Or maybe not?
CHAPTER NINETEEN
HANNA
I jolt up, a nightmare overtaking me, and for a moment, I forget where I am and how I got here.
“Hey, Hanna, it’s okay. I’m here.”
In the darkness, I make out the shadow of Theo next to me, his voice bringing me back down to earth and reminding me of what happened tonight.
“Sorry. It’s just the nightmares.” My heart is beating heavily, rising and falling in sync with the rapid panic consuming my body.
“Come here. I got you.” He pulls me into him, laying us back onto the pillows and covering us with the sheet. He grabs my thigh and lifts it to drape over his lower stomach. He begins to stroke it, massaging the skin. “What was the nightmare about?”
I shiver. “Nothing.” Abruptly, I put a stop to his question. Some things I talk about with him, but there are other times I want to keep them close. He doesn’t say anything, just keeps soothing me with his dominant touch. I didn’t think it was possible to feel so small and feminine in a man’s arms, especially at my size. But somehow, he makes me feel this way.
“Have you found out anything about your grandfather?”
“No. No one knows anything. I feel like I’m just chasing a dead end. I know it’s only been a month, but how can no one know about why he never came to look for me?” I pause, absentmindedly drawing shapes on his chest.
“He was well known here, so this surprises me too,” he adds.
“Exactly. He had so many people that claimed to be so close to him, and yet none of them knew of me or why he never tried to find me.”
I nod slowly. “Is that why you aren’t comfortable in his home?”
“Yes,” he admits.
“It feels weird being there. Being in his house and trying to live in it as if it wasn’t his. I get that he left it to me. But that makes it even more infuriating.”
Pulling me in tighter, he locks his hands in my hair now, massaging my scalp. God, that feels good, so good I nuzzle in closer. “There has to be a reason he didn’t find you. I really believe that. I knew him, not as well, since I moved a long time ago, but I know he would have come to you if he could. There was some roadblock there.”
I nod. “I keep clinging to that and trying to believe it. I’ve been attempting to find a key to this one room. Jack told me it’s his office. But no luck.”
“Greens, I can open the door. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I mean, I know I could call a locksmith, but it seems wrong. He kept it locked and didn’t give me a key for a reason.”
His chest shakes with laughter. “You seriously just spend most of your day worried about others. Doesn’t it get exhausting?”
“No. People matter. They deserve kindness and respect. Doesn’t it get exhausting not caring for anyone but yourself?” I counter, jabbing his side lightly.
“Nope, it’s freeing. You should try it sometime.”
“No, if I did that, I would be like my parents. I’ll take a hard pass.” Even I hear the slight painful sting in my voice.
“Listen, you need answers, and they could be behind that door. We will open it tomorrow, and you can see what’s in there.”
Rolling my eyes, I don’t bother to argue with him. Last time I didn’t do what he wanted, he showed up and trapped me in a fitting room with him. “Fine. But if there are a bunch of dead bodies, you are picking up that mess.”
His entire body then rattles and shakes with his deep laughter. Even that sound is sexy.
“What?” he chokes out between breaths.
“Your sister said she thinks it’s a whole Dexter situation and that my grandfather could have been a low-key killer. She could be right.”
He keeps laughing. “Fuck me, you two are crazy.” Suddenly, he flips me over and maneuvers himself between my legs, his hard cock nudging my entrance. “Enough talking. Let me take your mind off the dream. Let me fuck you to sleep, baby,” he growls, sliding inside me without warning, and my back bows off the bed, my head rolling back into the pillows.
“You feel so fucking good, baby. Goddamn, I could do this for hours.”
“I won’t…oh, right there.” He pivots his hips and hits that spot. “I won’t complain. You’re so good at this.”
“Yeah, I am. You like that, Hanna? You like this big cock in your snug pussy?” His crass words turn me on further. “Yeah, you do. You just soaked my cock. Beautiful.”
“Theo.” I cup his face, and he drops his forehead to mine. Our eyes lock in on each other, and something passes in his. Those honey eyes look like there is more than just lust or a man lost in pleasure. It’s gentle-looking, vulnerable, a side of him he’s never shown.