96

[REBECCA]
My eyes were locked on the bathroom’s door. Artemy was in there, taking his shower.
A few minutes later, I heard the shower turn off. And then there was silence.
The silence only made my palms started to sweat, and I rubbed them over my nightdress. The door opened a few seconds later, and Artemy walked out, wearing only black sweatpants.
His eyes were instantly on me, and when he noticed me looking, they twinkled almost teasingly. Walking closer, he stopped next to the bed, his big body looming over me.
My gaze followed a path down his chest, his ripped abs and then slightly below, but my head quickly snapped up when I saw the noticeable bulge.
Artemy chuckled while I glared at his chest, refusing to look into his eyes when my cheeks heated in embarrassment.
“So how is this going to work?” His voice was low and deep. I gripped the comforter to stop myself from reaching out to him.
“What?” I looked up to see him nodding toward the bed.
“We are not supposed to touch. How are we going to sleep?” he asked, raising an eyebrow in question.
Oh. Right.
I glanced at the couch in the corner of the room and smiled. “You can sleep on the couch.”
Artemy glanced at it, then back at me again, his expression filled with surprise. “You are seriously kicking me out of my own bed?”
“You said it’s our bed. So I get to decide too, right?” I batted my eyelashes up at him innocently, trying to put up the most innocent face I could muster.
Artemy simply glared as he walked over to the couch, throwing his towel on the coffee table in agitation. I watched his shoulders tense, and the smile on my face slipped.
I was being unfair. It didn’t matter if we called it our room; this was still his room. Making him sleep on the couch wasn’t reasonable. Or nice, either.
With a sigh, I started to get out of the bed. “I should go to my room,” I suggested quietly.
Artemy’s eyes widened, and he snapped, “No.”
He pointed at the bed, glaring at me in the process. “Get back in there,” he ordered. “I’d rather have you in the same room and not touch you than have you in the other room, so far away from me.”
“Artemy-” I started but never got a chance to explain before he cut me off.
“No. There is no my room or yours. This bed is as much yours as it is mine. It’s ours. This is your room now. Got it?” he replied, his words punctuated as if he wanted me to understand and never doubt what he was saying. “So get that pretty ass of yours back in bed and go to sleep.”
I lost the fight and sat on the edge of the bed, still feeling a little guilty. My eyes were cast down, but I heard Artemy’s audible sigh, and he quickly approached the bed. He stopped in front of me, and I stared at his feet.
When his hands came to rest on the mattress, on either side of my hips, caging me in, I had no choice but to look up in his eyes. “Stop thinking so hard, Angel,” he soothed quietly.
Angel. My heart melted at the word, and I smiled. Artemy leaned forward, his forehead just mere inches from mine, but we didn’t touch. We were so close, yet not touching. All I had to do was lean the slightest bit forward and we would be touching.
But neither of us moved.
“Good night,” he whispered.
“Good night,” I replied just as softly.
He still didn’t move, and neither did I. And when he finally did, I could see the disappointment in his eyes, and I felt my own, my chest aching as he stepped away.
That small moment between us had lasted shorter than we wanted.
“I want to kiss you so bad right now, Rebecca,” he confessed. His words sent a shiver down my body. I wanted that, too. But we both knew we couldn’t just simply kiss. It would lead to more, and we wouldn’t be able to stop ourselves.
“But I’ll wait. For you, I will wait.”
He was perfect and said the sweetest words. It was hard to resist him.
I could feel myself slipping, forgetting about his punishment. I could feel myself reaching for him, but he was already stepping away. “Go to sleep, Angel.”
Nodding, I laid down under the covers as he turned off the lights, only the lamp beside me casting a soft glow around the room. I faced the couch and saw Artemy lying down, crossing his arms over his chest. In the dark, I couldn’t see if his eyes were closed or not.
Maybe he was too big for the couch. He really was. The couch appeared dainty with Artemy laid down on it.
