Read Online His Bahamas Affair (The Albury Affairs) by Christina OW - Free Book Online Page B

an ear piercing scream had him rushing out of his room and into the
opposite one. It was Loraine’s room.
    She was thrashing and
crying, fighting the man in her nightmare, her body wet with sweat. Reno sat on
her bed and pulled her into his arms, taking the kicks and punches as she kept
on fighting. He struggled to hold her still, trapping her head on his shoulder
with his own so that he could speak into her ear.
    “Loraine, wake up!” He
tried to remain calm but that was a struggle on its own. The intensity of her
nightmare made his heart race with fear.
    “What’s going on?”
Melody’s distraught voice filled the room.
    Reno ignored her and
kept rocking Loraine as he spoke soothingly into her ear, “It’s okay, Loraine.
I’m right here, Lori. He can’t hurt you anymore if you wake up. Come on Lori
wake up.”
    Her body suddenly went
stiff and her screams reduced to whimpers. He kept her in his arms, stroking
her back and hair as he rocked and soothed her. “That’s it. Wake up Lori.”
    “Reno, what’s wrong
with her?”
    “Melody, come with me.
Let him handle this.”
    Reno was grateful to
his brother when he heard their feet shuffle out and the door quietly close.
Loraine didn’t need the audience and she would be mortified if she woke up and
found them all staring at her.
    He should have known
something was wrong when she fought sleep earlier in the evening. They had been
sitting in the living room, sharing stories about Riana so that Ruiz could get
to know her better. He hadn’t laughed so much in his life as much as he did
listening to the antics she and Loraine got into during their days in NYU. It
made him feel less guilty for leaving her alone, knowing she had a wonderful
college experience. Reno had never had that. He went to community college and
for one purpose only, to attend his business classes. He had an early morning
schedule so that he could have the rest of the morning for his schoolwork because
the rest of the day and evening he had to work his two jobs. Reno never had a
normal college life and he was glad Riana got the chance to.
    Then Melody and Loraine
shared the little they knew about Riana and Allan’s romance. He had been
annoyed at how she had easily accepted to run off with Allan for a rebound
affair in Italy, even if the affair ended in marriage. But that annoyance
easily vanished when Melody told them of how badly off Allan was when he
thought Riana was dead. He thought Riana’s pain was immeasurable but listening
to Melody, hearing the pain in her voice and seeing the sadness in her face as
she teared up…he just hoped he never experienced anything like that.
    And when the night
began to wind down, Loraine began to doze off only to startle awake a few
seconds later. He’d suggested she go to sleep but she shook her head, a look of
horror filling her eyes for just a moment before she began another story. Even
after Ruiz and Melody had excused themselves to go to sleep she still persisted
in staying awake, so he sat with her, quietly watching her until she lost the
fight. He’d carried her to bed and watched her for a few minutes before he
retired to his own. That was an hour ago.
    He felt her body begin
to relax and then begin to shake. Her arms slipped from between them to wrap
around him. She didn’t make one sound but judging by how tight she held him,
her nails digging into his bare back, he knew she was still frightened.
    “It’s okay, you’re
okay.”
    “I’m sorry,” she
whispered.
    Reno pulled her away
from him to stare at her. Her face was pale and her eyes were wet and red. The
dark circles around her eyes he’d noticed when she’d first arrived seemed to
have grown ever darker, and larger. She hadn’t had a goodnight sleep in a very
long time.
    He smiled at her as he
stroked her damp hair. “You have nothing to be sorry about.” He pulled her
forward to kiss her forehead. “How about, you come sleep with me?”
    She snorted, her lips
spreading in a