Never Say Never (Arranged Marriage Love Story)

Chapter 13

|Chapter Thirteen|

The first thing I became aware of was the uncomfortable ground beneath my body. Sharp, hard objects jabbed into the fragile skin of my back, making me realize that I was no longer in the soft comfort of my bed. My eyes flash open in panic, unaware and panicked on what was happening to me. Somewhere in the back of my head I knew that this was all just a dream, a figment of my imagination, but my senses had never felt so alive. As I grudgingly pick my body up into a sitting position, my eyes began to pick at my surroundings. It was dark, so I couldn't get a good picture of the area around me, but something about it seemed so familiar creating a scary case of déjà vu. After a few moments, my brain began to begin working again, and I finally realized where I was at. A small moan escapes my lips at the dark forest around me; not just any dark forest, but the dark forest. This was the forest where all my nightmares happened.

I didn't know why I always appeared here when someone found their way into my my dreams, but it was enough to frighten me with the setting being dark and eerie. I didn't know why it was a forest and why it was always dark, it just was and I knew I had no power to change it.

I pick my body up from from my sitting position, shaking the dirt off of my body as I stood. My eyes were scanning the area around me, looking for the person that had decided to make my dream a living hell for the night. I knew someone was out there-after all someone had dragged me out here-as I could feel their presence and their eyes lingering on my body. But where this hidden figure stood, I couldn't tell.

"Hello?" I call out, my voice shaking slightly. I knew I should have been running away from their intense presence, but I found my body unwilling to move away. I wanted to know who it was, know if it was the man from the last nightmare. "I know you're out there." I add after a few silent seconds, trying to put the small amount of courage I had into my voice.

It wasn't as if I was scared, but I was nervous. As much as I didn't want to believe it, I knew it was the man who attacked me in the last nightmare. It was foolish of me to forget about him over the last week, thinking that his prolonged disappearance was the sign of it being a joke. I should have known better, kept my guard up. Yet, now I was here and there was no sweeping it under the rug again.

My body jumps as someone snakes an arm round my waist from behind. My growing scream silences as their other hand covered my mouth.

"A bit jumpy are we, Princess?" A low, masculine voice purrs into my ear.

I knew that I knew that voice, but my mind could never fully match it with the voices of the people around me in reality. It could have even been my mother's voice and I would not be able to tell for sure. This trick of his must have been a way for him to be able to keep his identity away from me.

"Let me go!" I spit out, or at least I try to; but only a faint mumble of the words I wanted to say actually comes out with his hand still over my mouth.

"If you promise to not misbehave, Princess, I'll remove my hand." His voice was smooth and soft, one that could lull you into doing whatever it was they wanted. "Now, nod your head if you agree, but be told that I have other ways of keeping you silent." My skin trembles as his soft lips brush against my ear.

I nod slowly and shakily against his touch, knowing that there was nothing else that I could do. His touch was so much different than Ashley's which sent shivers of electricity and excitement coursing through me. This man's was foreign and terrifying. It felt as if he could hurt or break me at any given moment.