Covered Part Two Read Free Page A

tamed Gavin James, hottest man in the world if you haven’t heard me say it before now. I’d tamed him and had him curled against my body as if we were just any normal couple on any night in any city in the world.
     
    ***
     
    I woke with a start and extricated myself from Gavin’s arms. I’d been in the midst of a dream, a dark place where I heard the screech of metal and the screams of my mother while she realized we were about to be hit. Our car was about to be hit.
    I hadn’t been there the night they’d been shot, but I dreamt of their deaths repeatedly since the moment I’d found out.
    In every scenario I was there, they were dying somehow, and I was helpless to save them.
    I know a therapist would have a field day with my head, and all my mommy and daddy issues, but right then I needed to splash some water on my face and stare at myself in the mirror for a moment or two to ground myself. It was the only way I could shed the feelings of horror that were coursing through my body.
    Gavin’s bathroom was huge, clean and modern. The lights were a little too bright though, and I looked ghastly under the harsh glow. I could see every darker patch of skin, every wrinkle, every vein just under the skin.
    How could he ever find me beautiful?
    The terror from my dream translated itself into a heightened anxiety now, a distinct sense that I wasn’t good enough for him, that he was using me as a joke maybe.
    “Sarai, love,” he called from the bed, “Is everything okay?”
    I hadn’t realized he was awake, and I hadn’t paid attention to how much time I’d spent staring at myself in the mirror, hating my chin, my nose, my sallow skin.
    That was one of the glaring issues when you were with a perfect man; your own imperfections became magnified.
    Could I handle being in the spotlight like this?
    “I’m okay,” I called back, “I’m fine.”
    I washed my hands and went back to bed, trying desperately to shake off the lingering effects of the dream.
    He lifted the covers and helped me snuggle in against him, his warm body enveloped me and his masculine, musky scent washed over me. How could he smell so damn good after a night of sweaty sex? He really was so amazing, almost unbelievable.
    “Is something wrong?” he asked and kissed the top of my head. I sighed and listened to his heartbeat through his thick chest.
    “I’m okay,” I replied.
    He laughed, “So that means something’s up. I’ve learned at least that much about you.”
    He was perceptive. Damn it. “Just a bad dream,” I said and closed my eyes, willing him to stop probing for answers.
    He persisted, “What was it about?” He stroked my hair and soothed me. I felt the anxiety leaving my body as he moved his hands over me.
    “Nothing much, something stupid,” I said and let the moment of bliss soak into every cell in my body. With no more than a touch and some kind words, Gavin made me feel as though nothing could harm me. I was safe in his arms, and he wasn’t even trying.
    “Tell me about it,” he said, “we all have nightmares. Sometimes they disappear like so much smoke when you get them out of your head.”
    I don’t know what it was about him, about the way he spoke or the way he held me, but I opened up. I always assumed somebody would crack me open like a walnut or something one day, that I couldn’t keep closed off and keep my secret fears to myself forever, but I always envisioned it as a struggle, a forced process.
    In his arms it was natural, I bloomed like a flower and it all came tumbling out of my mouth. “It was the same old dream I always have,” I said, “my parents are dying and I can’t save them.”
    “I never wanted to ask, but I did notice that you never mentioned them. I’m sorry.”
    “It happened when I was ten, they were gunned down outside a restaurant here in Seattle. Some crack head looking for his next fix the police figured. He spotted them and robbed them. He went after my mom though, and my dad