Read Online Revenge by Meli Raine - Free Book Online

coffee in bed, stripped down to nothing but our bare selves.
    Oh, and I lost my virginity last night.
    And my best friend’s been kidnapped by someone who cuts women’s arms and legs off.
    The room begins to spin.

Chapter Eight
    “ Carrie? Carrie?” Mark’s voice sounds like it’s coming from the end of a very long hallway. He sits up and grabs me as I slide down, then gets me on my back, a pillow under my feet. I’m staring up at the ceiling fan. It’s spinning.  
    Wait. No, it’s not.
    I am.
    A cool washcloth appears and Mark gently lifts my head. The shock of cold against the back of my neck feels so good. My heart isn’t pounding in my chest, for once. I’m not panicked. I’m not anxious. In fact, my blood feels like it’s as thick as cake frosting. It’s just clumped here and there in my body and barely moving.
    I catch a few words from Mark as he jumps around the room, moving w i th precision and speed. A warm blanket covers me. He shoves a straw in my face.
    “Drink,” he insists. “I think you’re in shock.” His voice isn’t tender. It’s clipped and all business.
    “In shock,” I murmur, then begin to giggle. This isn’t funny. Why am I laughing? I take a sip. I t’s just water, but it feels good going down. I drink more, then close my eyes.
    Still spinning.
    I’ve been spinning for three years. Really. I think I’m only feeling it now because I can . Connecting with Mark, cleaving with him, gave me enough emotional space to see what my inner world is really like.
    I’m hopelessly in love with him. Heart, mind, body and soul.
    I’ve given him everything.
    And my life is such a mess.
    I’m a mess.
    I begin to weep. It’s a soft sound, the tears filling my eyes with a sense of relief. My throat tightens and the salty, tangy taste is like a kind of cleansing. Mark sets the glass of water on the nightstand and climbs under the blanket with me, wrapping me in his strong, warm arms. I cry slowly, as if I have a set amount of sorrow inside me and I need to spread it out. As if it’s too pressured, too much, and if I just let go without any control, it could flood the world.  
    P lus, I can’t stop shaking.
    “I am so sorry, Carrie,” he mumbles in my ear. “This is all too much for you. You haven’t even been home for a full week. First, that car that tried to run you over, then you were working with the dean. Add in Claudia and our unfinished business. That asshole Eric at the university. And...last night.” His voice goes low as he mentions that.
    He presse s his nude body against mine. I am suddenly acutely aware of how good this feels. Not in a sexual way. It’s a form of comfort, but a grown up one. We just are .  
    “I’ve missed you so much. I respected your need to go, but hated every minute of it. And Joe’s arrest, the whole set-up...” He makes a groaning sound like someone who’s been fooled and is still frustrated by it. “I still don’t understand what’s going on in this town. At the university. But I do understand this.” He kisses the top of my head and caresses my back. His hands are so loving.
    W ith an enormous shudder, my body suddenly stops shaking.
    I take a deep, careful breath in and count to four in my head. Then out. Then in. Then out. The spinning slows down. My breathing takes on a steady pattern. My cheek is stuck to his bulging biceps by my wet tears. I’m snuggled in to his arms and as I breathe slowly, I smell him . I inhale his essence. I’m in a tight little safe place right now.
    I never, ever want to leave it.
    Bzzzzzzzz.
    Mark’s phone vibrates. He tenses.
    “It’s okay,” I say, then hiccup. “Answer it. You have to. I understand.”
    He unwraps one arm from my body and grabs the phone. Reads it. His eyes fill with a sick dread.
    “What is it?”
    “It’s Minnie.”
    Alarm fills me. “Minnie?”
    He sets the phone down and sits up in the bed, his hand on my shoulder. Those topaz eyes take me in, evaluating me.
    “Elaine