the coffee mug on the table and . . .
No, he couldnât touch her. She was hurting and brokenâÂand so was he.
âSounds like Tedâs a good guy,â he mumbled as he lowered his hands to his lap.
âHe is.â
Shit, those two little words reawakened the monster. Big. With green eyes. Hell, it was the stuff of her nightmares. And his too, when he thought about it long and hard. The idea of Lily with another man would leave him screaming with rage in his sleep. If he ever bothered to close his eyes long enough to dream . . .
âBut he failed the âkeep me safe from the darkâ test when he didnât think to camp outside in his car,â she added.
âSometimes all those fancy teaching degrees donât translate to real-Âlife applications.â
âNo.â She cocked her head. âYouâre not laughing at me. Or telling me thereâs nothing to be afraid of.â
âI told you. I believe you.â He reached out his left hand and clasped her right, the one still resting in her lap after holding her dress down to tease himâÂor just plain drive him crazy. âAnd, Lil, donât ever let anyone tell you what you should or shouldnât fear.â
He gave her hand a squeeze. Then he released her and pushed to his feet. âIâm going back to my post in the car.â
âDominicâÂâ
âThanks for the coffee.â He lifted the mug off the table and held it up in the air as if toasting her. âIâm going to grab a refill on the way out. That way you donât need to worry about the dark tonight. Iâm going to watch over you. And after two cups of this brew, nothing will get past me. I promise.â
âY OU RUINED EVERYTHING!â
The voice echoed in her ears. The hot breath touched her neck.
Someone screamed. The high-Âpitched sound reverberated against the walls.
Walls?
She was outside, her body pressed up against pavement. He was on top of her. Breathing . . . touching . . . cutting . . . screaming . . .
No, she was screaming.
But someone had spoken. And she knew that voice. Sheâd heard it before. Somewhere. Outside of her nightmares. A room filled with desks . . .
No, that was her classroom. She was outside.
Bang. Bang. Bang!
The knocking pulled her back. She wasnât outside. But this couldnât be her classroom.
Her hand reached out. The surface was soft. Familiar. She opened her eyes.
My bedroom.
Another nightmare.
âLily?â
She pushed herself into an upright position on her queen bed. Sheâd kept the wallpaper, her old dresser, but sheâd upgraded from her twin mattress and metal frame after her mother passed away. Not that it mattered now. She slept alone. And half the time, she closed her eyes and returned to that familiar stretch of pavement in the park.
âComing.â Her voice sounded hoarse. She stumbled toward the bedroom door and made her way down the hall. She paused in the entryway and glanced down at her dress. Sheâd fallen asleep in her clothes again. It was as if pajamas offered a one-Âway ticket to an attack she couldnât escape. But in her clothes, she could run.
âLily, I need you to open the door now or Iâm breaking it down,â her ex-Âboyfriend turned bodyguard growled.
She released the chain and flipped the deadbolt. Then she opened the door a crack. âYouâre up early.â
âI never went to sleep.â He turned his head as if trying to peer into her house and scan for bad guys. âI thought I heard a scream.â
âOh?â Her grip tightened on the door. âIt must have been your sleep-Âdeprived imagination. I didnât . . . I didnât hear it.â
He studied her and for a second she wondered if he could see into her thoughts.
âMy mistake,â he said. âThought maybe you were calling me