A young man wakes up to find he's been kidnapped and being held a prisoner. He's told he won't be harmed and he'll be returned home soon, but can he believe them? Now he has to figure out how to survive while he shares his prison with one of the k...
That night, while Robert laid in bed waiting to fall asleep, he thought about Georgie. She'd lost everything, her family, her freedom, even her language. Yet somehow, she'd managed to survive and still be a sweet person. She didn't deserve to have this happen to her, for the bastard to treat her so cruelly.
Then he felt fresh shame wash over him as he remembered how he'd treated her. All the times he'd been abusive and cruel to her, she'd always been kind and understanding towards him. He didn't deserve for her to treat him that well.
Today she'd been like a completely different girl. She'd been so happy, and he knew it was because he'd treated her better. It shamed him to realize what a difference just one day of being kind to her had made, and he felt a determination taking hold. He'd try his best to make her happy from now on. If anyone deserved some happiness in their life, it was Georgie. At the very least, he needed to make up to her for how awful he'd been to her in the past.
Later that night, when he was wakened by her screaming, he got out of bed half asleep, and went to her before he was fully aware of what he was doing. He found her tangled in her bedding, flailing while she screamed. He struggled to wake her up, calling her name several times as she fought him. When she finally woke up, he sat with her and held her tightly while she cried into his shoulder, her body shaking with fear. He rocked her a little and shushed her, trying to calm her.
It took several minutes, but she finally stopped crying with a shuddering sigh and relaxed, molding her body to him. That moment had the same profound effect on him it had earlier that day, and he felt wonderful. He'd beaten the bastard and made her feel safe. He knew he should leave as soon as she'd calmed down from her nightmare, but he couldn't. It felt too good to hold her. And he knew she didn't want him to leave by how relaxed she was in his arms. He was still comforting her, he told himself. She still needed him.
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She rested her head on his shoulder, and he pressed his cheek against the back of her head, feeling her silky hair and smelling her clean, almost spicy smell. He closed his eyes, concentrating on her breathing, feeling her chest move in his arms. He felt the terrible ache of loneliness that had been in his chest, finally leaving. It was only when she became limp in his arms and he heard her breathing change as she was falling asleep, that he finally laid her down and straightened her bedding over her.
When he got up to leave, she grabbed his hand and held it as he moved away. She didn't release him until he'd moved so far from her. she was forced to let go – and it shocked him. Suddenly, the ramifications of what he'd just done settled over him like a heavy blanket as he walked slowly back to his room.
As he laid in bed, trying unsuccessfully to fall back asleep, he was angry he'd gone to her. He'd made a huge mistake. Even if it was the right thing to do, he shouldn't have done it. He knew he'd complicated things terribly between them, and there was no way he could make it go away.
He dreaded what was coming in the morning as he imagined how Georgie would now want to take things further, would want to get much closer to him. It was obvious she was starting to feel some of the same feelings of attraction towards him as he felt towards her. But there was no way he could allow them to be together. He imagined what the bastard would do to her if he found out anything had happened between them, and shuddered. The memory of how awful the beating had been was still raw in his mind. He couldn't ever allow her to get beaten again because of him. He wouldn't allow it. And besides, it wouldn't be right to start something with her when he knew he was leaving her, probably soon.
