It was pure coincidence that I was not in the house that night, some might call it fate. The night before I came home was the night my world crashed down around me. The nightmares have been a frequent occurrence ever since. Sometimes they are happy memories that end with a sea of blood, and other times they are re-enactments of the murders, as if I was there. The one tonight was exactly that, except this time the killer finished with my family and found me in my room. I was standing in front of him with a gun in my face and just as he were about to pull the trigger, I woke up.
I wonder what is triggering the nightmares this time. Maybe it was Uncle Harry’s visit. He was close to my father, so maybe it has brought all the pain back into my consciousness. I have to admit, Uncle Harry was acting rather strange tonight, especially when Brax arrived. It was like he couldn’t work Brax out, like he had seen him before but couldn’t peg him.
I leave the window and snuggle down on the couch under a blanket. Nothing like mind-numbing television in the middle of the night to disrupt my thoughts. Twenty minutes later I hear Brax knock twice on the door. I unlock it and he bursts in, pulling me into his arms straight away and I instantly feel safe again. I can’t believe I’ve only known him for a month, yet I can’t bear the idea of being without him. He joins me back on the couch, lies down and pulls me on top of him so I’m covering his body. He pulls the blanket over us and we start watching TV as he strokes my hair mindlessly. Pretty soon I’m relaxed and limp, falling back to sleep in his arms and the nightmares all but banished.
After my last minute meeting with Shay, all I want to do is eat and see my girl. Shay told me that Harry Brimstone is in the area, but the last thing I expect is to find him inside Elle’s apartment when she opens her door.
All the intel we have on Harold Brimstone confirms he has his hands in many dodgy pies. I had dealings with Brimstone many years ago, and he has also had dealings with my boss in the past. Lately he has been connected to former agent—now crooked cop—Michael Evans, who is as corrupt as the day is long. We think Evans is either on Brimstone’s payroll, or at the very least linked to him.
I wonder why Harry decided to drop in for a visit all of a sudden. He told Elle that he was ‘just in the area’ but of course I know better than that. We’re a good hour from the city, this trip had a purpose. I’ll have to find out from Elle what he wants because whenever Brimstone is involved, I know that something bad is going down.
Once Brimstone leaves, I am able to relax and enjoy the rest of the evening with Elle. I try not to show my concerns about Brimstone to Elle. I’d hate for her to get suspicious about me.
I leave Elle’s apartment around midnight and head out to the bar around the block to catch up with Shay. I need to find out what happened once Harry left the apartment. Shay followed him to a bar in lower Manhattan where he met up with another man he couldn’t identify. A short time later Evans joined them and that is when Shay texted me, saying we needed to catch up. When the men had concluded their meeting and gone their separate ways, Shay followed Brimstone back to his hotel where he said he must have retired for the night, because he stayed outside for a couple of hours and never saw Harry again.
When I get Elle’s text telling me she needs me, I swear I’ve never moved so fast in my life. I race over there and can see she was shaken up just by the look on her face. I want to ask her what happened, but I can tell she is exhausted so I walk over to the couch and lie down, pulling her down on me. She’s so light I can barely feel her, but having her on top of me feels so right. Her soft warm body just melts into my mine. I pull the blanket up around us, wrap my arm around her waist and she burrows her head into my chest as we start watching some random television sitcom. Within minutes, I feel her breathing slow down and I know she has gone back to sleep.
All is right in my world, especially with Elise asleep in my arms. I can’t imagine ever wanting to let her go.
Chapter Six
I wake up on top of Brax, still laying on the couch. The television is blaring music in the background and I’m not sure what the time is, but the light streaming through the gap in my blinds is telling me it is definitely morning. I try to get off Brax, but I feel his arm tighten around me. I look over and see his bright blue eyes staring back at me. How can someone wake up and look this sexy? We lie there, just staring at each other and I’m not sure what to do. I’ve just spent my first night ever sleeping in a man’s arms.
My mind is focused on the feeling of Brax’s hard body underneath me. He feels good, way too good. I wonder how he feels with me laying on top of him. I try to move again and he tightens his arm even more, that smirk of his larger than life.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he says, his voice deep and husky from waking up, making my insides clench. Damn, that is sexy.
“I thought you might be uncomfortable,” I try to explain, losing my train of thought as I stare at his mouth. His lips beg to be kissed but I’ve never been one to initiate things. His eyes are all-knowing, like he can hear my inner monologue.
His grin slowly disappears as his gaze shifts to my mouth. Deciding to take charge for once, I lean down to gently nip his bottom lip as he opens his mouth to let me in. My fingers take on a mind of their own as they run through his bed hair, pulling his head closer to mine. It feels so natural to be waking up to him, to kiss him. Is this what love is supposed to be like? Am I in love with Brax? I can’t deny that I’m falling for him, and his kisses are the perfect antidote for any bad nightmare.
We pull our mouths apart, breathless and full of desire. I giggle and he quirks his eyebrow at me.
“Is kissing me funny?” he asks, grinning at my laughter.
“I just figure I’d have morning breath, I’m so sorry,” I say between laughs. He pulls me down to him again and kisses me deeply, plunging my mouth with his tongue. He pulls away so our lips are barely touching,
“I don’t care,” he whispers as his hands roam down my shoulders, around my waist and slowly inch down to my ass as he pulls me even closer to him. I gasp when I feel how much he wants me, he feels divine. I make myself pull away because if know if I don’t I won’t be able to control myself, and I’m not quite ready for that kind of interaction. Leaning my forehead against his, I try to calm my racing heartbeat. It feels like it is going to beat out of my chest.
“That’s to prove how delicious your morning breath is, babe.”