I burrowed deeper under the comforter and pressed myself into the soft mattress, willing myself to stop worrying and just sleep.
Hours later, I was still not asleep. I glanced at Artemy and wondered if he was already asleep. Without thinking much about it, I quietly got out of bed, making my way to Artemy.
My feet stopped in front of him to see his eyes closed, his face calm with sleep. He was so beautiful like this. When I looked at Artemy, I didn’t see the cruel man, the killer or the monster. All I saw was him, the man who called me Angel. I saw the real him.
I pulled the bed sheet over his body, my heart accelerating just a little bit. I hoped he wouldn’t wake up. When he didn’t, my hands moved to his head, my fingers lightly brushing his forehead as I pushed the strands of hair away.
I caressed him, almost soothingly, wishing he was awake to feel my touch.
“I thought we weren’t supposed to touch.”
At his voice, I snatched my hand away. Artemy cracked one eye open, sending me a smirk of his own. Scoffing at his teasing look, I crossed my arms over my chest. “You were awake this whole time?”
“Yes,” he replied, looking down at the bed sheet covering his body.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” I mumbled under my breath.
“And miss the opportunity of you touching me?” he shot back.
“Well, that’s cheating,” I replied.
“You are the one who touched me.” He raised an eyebrow before shutting his eyes again.
“Go to sleep.” This time it was me ordering him around. His chest rumbled with a low laughter, and I smiled back. Two days. We could do this.
With renewed confidence, I got back in bed. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I closed my eyes and waited for sleep to come.
—-
It was dark. Raining and foggy. My body quaked with each harsh shudder. The wind blew violently around me. It was dark. So dark. Why was it dark? Where was I?
I couldn’t see anything. Just darkness. Were my eyes closed? I tried to open them…but they were already open.
Help. I tried to shout, but no words came out.
And then I heard his voice. His sinister voice. My skin crawled, my back stiffened, and a shiver ran down my spine.
No. No. I wanted to scream.
I now understood why it was only darkness. I was back in hell. He got me. The devil had me and wouldn’t let me go this time.
I wanted to scream again, but my voice was gone.
“Did you really think you could escape?”
His voice was right next to my ear, but I couldn’t see anything. I only felt him. A small part of me died as I felt his breath on my neck.
“I will always find you.”
I recoiled from him, but his hand clamped down painfully on my arms, and I screamed. This time, I heard it. My voice came out hoarse, and my scream rang through my ears.
“Scream. Scream all you want. Nobody will save you this time. Not even him.”
Not even him.
Artemy. No. Artemy, where are you? I wanted to scream, but my voice was gone again.
And then I saw him. Even through the darkness, I saw him. He was walking toward me. My savior. My peace. He was here. He would save me. He would save me from the devil and this nightmare.
But all I saw was rage in his eyes. They glowed with it. So much anger. So much hatred.
I gasped when I realized it was all directed at me. I tried to shake my head, tried to explain, but I was numb.
He stopped in front of me, his big body looming dangerously over mine. Instead of feeling safe, all I felt was fear. I could feel all his fury and hatred for me. They were vibrating off his body, letting me know exactly how he felt.
I betrayed him. And now I had to pay the price.
“I hate you.” He hissed the words, shattering my heart in a thousand pieces. “You deserve what you got. Your soul belongs to the devil.”
No. No. No. Please. Believe me.
He was walking away. Away from me, leaving me behind with the devil.
No, come back. Please come back. Don’t leave me.
He started to fade away. I screamed and screamed, but no sound was made. Only the laughter of the devil could be heard.
“I hate you.” Those words resonated in my ears.
“She is yours,” he said to the devil. No! I’m yours! Only yours. Please come back.
“Never show your face to me again. You are dead to me.”
I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Please. Please.
Then he was gone, fading away into the dark, leaving me behind with the devil who tortured my mind, body, and soul. I shattered as I lost sight of my savior.