Oh gods. My eyes filled with tears. I didn't know what to do for him.Should I just let him sleep? Try to wake him?When he started to thrash, I decided it would be safer for me to let it ride and get some space. Sloane was a large man, and I didn't want to catch a wayward fist. He'd never forgive himself if he hurt me like that.
I sat up slowly, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. I gasped when his hand wrapped around my wrist and I was yanked back down to the mattress. He moved with speed and precision, pinning me down with his hand now wrapped around my throat.
“Sloane,” I gasped as I clawed at his arm. “Baby. It's me!”
Sweat beaded on his brow, his eyes darting back and forth, like he wasn't really seeing what he was doing.
“Sloane!” I croaked, the pressure on my throat increasing now. My scratching down his arms didn't seem to be waking him up. Pulling my arm back, I slapped him as hard as I could across the face. The clap echoed in my room, and tears fell from my eyes like rain from the heavens.
His eyes focused on my face, and I watched as recognition dawned. His face turned from panicked to confused to absolutely horrified. Releasing my throat like my skin was burning him, he looked at his hand as if it was someone else's.
“What... What the fuck am I doing, Red? I was... Oh gods.” His voice cracked. “I'm so sorry, so sorry. Why would I?” he rambled, still in a heavy state of confusion.
I rubbed my throat, willing my body to heal whatever he'd done quickly so it wouldn't haunt him. “You were having a nightmare, or remembering something from the lab. When you didn't wake, I decided to get out of bed since you were starting to thrash around.”
“And I put my hands on you?” He held his hands up, and I could see them shaking. “I put my hands on my mate? To harm you? To kill you?” His voice was near hysterical, and I shifted to sit up. I took his hands and held them, lifting them to my lips to kiss his fingers.
“You weren't awake. You would never harm me, baby. Do you understand? This wasn't your fault. We couldn't have known that you'd have this kind of lasting effect from the things you saw.” His breathing was still rapid and he wasn't making eye contact, still trapped in the cage with his memories. “Hey,” I cooed. “Look at me, Sloane. I'm right here. You're safe. I'm safe. Everyone is safe. This is real.”
His icy blue eyes slammed into mine. “Gods,” he sobbed, pulling me onto his lap and burying his face in my neck. “You have no idea—the things they did. It will haunt me for the rest of my life. And I couldn’t stop them from doing it. I'm so sorry,” he told me, his tears wetting my skin. I ran my hands through his hair and down his back, shushing him, much like one would a child.
“You're safe. They tricked you. Nobody harmed me or Fischer, I swear,” I whispered.
“You don't understand.” He shifted me off his lap abruptly and sprang from the bed, running for the bathroom. “I'm gonna be sick…”
When he was done and had washed his hands, the bathroom door swung back open. He stood there, looking destroyed. His face was pale, his hair was a wild mess, and there were dark circles beneath his eyes.
“We can't share a bed anymore,” he announced, a stern expression on his face now as he moved over to the dresser to get a t-shirt.
“What?”
“Overnight. Or when I'm sleeping. Not until I get this under control. I won't hurt you,” he told me.
“But—”
“No buts.” He walked over to the bed and cupped my face between his large hands. “You're a treasure. My treasure. I can't describe it, Red. The thought of you being hurt…” He shook his head. “The thought of it makes me want to roar to the sky and scorch the earth, in the hopes that whoever dared to harm you dies a fiery, painful death.”
“Wow,” I breathed. The passion behind his words was so intense, I had to take a deep breath to calm myself.
“I'm going downstairs to tell them what I did. If I get my ass kicked, don't stop it. I deserve it.” He kissed my lips quickly and headed for the door. I melted; his kisses gave me such a high.
Wait, what?!
“Hey! Sloane, wait!” I scrambled off the bed as he closed the door, and I heard him going down the stairs. Son of a bitch. I quickly threw clothes on—which took me less than a minute, new personal best—and flew down the stairs.
“You did WHAT?”
Oh my gods.
I raced into the kitchen to find Sloane pinned against the fridge by Kai.
“Let him go!” I yelled, and all six of my guys looked at me. I held up a finger and bent over, taking some deep breaths. “Whew. Your girl is really not into moving swiftly from one place to another,” I panted as I fanned my face.
“You mean running?” Faris asked.
“Don't say that word in my house,” I replied with a shudder, and he laughed. But he was the only one laughing. Everyone else was tense and focused on Sloane. “What the hell did he come down here and say?”
Kai growled. “He came in here and announced that he almost choked you out in bed.”
