“Why are you really helping me?”
“I told you. You are mine.” His eyes don’t deviate from mine. There is a seriousness to his statement that makes me see he actually believes in what he is telling me.
“How can you say that when you have never met me before?”
He shrugs at my question.
“I have known you my whole life.” At my surprised expression he shakes his head. “I mean that as an Elemental, we only have one mate. We go through life looking for that one woman that calms our souls. You, Esmeralda, are that woman. I knew it the moment I saw your photo.”
“I can’t be your mate.”
He frowns at my words, but it’s true. I can’t be his mate I’m too broken to be anyone’s woman ever again. If he knew everything that happened to me—knew the things I had to do to survive. He would never want to look at me again. For a minute, I feel disappointment, but then I berate myself for it. I have been with a man that is domineering and cruel, and that drove me to the brink of madness. I have never been given a break or been treated with kindness. What Dag says is just not possible in my world.
“You are, and nothing anyone does can change that.” Suddenly he’s leaning down, his face a breath away from mine. “I will always protect you. No one will ever hurt you again.” His tone is sincere but even though I want to believe him, I still have reservations about what his real intentions are.
“I can protect myself.”
His hand slides up to my jaw, his fingers holding my chin.
“I know you can, but now you have me and the whole Elementals MC to keep you safe.”
Suddenly, his lips are over mine. Before I can react, he is already lifting and moving away. My lips still tingling from the brief kiss. “Sleep. I will be back later to check on you.” And just like that he is gone.
Biting my lip, I try to stop the tingling sensation. What the hell is going on? I feel like a schoolgirl. Like a virgin with her first kiss. I feel a tear slip down my cheek and shake my head. I wish that what he said was true, that I could just relax and leave my future in someone else’s hands, but I have learned that not being on my guard has tragic consequences.
Closing my eyes, I sigh as I feel sleep pulling me down into its clutches. I will get better, I will get stronger, and then I will leave. I will go far away from all the pain, all the horrors that Cape Town holds.
***
I’m startled awake when I hear a scraping noise. My eyes snap open and I shoot up into a sitting position only to groan in pain when my hand is jerked. “Oh, I’m sorry.” I turn my head to find one of the women that I had spoken to before that one day in the coffee shop when I slipped the journal into her bag. “I didn’t mean to wake you. I was just bringing you breakfast.”
Breakfast? I turn my head towards the window and frown. Did I sleep right through the afternoon and evening? I must have, because the morning sun is streaming into the room, brightening up everything.
“I slept for so long.” My voice is husky from sleep.
My body is still aching, but my mind is more focused more centred.
“After everything that you have gone through, I would say that you needed it.” Her voice is filled with kindness as she brings a tray filled with mouth-watering food towards me. Looking down at me, she smiles. “Can you move back, or would you like me to help you?” I shake my head as I place my good hand under me to pull myself back against the headboard.
“Thank you,” I say as she places the tray on my lap. “You really didn’t need to bring me this, I could have come and got something to eat.”
She shakes her hand in dismissal. “Nonsense, I wanted to, and it’s a pleasure. I was dying to talk to you again.”
Her comment has me feeling awkward for forgetting her name. Looking down at the tray, I forget about everything as I see the fluffy golden scrambled eggs, the two slices of toast, and the glass of orange juice. I would have been happy with just toast, but the scrambled eggs have my mouth watering.
Lifting my fork, I stab a piece of egg, bringing it to my mouth. I close my eyes as the taste of the eggs swims over my taste buds. “Mmm.” I sigh in pleasure.
“Can I keep you company while you eat?” she asks.
I nod. “Yes, please do, and thank you this is so good.”
She smiles pleasantly, before taking a seat at the bottom of the bed. The door to the room opens, and the other woman I saw before at the coffee shop, sticks her head in to look inside.
“So, this is where you are. I thought so,” she says as she steps inside and closes the door.
“I thought I would feed Esmeralda. Unfortunately, I woke her up.”
“I’m sure you don’t mind her waking you up, when Freya made you breakfast, now do you?”