She cleared her throat, unsure how to say what was on her mind. “It’s been a wonderful time with you both. I’ll be returning to Dallas in the morning, but I hope we’ll get to spend more days like this in the near future.” She didn’t mean to sound so business-like in the bedroom, but she wasn’t sure how else to say what she meant.
“Do you think you’re leaving tomorrow?” Silas asked her, sounding confused.
“Well, of course. You two have a business to run, and I have plenty of work as well. Not to mention that all of my belongings are still at my hotel. I can’t continue wearing Max’s sweater day in and day out, obviously.”
Max turned his bedside lamp on and propped himself up on the pillows beside her. “You’re not going anywhere, Audrey Rousseau. You’re going to stay with us, not in some impersonal hotel by yourself.”
“He’s right. We’re checking you out of there tomorrow, and you’ll stay here with us. You’d have to be crazy to think we’d let you leave. ”
She was too tired to argue and relented to their persuasive ways as sleep folded in around her.
“We’ll talk about it in the morning,” she managed, releasing the last of her energy.
Max closed in around her, holding her tightly from behind as she struggled to keep her eyes open enough to return Silas’ gaze. It was no use, she finally admitted to herself. She was exhausted and let her eyes droop, the lids too heavy to stay open for even a moment longer.
Sleep came hard and fast, the hours swimming away from her. As she fell into a dark and consuming slumber, the vivid images of her dreams flooded Audrey's vision and consumed her with the same night terror she had lived with time and time again before arriving in Male Order. Why was this happening now, after such a perfect day with the two most wonderful men? She tried desperately to wake herself from the nightmares. She could feel it all happening, but they were too strong. The images consumed her vision no matter how hard she fought to keep them at bay.
There, as vivid as ever, was Sasha standing over her. It felt as if no time had passed at all. His pale, arctic blue eyes seemed almost lit up with maniacal fervor as he kneeled above her bed, the knife in his hand.
He laughed as she choked on her own silence, the twisted anger consuming his lust-filled expression.
“I will have you, Audrey. Did you really think you could get away from me?”
She woke up screaming his name, sweat bursting from her body as she remembered the endless threats from the violent Russian who haunted her past and continued to lurk in her dreams. She had somehow been foolish enough to think the terrors might have disappeared forever. She had been nightmare-free since arriving in Texas and was further comforted by the sweet protection provided by her two lovers. Yet here he was, haunting her once again.
She bolted up in bed to find Silas staring at her, his hands firmly planted on her shoulders in an effort to shake her from her nightmare.
“Audrey, it's me. It's okay. Please, baby, wake up.” He looked deeply concerned as she finally took in her surroundings and shook the deep imprint of Sasha's face above her.
“What time is it? Where's Max?” She was so disoriented, overwhelmed by the past rushing back. Apparently her hopes that the past was gone were far too great for reality.
“It’s just before dawn, baby. Max went to check on things over at the barn. A calf is due to be born any moment now. Are you all right? You were screaming like someone wanted to kill you. You kept yelling about someone named Sasha.”
“Yes, I…I'm fine. I'm sorry to have woken you. Go back to sleep, Silas.” She tried her damnedest to shake the shivers radiating through her body.
“You don't want to talk about it? I've never heard anyone scream like that in their sleep.”
“I just remember that a strange man was stalking me. All I could see were his ice blue eyes as he held the knife above me.” Despite her half-truth, the image alone made her cringe.
“You don’t remember who it was? You didn’t know him?” he inquired, clearly trying to read her face.
“He was a stranger,” Audrey asserted, pouring every ounce of effort into making her statement sound legitimate.
Silas looked her boldly in the face, studying her eyes in the grey early morning light. “You're lying to me, Audrey. I can tell. Tell me about Sasha.”
A defiant rush of adrenaline poured through her veins. Her anger at the terrifying man from her past invading her dreams tainted everything, made Silas' concern seem like a quest for control over her darkest, most secretive thoughts.
“I don't have to tell you everything, Silas. You barely know me. Why should you require that I share my most intimate dreams with you?”
“I barely know you, Audrey? Is that how you really feel?” He looked her square in the eye, obviously shocked by her brutal rejection.
She considered trying to backtrack or soften her position, but he’d pushed her too far. “I've known you less than a week, Silas. And just because you've bedded me doesn't mean I have to give you everything. I must keep something for myself, can't you understand that?”
“No, I can't. I demand to know what scared you so goddamn much that you were screaming bloody murder in my bed. You belong to me, and I have to know.”
That was enough to send her over the edge. She leaped up onto the bed, for once managing to find a way to tower over him, despite her size. With all the power in her body, she pointed down at him.
“I belong to no one, Silas Abrams. I am not for sale, and I am not an object to display on your mantel. I don't need anyone to protect me, for that matter. I don't want your pity for all I've gone through in the past, either. You and Max couldn't begin to understand all I've been through. That's for damn sure.”
“What do you know about what we've been through?” Silas retorted, his face twisted with anger.
“I know you were born with a million opportunities I could never have imagined as a child. Have you ever worried about where your next meal would come from? Have you ever been threatened by someone who could take away everything you have, everything you’ve ever dreamt of having?”
