Chapter 50 Dimitri
DIMITRI
My hands were covered with blood. It dripped from my skin, staining the hardwood floor in perfect circular splatters that would never come out.
Strangled screams echoed around me. I frantically spun around, strangled breaths sawing through my lungs as I tried to figure out the direction the screams came from.
The sound was all-consuming as it permeated my body and sank deep into my soul.
One for every cut he’d made in her perfect skin.
I sat up, gasping. Before I realized what I was doing, I was out of bed and sprinting down the hall. Every shadow sent an electric jolt of fear through my heart. Would I be too late?
I slammed Sienna’s bedroom door open. A scream from the bed and the click of a lamp illuminated my wife, eyes wide with panic.
Alive.
Alive. Alive. Alive.
I dropped to my knees, my chest so tight I was choking, unable to drag in any air.
“Dimitri?” A gentle hand squeezing my shoulder. “Breathe. Come on, take in a breath for me.” Dark spots danced in front of my eyes as my windpipe closed. Then her fingers were in my hair, tugging my head back until the sting radiated through my scalp. I dragged in a strangled breath.
“There we go. Good job. Take another breath.” She kept her stinging hold on my hair, forcing me to keep my eyes on her.
Slowly, my breathing became more even. She loosened her grip.
“Are you real?” I croaked out. “Or has he twisted my mind again?”
“I’m real,” she said softly. “I’m here.” Her warm hands surrounded my ice cold ones.
I fell forward, my head resting on her shoulder as I wrapped my arms around her. “I can still feel it.”
Her hand ran up and down my back. “Feel what?”
“The blood. It’s all over me. I can’t get it off.”
“Shh, stop. Don’t do that.” She grabbed my hand, and I realized I was clawing at my skin. “Come on, caro.” She stood and pulled me up from the floor.
I stayed trapped in a fog as she brought me into the bathroom, drew a bath, and stripped me off. The hot water stung my skin, but I embraced the pinpricks of pain.
“Just keep breathing,” Sienna murmured. The sweet vanilla scent of her body wash filled the air as she ran a washcloth over my skin.
“Look, caro.” She waited until my disoriented gaze landed on our entwined fingers.
“See? There’s no blood. Your hands are clean.
” She pressed her lips to my skin, and I couldn’t believe someone so pure would deign to touch me.
Once the water cooled, she helped me out and toweled me dry. “Are you still here with me?” she asked.
I nodded.
She took me by the hand and gently led me out of the bathroom, down the hall, and back into my bedroom. She fluffed my pillows and drew the blanket over me. “I hope your dreams are sweeter this time around.”
“Wait.” It was my turn to take her hand. “Please, stay.”
Her eyes was warm, but her breath hitched. “I can’t. No one deserves nightmares. I want you to feel safe, but I deserve to feel safe, too. And you have not given me that.”
With a gentle brush of fingers through my hair, she turned away and left the room.