Blank Slate by Snow Tiffany

Author:Snow, Tiffany [Snow, Tiffany]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Published: 2012-12-17T13:00:00+00:00

* * *

Something woke Erik. His eyes popped open and his senses were on immediate alert. He stayed still, listening. It was still dark, not yet morning.

A whimper, mumbled words from the bed.

Crying.

Erik was on his feet and by O’Connell in seconds. The streetlight outside sent dim rays slanting across her face, and he could see she was again in the throes of a nightmare. Her cheeks were wet with tears, her eyes tightly closed. She was curled into a tight ball, as though protecting herself.

He was loath to wake her, despite it being a nightmare. The more she dreamed, the better chance she had of getting back her memory.

“No…stop…don’t touch me…”

The words were mumbled but coherent and sent a jolt of alarm through Erik. “Don’t touch me.” What the fuck was she dreaming about? Screw that shit about not waking her.

“Clarissa, wake up.” He sat next to her, untangling the blankets that had gotten wrapped around her. “Clarissa,” he said again, taking hold of her arm. That got a reaction.

She sat bolt upright, yanking her arm away, then started fighting like a hellcat.

“Clarissa! Stop!”

She was silent, still in the grip of the nightmare, and Erik tried not to hurt her as he grabbed her arms, pinning them to her sides. He hauled her writhing onto his lap, her back against his chest. It took both his arms wrapped around her to hold her still.

“It’s me, Clarissa,” he hissed in her ear. “It’s Erik. I’m not going to hurt you.”

The words finally seemed to penetrate, and she went still in his arms. Her chest heaved as she struggled to catch her breath. Her entire body was trembling.

Erik loosened his grip on her, but didn’t release her. Her hair gently tickled his face and chin as he held her. After a moment, he said softly, “You want to talk about it?”

He didn’t think she was going to answer, but finally she spoke.

“I was…in an apartment. I dinna know where. I think my brother lived there with me. He was gone…out on a job. Told me to stay put, he could handle it alone. I was worried. Danny always overestimated himself.”

Erik stayed quiet, listening. Her voice had regained the lilting Irish brogue, but was strained, as though the words were being pulled from her throat.

“A man was there…a friend of Danny’s. His name was Sam. I…I must have had a crush on him, I think. I was nervous, excited that he’d come by when Danny wasn’t home. He told me I was a pretty li’l thing.”

An awful feeling of foreboding swept over Erik. Please, God, don’t let this be going where I think it is.

“He…kissed me. My first kiss. And he touched me. It was nice. Thrilling, even. I was stupid.”

Erik’s eyes squeezed shut as her voice turned cold. He forced them back open. “What happened, Clarissa?”

“He wanted me to take my clothes off. I dinna want to. I was scared. He grabbed me, tore my shirt. Hit me. I yelled at him, told him Danny would kill him.

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