Chapter 30 Donovan
DONOVAN
Did I take a shower and jerk off to thoughts of Audra, who was sleeping down the hall?
Yup. How depraved was I that in this time of serious emotional duress for her, I was imagining taking her clothes off, grabbing those fucking hips I couldn’t stop thinking about, and sinking deep into her warm body. Jesus. Get it together, Donovan.
I lay in bed and wondered what her reservation with me was.
I refused to believe she didn’t feel the chemistry, too.
The intensity of it was almost scary. Every time she was in the room, I had to look at her.
Every time I was by her, I wanted to reach out and touch her, find her lips again, and hold her against my body.
I wanted to hear her laugh and see her eyes crinkle up.
It took a monumental effort not to seek her out in her room.
Although I wasn’t used to having to wait for things, I’d wait for this.
Us together was undeniable; she just had to get there.
I learned my lesson after kissing her last week.
I can’t be that forward again and scare her away.
My eyes got heavy as I drifted off to sleep with thoughts of Audra King. Some sweet, some not.
“NO! STOP!” Audra’s screams reverberated through the house.
It must have looked like I was struck by lightning, given the way I jumped out of bed and sped down the hall to her room without even stopping to put shorts over my flimsy boxers.
I was moving so quickly that I crashed into the wall at the end of the hall to stop my momentum.
Throwing open her door, I was ready to take on whatever was behind it.
Except I was absolutely not ready for it.
Because it was Audra, just Audra, having a nightmare.
Her shirt had hiked up because of her thrashing and I saw scars around her chest. She had mentioned an accident before; I wondered what happened?
She was shaking like she was fighting someone, and then she let out the most soul-piercing whimper. It was time to wake up.
“Audra … Audra, wake up.” I started with just words. Nothing. Then I gently put my hand on her shoulder to shake her a little. “Audra, you’re having a nightmare. Wake up,” I said a little louder.
Her hand shot to my wrist, and she bolted up in bed. Her hair was a mess, and her eyes were wild and wet with tears. She was heaving as if she’d just run miles, and it took her a couple of seconds to register where she was.
“You’re safe, Audra. You were having a nightmare. You’re in my house, Donovan’s house.” I said quietly while rubbing her shoulder to ground her.
Then a sob escaped her lips. “He had me and wouldn’t let me go. He was hurting me,” the cries broke free.
I didn’t have to ask who he was. She couldn’t keep putting this off.
It was time to involve the authorities. I’m not exactly sure what they were going to do, but it seemed like it was time to involve them.
But that task was for morning light. At that moment, all I could do was open my arms to comfort her.
I was still treading lightly, so if she wasn’t okay with it, she wouldn’t have to lean in.
She immediately scooted over, draped her legs over the side of the bed to sit, and wrapped her arms around me, resting her cheek on my bare stomach.
Her scent and warmth invaded mine, and I put my arms around her, pulling her in and smoothing her slightly damp hair while she tried to get her heart rate down and her breathing back to normal.
I had a conversation with my dick to please, please stay under control.
All that separated us was a thin layer of fabric.
It could go south real quick if I poked her in her chest. Not to mention, getting hard when she was in tears, post nightmare, is fucked up.
“It felt so real. I was so scared,” she whispered. “I never thought he’d act this way or do these things. I’m worried he is going to do something to me.”
After dancing around admitting it, the veil of night and the fear from her dream pushed out her confession.
Hopefully, she’d be open to the police now.
At minimum, she had to cover her bases. And if we hit a dead end there, my mind started going through some of the less savory people I knew that I could call on from my past. Not that I was ever involved in that kind of shit, but I knew people who were.
A deep breath from her halted my thoughts and brought me back to the moment.
Right now, all I have to do is hold her, I reminded myself.
It didn’t take too long for her to calm down, and when she pulled away, it seemed like she finally realized what I had on, or rather didn’t have on.
Her mouth opened slightly, and I could hear her breath hitch.
I looked down at her, and I shouldn’t have.
Because the position was way too similar to a much different scenario, and when I watched her pull that bottom lip into her teeth and look at me with big doe eyes, the arousal that had been hanging by a thread barreled in.
The blood rushed south. “I…” My throat cleared.
“I’m going to get different clothes on real quick. ”
She shook her head ever so slightly. “Please don’t leave me right now.” Her voice barely a whisper.
“Okay,” I said, as I blew out a breath and then stepped back to walk around to the other side of the bed, trying to keep my back to her.
At least if I could get under the covers, I could somewhat conceal my situation.
I could feel her eyes tracking me, so I pulled the covers back and hopped in as quickly as I could.
Scooting so my back was against the headboard, I opened my arm again, offering her a space to rest. She came over and curled up like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Like we’d done this a thousand times before.
Like she belonged right here in my arms.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I ventured.
“Not really. He was chasing me and then tackled me. He held me down, yelling at me, and told me it was time for him to take what was his. Then you woke me up.” Her voice wavered.
“You’re safe here. I won’t let anything happen to you,” and I pulled her even closer and kissed the top of her hair.
We sat in silence, and it didn’t take long for her breathing to even out.
Before I knew it, she was asleep, curled up in my arms. I ran my eyes over her body and took stock of her in my clothes.
I rather liked it. The rugby shorts showed enough of her thighs to allow me to see the large scar.
Bennett’s words about him and Audra being trauma-bonded rang in my head, and I wondered if her scars were part of that.
Whatever happened, it was significant. I took a calming breath, and since she was out, I settled in.
I could have pried myself out of her grip and retreated to my room.
I could have, but I didn’t want to. And once she raised her leg to drape it over my thigh, I was stuck, but I didn’t mind.
I drifted off to sleep thinking about how content I felt, contemplating what her hesitation was, and planning how I was going to win Audra King over.