her feet and ran to her favorite hiding spot. There she huddled in the back of her mother’s closet, hoping the demon never found her and one day she could find freedom.
Riordan woke up to covers being ripped from his body. He had rolled over and was sleeping peacefully with his arm and leg weighing down Jordan’s luscious curves. What he didn’t expect was for her to come out of her restless sleep, swinging.
He reared back, sliding off the bed, his tall, tanned form a dark shadow against the back drop of his dimly lit, en suite bathroom. Jordan, still locked in her memory, cowered from the dark, looming giant hovering over her and let out a silent scream. Scrambling off the bed, she fell to the floor and scurried for the nearest corner. Curling up as tight as her long legs would allow, she shut her eyes and began to rock.
***
Jordan rocked in fear, her mind hazy and confused. She looked down at her manicured hands and naked form and the confusion quickly dissipated. Damn, another one , she thought, and this one put me in the corner.
“Baby...?” Riordan whispered, keeping his voice as non-threatening as possible. “Baby, it’s Riordan… It’s safe here. It’s okay… I’m coming toward you, okay? You’re safe, sweetheart.”
Jordan’s eyes squinted in recognition and then she sighed loudly, leaning her head back against the wall.
“Oh, God, please tell me I’m not naked, on the floor, huddled in the corner. Just tell me I didn’t embarrass myself,” she said wearily, holding her face in her hands.
Abruptly, she swiped her tear-stained face as if to wipe away the episode and shakily grabbed the wall and Riordan’s outstretched hand. He pulled her up and into his arms, and she let the tremors coursing through her body melt into his protective embrace. He tilted her head back by her chin and stared directly into her chocolate eyes, searching for answers. He spoke quietly again.
“Oh, Lovely Viper, you will never need to feel embarrassment in front of me. We are no strangers to night terrors in my line of work. I know what they look like. Do you want to talk about this now or get back in bed and talk about it in the morning?”
“The morning, definitely,” lied Jordan, letting Riordan lead her back to the king size bed that dominated his bedroom. She wasn’t going to explain a damn thing in the morning. She’d tried to face this demon head- on and be normal. She’d tried to have a lovely, intimate night with her new guy, like every other single, dating woman in the world, but that just wasn’t in the cards for her anymore. Normal romantic relationships were not going to happen with her, and she needed to accept that. By the time Riordan woke up, Jordan planned to be gone and out of his hair.
No one wanted a broken girlfriend, especially someone in his line of work. He needed stability just as much as she did, if not more. She wasn’t going to subject him to her craziness, and more importantly she was going to avoid a seriously broken heart by leaving him before he left her.
She curled up under the comforter and stared at their clasped hands. His paler, thicker fingers wrapped securely around her darker, smaller ones. This was the best she could do. Hold hands. She bit her bottom lip as the tears begin to slip down her cheeks again. It was too late for her knight in shining armor to come save her. This was not a storybook, and her real-life demons had won.
***
Riordan stood in the middle of his living room sans clothes and sans lover. The last twenty-four hours had been a series of first for him all around. He had never had a woman run in fear from his bed, and he had never ever had a woman sneak out in the middle of the night without letting him know she was leaving. Whatever had spooked his Lovely Viper was a frightening thing indeed, and it was breaking her heart and he would not stand for it. He intended to get to the bottom of this. If she wouldn’t come
Riordan woke up to covers being ripped from his body. He had rolled over and was sleeping peacefully with his arm and leg weighing down Jordan’s luscious curves. What he didn’t expect was for her to come out of her restless sleep, swinging.
He reared back, sliding off the bed, his tall, tanned form a dark shadow against the back drop of his dimly lit, en suite bathroom. Jordan, still locked in her memory, cowered from the dark, looming giant hovering over her and let out a silent scream. Scrambling off the bed, she fell to the floor and scurried for the nearest corner. Curling up as tight as her long legs would allow, she shut her eyes and began to rock.
***
Jordan rocked in fear, her mind hazy and confused. She looked down at her manicured hands and naked form and the confusion quickly dissipated. Damn, another one , she thought, and this one put me in the corner.
“Baby...?” Riordan whispered, keeping his voice as non-threatening as possible. “Baby, it’s Riordan… It’s safe here. It’s okay… I’m coming toward you, okay? You’re safe, sweetheart.”
Jordan’s eyes squinted in recognition and then she sighed loudly, leaning her head back against the wall.
“Oh, God, please tell me I’m not naked, on the floor, huddled in the corner. Just tell me I didn’t embarrass myself,” she said wearily, holding her face in her hands.
Abruptly, she swiped her tear-stained face as if to wipe away the episode and shakily grabbed the wall and Riordan’s outstretched hand. He pulled her up and into his arms, and she let the tremors coursing through her body melt into his protective embrace. He tilted her head back by her chin and stared directly into her chocolate eyes, searching for answers. He spoke quietly again.
“Oh, Lovely Viper, you will never need to feel embarrassment in front of me. We are no strangers to night terrors in my line of work. I know what they look like. Do you want to talk about this now or get back in bed and talk about it in the morning?”
“The morning, definitely,” lied Jordan, letting Riordan lead her back to the king size bed that dominated his bedroom. She wasn’t going to explain a damn thing in the morning. She’d tried to face this demon head- on and be normal. She’d tried to have a lovely, intimate night with her new guy, like every other single, dating woman in the world, but that just wasn’t in the cards for her anymore. Normal romantic relationships were not going to happen with her, and she needed to accept that. By the time Riordan woke up, Jordan planned to be gone and out of his hair.
No one wanted a broken girlfriend, especially someone in his line of work. He needed stability just as much as she did, if not more. She wasn’t going to subject him to her craziness, and more importantly she was going to avoid a seriously broken heart by leaving him before he left her.
She curled up under the comforter and stared at their clasped hands. His paler, thicker fingers wrapped securely around her darker, smaller ones. This was the best she could do. Hold hands. She bit her bottom lip as the tears begin to slip down her cheeks again. It was too late for her knight in shining armor to come save her. This was not a storybook, and her real-life demons had won.
***
Riordan stood in the middle of his living room sans clothes and sans lover. The last twenty-four hours had been a series of first for him all around. He had never had a woman run in fear from his bed, and he had never ever had a woman sneak out in the middle of the night without letting him know she was leaving. Whatever had spooked his Lovely Viper was a frightening thing indeed, and it was breaking her heart and he would not stand for it. He intended to get to the bottom of this. If she wouldn’t come
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