Chapter 84

Chapter 84

you’re with me.”

My eyes fluttered open. I stared into hig

to believe it, too.

“Thank you.”

He truly believed what he said, and it made me want.

We k*ssed again, slowly, sensually. He lowered himself on top of me, pressing his member into my loins. I wrapped mChapter 84

Andrew called me as I was closing up the bridal shop that night. Secretly, I had been hoping for more time to come up with a story to tell him about what had happened with Noah, but I supposed that I couldn’t avoid him for long.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Hi, Crystal,” Andrew said. “How’s it going?”

“Pretty well. Things seem to be settling down from those rumors.”

“That’s good. Maybe Lily will let you start interacting with clients again soon.”

“Hope springs eternal. How are things on your end?”

“Lisa seems to be cooling down a bit.”

I scoffed.

“Oh, really?”

“Well, she’s not giving on her position regarding you, but she’s being quieter about it, for now. So, I’m taking that as progress.”

“I guess we’ll just have to take what we can get there.”

“You’re right about that.” Andrew paused. “Did you get a chance to talk to Noah?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

I mentally cursed myself for what I was about to say.

“I told him that I needed a new lawyer to take on the case, and he gave me the name of a trusted colleague. It’s all handled.”

“That’s fantastic! Let me know if you need help with the finances.”

Again, I mentally cursed myself. Andrew was being too sweet for me to keep lying to him, but that was exactly what I had to do.

“Thank you, Andrew. You’re too much.”

“Anything for the women I care about.”

My heart ached, but I stood firm.

“You know,” Andrew continued, “Lisa and Bob will be away tonight for one of their grand

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Chapter 84

parties. You could stay the night at the mansion without running into them. You know, to celebrate you getting a new lawyer…”

Ismiled.

That sounds like a wonderful idea.”

Andrew and I spent the night quietly enjoying each other’s company. We had a nice chicken. dinner, watched funny videos online, and massaged each other’s aching feet. It was the most relaxing night I had had in a long time.

Then at II p.m., we cuddled in bed, his firm abs pressed against my back, his even firmer member pressing into my rear. One of his toned arms rested between my head and the pillow, while the other wrapped around my waist. His warmth engulfed me like an extra blanket, making me feel protected, loved, and secure.

As silence drifted among us, our breathing falling into synchrony, I subconsciously listened for the opening of any doors. Even though the party was supposed to keep Lisa and Bob out of the mansion until the morning, I could not help but worry that they might return at any moment. I tried to convince myself that I was safe in Andrew’s room, but despite the extra protective layer of Andrew’s b*dy wrapped around me, I was having a hard time getting my mind to settle.

I heard Andrew snore. In his sleep, he tightened his grip around me, pulling me closer to him. I smiled slightly and nuzzled my head against his arm.

I wasn’t sure how long it took me, but eventually, I fell asleep.

In my dream, I found myself in my old room in the mansion. I was tied down, n*ked, to the bed, and a gag had been wrapped around my mouth. At the foot of the bed, with a knife in his hand and a sinister grin dancing across his face, stood Bob.

“You tried to ruin my life,” he said in a low, malicious tone, “so now I’m going to ruin yours.”

He walked up to me and pressed the tip of the blade into the skin of my upper inner thin. Slowly, torturously, he dug the tip in, piercing my flesh, and dragged the blade down my leg. I screamed against the gag, but my cries were muted by the cloth.

He repeated the process with my other thigh. Warm blood dripped down my skin. I trembled in both pain and fear.

He brought the blade to my sternum.

“I will take away everything and everyone you cherish,” he said as he ran the blade down my sternum, my stomach, and stopping just above my loins. “Your job, you loved ones, everything, starting with Andrew Dubois. He won’t want to touch you once I’m done with

you.

Chapter M

Lyelled at Susan to come forward. Like in the other dreams, I could not access her. I could not even hear her

I urged my muscles to struggle against my restraints, but they would not move. I could only react to the pain as it burst through me.

Bob cut my inner arms, from my armpits to my wrists. My pale skin stained crimson ast blood flowed from my open veins and onto the lavender bedding beneath me.

“And in the end, you will be nothing but vampire chow.”

He turned to the darkened corner of the room, from which emerged Louise and Gregory. They exposed their fangs as they converged on me.

gag

I tried to beg Bob, beg him to not do this to me, but the words could not escape the pa around my mouth. Tears streamed down my cheeks. I finally found the ability to thrash against my restraints, but the knots in the ropes only tightened.

Bob watched with twisted glee as Louise and Gregory planted their fangs deep into my slit wrists. I cried out in pain, calling out Bob’s name into the gag again and again. Bob’s grin merely grew.

As I felt the venom burn its way through my veins, the scene dissolved into darkness, Bob’s malicious grin the last thing I could see.

I awoke to someone trying to pin down my thrashing arms. My kicking legs were already weighed down by another set of muscular legs and a toned ass.

For a few minutes, I fought harder, convinced that someone was trying to take me again. Then a familiar voice reached my ears.

“Crystal, it’s me!” Andrew said. “You’re all right. You’re safe.”

I opened my eyes to find Andrew towering over me, his face less than a foot above mine. I quit my struggle, panting for air.

“Andrew?” I said, still a bit dazed.

He nodded.

“Yes, it’s me. Andrew.

I exhaled shakily. I closed my eyes to suppress my tears, but they trickled out anyway.

“It happened again,” I whispered. “Another dream.”

Now that I had stopped thrashing, he removed a hand from my arm and wiped away my tears. He leaned down and k*ssed me gently.

“I know,” he whispered against my l*ps, “but you’re okay now. Nob*dy can hurt you

you when

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y arms around his broad shoulders, hooked my legs around his waist, and pulled him closer.

He moaned into my mouth and playfully teased my tongue. His hand went to my jaw and moved my head so that he could explore my mouth more thoroughly. My nails dug into his back, and he growled triumphantly.

I went to unbutton Andrew’s pajama shirt, but he grabbed my wrists. He pulled away from me, still holding my wrists, and stared straight into my eyes.

“Crystal.” he said, the seriousness in his tone making my stomach clench, “why were you saying Bob’s name in your sleep?”