Stroke Of Fear Read Online Free PDF Page A

he opens the door for himself. Sighing, I shut and lock it behind him.
    “I think your cabin is bigger than ours.” Walking around, he runs his fingers over my bedspread. “It smells like you. I’ll never forget that smell. Lavender. Flowery. It makes me remember our first month of dating. We’d lay on your bed, tangled up with each other and kiss until those pouty lips were swollen.”
       Heat flushes my cheeks. Suddenly the floor seems very interesting.
       “What’s happened to us?” I hear, then feel his hands wrap around my shoulders and move toward the crease in my elbow. “I miss you, Aubrey.”
       I miss me, too. “I do, too.”
       Pulling me closer, he wraps his hands around my lower back. “Then let’s give it a shot again. Let’s fall in love again.”
       Tears. Damn it, they’re threatening to fall down my face. “I’m not ready, Jake. Not yet. I just… I need some time to myself.”
       He growls and retracts his hands. “Is this still about the water incident? I mean… I apologized. I had no idea you were afraid of the water. I had no idea you would almost drown, Aubrey.”
       “Exactly. You had no idea. If you knew me just a little you’d know what h —” My voice cuts off. I can’t tell him. It doesn’t feel right. The conversation feels forced.
       “What? What happened?” Jake takes a nother step toward me, closing the rest of the distance. The heavy smell of his AXE spray tingles my nose. It’s so familiar. So approachable.
       Shaking my head, I wrap my hands over my chest. “It’s nothing. I don’t want to talk about it. I’m sore from the fall. I’m tired from today, and I want to go to sleep.”
       Jake runs his fingers through his dark blond hair. “Can we give it another try? I’ll give you a week or so, and then we can see where we’re at? Please? You won’t regret it.”
       Pressing my toe into a spot on the hardwood, I shrug. “I guess. But, I need space until then. I need time.”
       Jake smiles and presses a soft kiss to my forehead. “Okay, baby. Lock the door when I leave. If you need anything call me. Text me. Just please come to me if you need anything.”
       I nod so he’ll leave, then shut the door behind him. I click the lock and scoot back into my bed. The warmth settles my nerves and before I know it, I’m drifting off into a dark abyss.
    ***
       The wind from the water was cold. So cold. Freezing, actually. My fingers laced over the edge of a railing. A railing I knew all too well. As if on schedule, my breath started to come in quick, hard jabs.  The cool air formed an invisible weight against my chest.
       “Oh, Aubrey. That hair. I’ve always loved to touch those golden locks.”
       No. My mouth was wide open, but something kept any words from forming on my lips. It was his erection poking into my lower back. I felt it pressing harder, harder. A silent scream ripped from my throat. I imagined it filling the air, imagined someone hearing me. Helping me. Rescuing me.
       “Oh, Aubrey. I’m going to finish the job this time. You won’t wake. You won’t have to dream anymore ,” a hoarse, familiar voice, whispered in my ear.
       Something was tied tightly around my wrist, bounding me together, again. I yanked and pulled, but it didn’t budge. I was trapped. My hands surrendered, my body capitulated. It was happening again. Not again. He couldn’t be out. He couldn’t be here.
       My silent voice made its appearance and my voice wrecked through the air. It was too late. I was moving closer to the edge. I screwed my eyes shut. Don’t open them. Don’t look into the eyes of your killer—into the eyes of your death.
       “Open them, Aubrey. See what’s in store for you.”
       The rough hands that were wrapped around me released, and I fled—falling down toward the water below. But when I opened my eyes this next time, I wasn’t on the bridge. There was no railing. No concrete