She’d never forget that laugh, the one full of confidence and some twisted form of affection. The memory of his call plagued her, too.
She’d told no one about it because she needed to pretend it hadn’t happened. If he was telling the truth, if he wouldn’t ever abduct her, then she wasn’t in any danger. Why open old wounds?
Though the way she panted on the bed, her throat raw, said the wounds weren’t really closed.
Her door flung open, making her jerk her gaze up to find a shirtless and mostly asleep Bradley there.
And the sight of him half-dressed was just about enough to distract her from the panic at a man rushing into her bedroom—especially after her nightmare.
He blinked, looking around as if ready to fight anything that might have frightened her. Too bad that didn’t include dreams, huh?
Eventually, he met her gaze, the fog of sleep drifting out of his dark brown eyes. “Nightmare?”
Kat nodded, gripping her sheet and keeping it at her neckline. She’d worn one of her nightgowns to bed, changed into it only after she was safely in her room, because it would show the top of the mark Jerry had left.
Bradley let out a soft sigh, then turned to leave. It made Kat frown, at least until she heard noises in the kitchen. She would have followed, but the reminder of her mark made her stay put. The last thing she wanted was him to see that.
A few minutes later, he returned. He turned her lights to low when he entered, then handed a cup to her.
Warm milk with cinnamon.
It took her back to years ago, to when he’d make that for her after…
She dropped her gaze to the cup and took a sip, trying to shove away all the past. Mindfulness said to stay present, and she knew nothing in the past would help her.
“You having a lot of nightmares?” The bed dipped as he sat on the edge of it, facing her.
Kat shook her head. “Not really.” She almost went to say she wasn’t sure why she had one today, but that would have been a lie and Bradley had always seen through hers.
“Maybe it’s because I’m here…”
She opened her mouth to make a smart-ass joke, but it died in her throat. She swallowed hard, then took another sip to ease the way her heart still pounded.
“No comment?” He lifted an eyebrow. “I don’t know if you’ve ever let the chance to insult me go before. You really aren’t doing well, are you?”
“I’m doing fine,” she argued but still didn’t rise to his jabs.
“What happened, Kat? What really happened? I know you were attacked, I know you got hurt, I know you have marks from it you don’t want me to see but tell me what happened.” His tone was low, pleading.
Had heeverbegged her for anything before?
No, that wasn’t Bradley’s way. He’d always been the type to never ask for anything, to just work harder at whatever it was until he secured what he wanted. It meant that the soft request broke some of her resolve.
“It wasn’t that bad, not really. Women go through some awful things—I’ve got friends who have been through hell. This wasn’t like that.”
“Comparing pain won’t heal a wound,” Bradley said. “Doesn’t matter what anyone else went through, doesn’t change a thing about what you went through. I just want to help you carry it.”
“No one can carry things for someone else. If I tell you, my weight isn’t lightened, but you become burdened, too. How does that help?”
A weight on her knee made her jerk her gaze up to find he’d set his hand there, and despite all the reasons she should shove him away, the touch eased her.
“Let me help, at least a little.”
She blew out a long breath. If it had been anyone else or anytime else, she’d have never uttered a word. Maybe it was her still waking up, or the memory of the nightmare, of the years of history between her and Bradley, but she spoke softly. “I don’t know what I said before, exactly, but he didn’t rape me or anything. It wasn’t like that.”
Bradley’s thumb rubbed her knee through the sheet, as if coaxing her to continue. It was one of the good things about Bradley. He knew when and how to shut up.
So she went on. “The man, Jerry, wanted something from my friend Ell, and I was at her house drinking our sorrows away. I got caught up when he abducted her, but I guess he took a liking to me. When he got what he wanted, he took me into the bedroom of the motel.”