Paradise Hops by Liz Crowe

Author:Liz Crowe
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, Contemporary, Adult
ISBN: 9780985991111
Publisher: Tri Destiny Publishing
Published: 2012-10-12T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Lori struggled against something pressed down on her throat. She panicked, kicked out only to be rewarded by another sickening punch to her stomach, then to her ribs, making her retch and roll onto her side. She barely had air to breathe, much less cry out or scream — all the things you were supposed to do.

“Bitch.” An ugly half-forgotten voice growled. Hands flipped her over, yanked her hips up. “I’ll show you who’s in charge.” Her face scraped the carpet, bringing fresh agony to her broken nose. She turned her head, trying to gulp through her mouth, just trying to stay alive at this point. No longer even aware or caring what the guy did to her as long as he didn’t kill her. Bright and brittle pain ripped through her starting low where she thought she’d be numb to it by now, after all his efforts with fists, and whatever else he’d used. But she found the breath to scream, loud, high and piercing as her whole being was ripped in two, over and over again.

“Lori!” A low voice kept calling her. She scrambled around, tried to get away from the pain, to hide from it like a wounded animal, but it kept coming, getting worse. She smelled blood, and her panic ramped up even higher.

“No!” She screeched, her voice hoarse with terror. “Please, stop, please! You’re hurting me.”

“Lori!” The voice again, but she struggled against it, kicked out, flailed her arms, in a half-waking state, the strange room closing in on her. Arms held her tight, kept her still. Sobs tore at her throat. She had to get away. He was going to hurt her. A voice crooned. “Please, honey, it’s me. It’s Eli. It’s okay. Everything is fine.”

The sudden shift into German made her shudder, forced a calm veil over her rattled brain. He kept talking, whispering, using soft words of comfort in a language that once held happy memories. “My darling. Quiet now. All is well. All is good.” He rocked her, and she sensed something cold and wet against her leg. Heard the canine whine of concern as Hopster snuffled around in his worried doggie way.

Eli shifted, then held her closer. Her body calmed as she realized she had likely called out for Garrett just a few moments before. But she was safe. “He hurt me. Bad.” She sniffled, remembering Garrett’s visceral reaction to her story. Eli kept stroking her hair.

He put his lips to her temple. “I know. I heard.”

“But, you never asked,” She hiccupped, tasted the garlicky meal they’d shared earlier.

“Not my business. Unless you want to talk about it that is.” She heard his voice tighten, but suddenly it was the last thing on the planet she wanted.

“No. I don’t.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Just hold me, please.”

“Ah my darling,” he slipped back into the comforting soft German. “I will hold you forever, if you will let me.” She drifted off, dreamless this time, not moving until they woke still tangled together in a mass of arms, legs, sheets, and dog.

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