"N-No." She struggles uselessly against me, but I'm not letting go. Holding her down firmly, I continue exploring her body. "Stop it, Alaric."
"I love the way you way my name," I grunt. "Fucking love it. Say it again."
"No." She struggles again, but this time, it's without any real effort. I smirk, knowing full well she doesn't really want to get away.”
"Just stop."
"Stop?"
"Stop." She nods, but there's uncertainty in her eyes.
"Okay." I pull my arms away, watching her rub her wrists where I held on to them. "I'll leave if you want me to."
I make a move to pull back when she suddenly latches onto me. Her arms go around my neck, and she wraps her legs around my waist, making me unable to move. With a groan, I collapse back into the bed beside her, but she still doesn't move, clinging on to me for dear life. And the words she whispers into my ear fucking wreck me.
"Don't leave me," she whispers. "Everyone leaves me. Don't be like them."
I'm too deep in my thoughts to muster up a reply, so I just nod and hold her against my chest. In seconds, her breathing slows as she calms herself. It only takes a few minutes of stroking her hair and back for Monroe to fall asleep. This time, her breaths are slow and steady, and there's a smile on her face as she drifts to sleep.
No nightmares.
Not when I'm around, at least.
If only Monroe knew I'm what nightmares are fucking made of.
But I know it would scare her off. And I'm already getting attached. I can't risk losing her now, not when things are just starting to get good for us.
Holding her against me, I stroke her hair and don't sleep a wink. My thoughts are too full of the situation I got us in, too full of Monroe. She's got my head spinning, and I don't know if I like it or not.
But I don't have a choice, not anymore. I'm as far gone as she is, and only time will tell whether that's a good thing... or the beginning of the end.
10
Monroe
I don’t know why I keep doing this to myself. I should know by now not to let anyone in, not to trust anyone. Every time I let someone close, they leave me. Every time I trust, I get disappointed. I should be used to it, and maybe I am, but it still hurts. The pain stays the same no matter how many people turn their backs on me.
Last night, I poured my heart out to Alaric. I told him my darkest secrets, which I haven’t told anyone in a long time. I thought I felt something between us, some sort of connection. He held me when I needed comfort, and I was stupid enough to let him.
I let him hold me in his arms, cuddled into him like we are some kind of couple. I let him whisper sweet nothings in my ear while I cried myself to sleep, thinking this morning will be better. Things are going to change now.
I’m so naïve. Naïve and stupid.
That’s all I can think of since I woke up alone and cuffed to the bed. Betrayal settles deep into my bones, and I keep telling myself I need to hold on to this. I need to remember this, no matter how sweet he is at times. It’s all lies, and he doesn’t care about me.
I am his prisoner, his plaything, something he bought and put away when he doesn’t need it at the moment. And when he’s done playing, he’s going to get rid of me. I have to get away before that happens because for Alaric, getting rid of means he’s going to kill me.
The house is quiet, and I know he’s not here because when I first woke up, I spent five minutes yelling his name. There’s no clock in this room, so I have no way of telling the time, but my bladder tells me I need to get up and go to the bathroom.
I am so mad at him I entertain the thought of peeing in the bed out of spite, but I don’t know how he would react, and frankly, I would be too embarrassed.
By the time I finally hear someone in the house, my bladder hurts from holding it for so long. I yell his name, and it doesn’t take him long to appear in the room.
“Unless you want a yellow stain on your mattress, you need to hurry up and let me go to the bathroom.”
“I didn’t wanna wake you up, but I went to the grocery store and got some food,” he explains but doesn’t give me an apology. Not that his apology would mean anything to me.
He pulls the key from his pocket and quickly unlocks my handcuffs. I dash off the bed and into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind me. Running to the toilet, I pull my panties down just in time to relieve myself.