Alice Epione starts a new job, one that should finally jumpstart her career. She soon finds out that her dream job comes with a catch, a tall, dark, and handsome one at that.
Will she face the challenge and turn Elijah Howell's world upside down? O...
The last thing I remember is falling asleep next to this beautiful woman in my arms.
And now I'm on top of her, my hand squeezing her throat like they trained me to do all those years ago.
"Alice!" I throw my arms back, running my hands through my hair, trying to get this situation under control.
Fuck. She passed out. Fuck!
I feel her pulse, which is luckily beating gently against my fingers, that sole feeling alone sending a wave of relief through my veins.
"What do I do?!" I mutter, brushing some hair out of her face, feeling absolutely helpless and guilty right now.
The only thing that comes to my mind is calling someone. Not just someone, but the only one who understands this, who can actually help me. I grab my phone, dial the number, anxiously waiting for him to pick up while I watch Alice in front of me, see how her chest rises and falls with every breath she takes.
"Dude, it's five A.M., what the..."
"You need to come here, now. And bring your sister." I don't even let Mason finish his sentence, panic completely taking over my mind.
"What? What happened?"
"I tried to strangle her in my sleep, Mason... She passed out. Fuck! It was one of those fucking dreams..."
He doesn't say anything, instead I hear some rustling on the other end of the line. I know he's been through this with his ex, and he knows exactly how I feel, and what to do. "Okay, put a wet towel on her forehead, we'll be there as quick as we can."
And then the line is dead.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Alice
I wake up with a strange feeling in my throat. On further inspection, I feel a wet towel wrapped around it, and I also feel one on my forehead.
Looking around the room, I notice that it's dark out, but the lights inside are on, and there are voices echoing through the house, one of them belonging to Elijah.
And as I hear his voice, it suddenly hits me. Elijah tried to strangle me.
God, he must feel awful...
I sit up and try to say something, but that act alone hurts like hell, and I end up coughing my lungs out, the pain in my throat strong enough to make me feel dizzy and breathless.
"Alice?!" I hear how Elijah storms through the hallway, the emergency in his voice making me flinch as he barges in the bedroom. The second I look at him I feel the tears in my eyes - he looks so hurt, so defeated.
He looks like he's been to hell and back. And then I realize: He went to literal hell when he was overseas. I don't even want to know what it must feel like to dream about it as well, he must be terrified. And maybe that's why I'm not scared of him, but rather scared for him.
