherself into a seated position. She held her breath as she glancedat the door, but Kyle and Cassidy didn’t appear. She’d had a coupleof nightmares since moving in with the twins, and they’d woken herfrom them, but she didn’t want them to see her like this again.
“They went out for a walk,” Julian said.“It’s just me here.”
“Our neighbors,” she muttered.
“It’s the middle of the afternoon, most ofthem are probably out enjoying the day, and if they’re not and theydecide to investigate, I’ll handle it. Are you okay?”
“Fine,” she muttered.
She rarely had the nightmares where she wokescreaming anymore. It wasn’t like when she was in college and shescared away her first roommate within two weeks, and her second onthe first night. Even with her gag, she’d woken them with herthrashing and moans.
After that, they gave her a single room, butpeople still gave her strange looks, and she felt like a freak.She’d hoped being back in the human world and away from vampireswould make her nightmares stop, but it hadn’t worked. Being awayfrom home only meant she woke to find strangers staring at andwhispering about her.
It wasn’t until she moved off campus and intoa small house Mollie and Mike rented for her that she finally madea couple of friends at school. She’d dreamed about having the fullcollege experience of living in a dorm, but she preferred livingalone to being the freaky girl who woke screaming every night.
However, by then, the damage was done, andshe’d never felt like she fit in. She’d planned to stay away fromthe East Coast for a while; it felt like more of a fresh start whenshe was far from home. But when Cassidy told her they were movingto Boston and invited her to join them after she graduated, Aidadecided to transfer the following year.
