THE QUEEN'S GAME

Chapter 24

"What do you dream about?" Charlotte nestled her head in the crook of Hunter's neck and attempted to relax.

"What do you mean? Like in general?" Hunter slid his hands down to stroke the small of her back as she rested on top of him. It felt good to have him hold her.

"Like at night and before you wake in the morning."

"Mostly things I can't remember. Dreams are really tricky that way, but the ones I do remember are about work. Sometimes it's my family and my past, but mostly they're about you."

She sighed into the quiet room. "I used to dream about work, you, and just what I wanted for our future." She stopped after that and left the air stale and awkward.

He'd gathered her tightly in his arms and spoke into the dark room. "And now?"

"I'm afraid. I see him in my sleep and sometimes when you're out cold I'm just awake, staring at the ceiling."

"I'm not out. I feel you awake and it keeps me up as well. I can't sleep when you're unsettled."

"You don't ever say anything."

"You don't need me to. When you're like that the best thing I can do is just be there with you. Sometimes it's not what you say but what you do. Any time you think I'm sleeping and you feel me grip you tighter and pull you closer it's because I could feel you needing me. When I hear your uneven breathing I make sure to run my fingers down your back, I've learned that soothes you. I kiss your head when I glance down and see that faraway look in your eyes. I know these things might not mean much—"

"They mean everything." She was quick to let him know how much she valued all the gestures he made that actually meant the world to her. He was always so attentive and caring.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For being so much trouble. I'm sure you've never dated anyone with as much baggage as me."

"We all have our things, but don't apologize for any of this. You protected yourself the best way you knew how. And you're worth it."

"I could have stopped. I hit him too many times. I'd been in the gym training almost every day, I knew what I was capable of. I can pick you up, I should have known I was swinging too hard."

"And you also knew what he was capable of. You saw a man—the man that abused you—coming at you and you reacted. He had a knife on me, you saved my life."

He ran his hand over the scar on her neck and she realized he'd figured it out. "How long have you known?"

"I think I always knew from the moment I saw it, but I wanted to let you come to me in your own time. I pushed hard enough as is."

"It didn't really hurt," she supplied. "The shock that he'd actually done it hurt more than anything. I'd never had anyone pull a knife on me before."

"You went through so much. I'm just glad you're still here. I don't know what my world would look like without you in it. Every day I get to spend with you just reminds me how perfect my life is now and how easily it could disappear."

"What if they—I mean I did kill him."

Hunter sat up and pulled her with him. Carefully sweeping the blonde strands from her face, he allowed a smile to inhabit his lips. "You're not going anywhere. They'd have to take me with you. I'm never letting you go."

Tears wet her cheeks. "It may not be up to you."

"No police or judge would take you in for what you did. I know you feel horrible, you're probably one of the best people in the world for caring, but he would have done something to you. He wouldn't have stopped."