Free Dark Whispers by Debra Webb

her squint. April’s bed was made...the room was empty. The voices vanished.
    Natalie closed her eyes and fought the urge to cry. Why did this keep happening?
    She turned off the light and closed the door. Maybe she couldn’t stop the voices, but she could prevent the incidents from shaking her up so badly. Whatever the voices meant, since they clearly weren’t a dream as Sadie had suggested, there was something she needed to remember. Her mind was struggling to bring something to the surface. Fine. She could live with that. Maybe.
    She stood in the hall trying to decide what to do next. She could go back to bed and toss and turn for the next couple of hours or she could admit defeat and go downstairs for a glass of wine. Since coming home from the rehabilitation center she had avoided all alcohol. She’d wanted to keep a clear head. Tonight she needed something and she despised the idea of taking the medication again. To reach for the sleeping pills felt like going backward.
    She descended the stairs slowly, taking special care to be quiet. Clint had insisted on sleeping on the sofa. He’d put his things in one of the spare bedrooms but he maintained that it was better if he was downstairs. Natalie wasn’t sure if that was because downstairs was the most likely entry point for an intruder or if he was trying to protect her reputation.
    She felt reasonably certain the part of her reputation that mattered to her, her professional one, was forever damaged already by the TBI. She genuinely appreciated the firm allowing her to return to work, but it was painfully obvious they had no intention of assigning her a case anytime soon.
    The lamp on the hall table provided a warm glow in the darkness. The lamp had been turned on each night for as long as she could remember. Neither she nor her siblings had been afraid of the dark, but her mother had insisted there be enough light to get safely down the stairs even in the middle of the night.
    As difficult as it was not to peek in at her protector, she managed. He wouldn’t appreciate his privacy being invaded. She turned on a light in the kitchen and headed to the wine fridge. She selected a bottle of her favorite white wine, something light and sweet with a slight fizz. A few moments were required to open the bottle. When she’d managed to release the cork, she found a glass and poured a healthy serving.
    As she sipped the sweet drink, she stored the bottle in the fridge. She wouldn’t risk a second glass. Out of habit she checked the back door before turning out the light and padding back to the staircase. She paused at the bottom, tempted again to peek into the great room.
    Instead, she reached for the bannister and started up the stairs. If she was lucky the wine would help her get back to sleep.
    “Having trouble sleeping?”
    The sound of his deep voice trapped her breath behind her breastbone. Good thing she had a tight hold on the wine glass. Smile pinned in place, she turned to face him. “I thought I’d try something new.” She held up the glass of wine.
    “Understandable.”
    It wasn’t until that moment that she allowed her gaze to take in the whole of him. Her attention drifted down from his face to his bare chest. Smooth skin, ripped muscles. His trousers hung low on his hips. For the first time since the fall she tried to remember how long it had been since she’d been kissed by a man—not the I’m-so-sorry pecks from her family. A passionate kiss...the real thing. She couldn’t remember. She had no idea when she’d been held, much less kissed. Years. At least two years.
    She should never have asked him what April had alluded to about his past. She hadn’t needed to know... She hadn’t thought about sex in so long. How was it she couldn’t banish it from her mind now?
    “Good night,” he said, interrupting her silent discourse.
    She managed a nod. “Good night.”
    Somehow she turned her back and resumed her climb up the staircase. Her chest ached