He was silent, his chest heaving with rapid breaths. He didn't say a word, his eyes glowing as he stared her down. They stared at one another for what felt like hours, the sudden rift between them stunningly palpable.
“I know about pain, Audrey. I know what it is to lose everything important to you.”
“So why don’t you ever talk about it? At dinner the other night you told me all about your childhood, but you never talked about the pain living inside both you and your brother. You think I’m stupid, that I wouldn’t notice the picture of you two with the blonde, cutting the ribbon to the department store?”
He looked down at the floor, silent.
“Tell me about her, Silas! Tell me about Jacqueline!”
A heavy silence filled the dark room, Audrey’s pounding heartbeat the only audible sound.
“That's what I thought, Silas. Until you’re ready to open up to me, how can I tell you about my own ghosts?”
He looked like he was choking. He said nothing in response, the first time this silver-tongued man seemed to be at a lost for words. She didn’t know what to say or where to go. She couldn’t just leave like this, but nowhere at The Arches would she find her refuge. This wasn’t her home, although she’d begun to feel before this moment like it could have been.
“I need to be alone. May I borrow a horse from the stable?” She grimaced as she made the request, hating to ask for anything as her anger boiled inside of her.
He nodded silently. “Anything you need,” he finally said, unable to look her in the eye.
“Don’t follow me. I’ll come back when I’m ready.”
Audrey stormed out of the bedroom, slamming both of the French doors behind her as the images and thoughts poured through her. She needed an escape, a chance to lose herself in the abyss of the stark foreign landscape surrounding her.
She knew she wasn’t exactly wearing the most appropriate attire for riding, but she didn’t care if a thousand ranch hands spotted her in the only attire she had to wear, Max’s sweater. The feeling of the soft, fine cashmere against her body would calm her spirit, make her feel alive and free again. Besides, she had ridden barefoot as a child almost every day.
She mounted Ace, the gorgeous stallion she had previously admired on her first night at The Arches. He was Max’s favorite for pleasure riding, and she guessed he would understand her desire to be alone. Just her and the horse. It was the perfect antidote for her disturbing thoughts.
As they took off together, Audrey pressed Ace to gallop faster and faster into the wild, barren grounds edging the house she had come to feel so comfortable inhabiting. How could a place that felt like home yesterday now feel so foreign? She just wanted to drown in speed and forget the past, but Sasha and her fears seemed to loom around every corner. The frantic rhythm of the ride soothed her, and she let her body flow to the manic pace as every moment brought her farther and farther away from her dreadful awakening.
Chapter Eleven
Aleksandr couldn't stand the Texas heat. The hot morning sun beat down upon him, despite the fact that it was nearly the middle of September.
I'll just take care of this business and be on the first boat back to Paris. It's only a matter of time, now.
Watching Audrey with the Abrams brothers had only confirmed everything he'd hoped and dreamed of before he’d followed Audrey all the way to this godforsaken place. What better way to get to her than to ruin the careers of her two cowboy lovers?
Knowing of their impending doom had brought him much joy since he'd followed Audrey to Male Order on the night of the party. Vigilant about not being caught, he had made several undetected trips back to The Arches. He learned the layout of the property and watched the disgusting romance between the three of them develop.
He hated her. Hated to see her happy, most of all. No one humiliated Aleksandr Michaelovitch, least of all someone who owed her whole life to him. She would pay dearly for her mistake. He had no doubt about it. The rage boiled inside of him and put him in a trance as he sat in his car on the hilltop parallel to the Abramses' lavish home. Lost in his plans for revenge, the sound of horse’s hooves startled him. His heart pounded as he saw Audrey flying near him atop a wild black stallion. The brush surrounding him might protect her from seeing him at the peak of the hill, but only momentarily. She would discover him within moments.
There was no way in hell she would gain the upper hand by finding him out and revealing their history to the brothers. He needed to do something—fast—to scare her away. He pulled out the tiny pistol he kept underneath his passenger seat and aimed high, swiftly considering his next move.
* * * *
Audrey wanted to be lost, lost to the entire world. As she let Ace take over the rhythm of the ride, everything seemed to fall away around her. Thoughts no longer flooded her. She allowed herself to be submerged in the sound and sensation of the stallion galloping beneath her. She didn't care if she was riding recklessly. The rhythm and pounding of the hooves on the earth beneath her blocked out the scenes constantly playing over and over in her mind.
As she flew towards the top of the hill out of sight from the house, she recalled the first night she arrived at The Arches, looking up at the house with so much anxiety and anticipation. Even if she hadn't wanted to admit it to herself at that moment, she had gotten everything she was secretly wishing for during that first twilight in Male Order.
The memory of that first night with Max and Silas flooded her vision, distracting her just long enough to notice too late the glint of chrome and steel just beyond the brush on the top of the hill. As quickly as she realized the appearance of the unfamiliar vehicle, the sound of the shot overwhelmed her senses and slowed her reflexes.
The stallion beneath her reared and bucked her to the ground, wild with the scare of the deafening blast in his ears. Everything faded into black, the inky void providing a comforting abyss around her.