Infinite Ties (All That Remains #3) by S. M. Shade Page A

“When the cult had us, I did what you asked me to.”
    “Yes, you did. You can’t hesitate if we
tell you to run or hide this time. These people are worse than Abraham and his
followers. They won’t want to capture us. I’m hoping we can take at least a few
of them out from a distance,” Airen states. “We should have everyone target
shoot and see who our best marksmen are.”
    You would think it would be impossible to
fall asleep in the middle of such a conversation, but I’m exhausted from all
the stress. Yesterday, my biggest fear was Jon running his mouth to my guys.
Now, that takes a backseat to the threat of losing them to violence...again.
Either way, I’m damned. My eyes slip closed, and the next thing I hear is
Airen’s gruff cry.
    “Air?” I mumble, still half asleep.
    “Get off me!” he snaps, shoving me into
Joseph hard enough to rattle my teeth.
    The room fills with soft, dim light as Joseph
turns on the lamp. “What?” he says, before he’s cut off by Airen’s growl.
    “Don’t fucking touch me!” His eyes are
squeezed shut and he’s soaked in sweat.
    Joseph snatches my hand and pulls me out
of bed. “He’s having a nightmare, Abby. Stay back.” He tugs the cover off of
him before he can get tangled in it, and we both freeze. He’s rock hard, a wet
spot spreading across his shorts. I didn’t know men could climax from a
nightmare. What the fuck is he dreaming about?
    “No! It hurts!” His hand clamps over his
ass and he flips to his back. Tears run down his face. “I don’t! I don’t like
it!” he sobs.
    “Go wait in the bathroom, Abby,” Joseph
orders, his face pale.
    “We should wake him,” I whisper.
    “I’m going to, but it’ll kill him if he
knows you saw him like this. Go.”
    I nod and quickly retreat to the bathroom,
leaving the door ajar so I can hear. Joseph yells his name three times before
he wakes.
    “What the fuck is going on?” Airen snaps.
I can hear the fear in his voice.
    “You were having a nightmare. I had to wake
you up.” Joseph’s calm demeanor lessens his panic. Their reflection is visible
in the vanity mirror, and I watch through the crack in the door. Airen looks
around wildly as Joseph lays a tentative hand on his shoulder. When he cringes,
Joseph quickly withdraws.
    “Sorry,” Airen mumbles. “I guess I’m still
jumpy.”
    “It’s okay. Do you want to tell me what
you were dreaming?”
    “No…I don’t remember.” With a trembling
hand, he wipes the tears from his cheeks. Blood rushes to his face when he
looks down at the remnant of his wilting erection, and the wet spot on his
crotch. Silently, Joseph walks to the dresser and retrieves a clean pair of
boxers. “Where’s Abby?” Airen asks, fearfully.
    “In the bathroom. I guess the lasagna and
alcohol didn’t agree with her,” Joseph lies.
    “Did I scare her? Did she…?”
    Joseph sits beside him and this time he
allows him to slip an arm around his middle. “She didn’t see anything. I woke
up when she turned on the bathroom light. Then you started yelling, so I woke
you up.”
    “What did I say?” he asks in a horrified
whisper.
    “All I could make out was the word ‘No’,”
Joseph lies again. Airen nods, reassured. “Are you okay? Is there something you
want to talk about, Airen? We can keep it between us. You know that.”
    “No, I’m fine. It was just a really vivid
nightmare. I’m sorry if I freaked you out. I should check on Abby.”
    That’s my cue to flush the toilet. After
refilling the tank, I wash my hands and join them. “What was all the racket?” I
fake a yawn.
    “Airen had a nightmare. Everything’s fine.”
    “Are you sick, sweetheart?”
    “No, I just needed to go to the bathroom
and get a drink of water. What was the nightmare about?” I crawl into bed, and
Joseph turns out the light.
    “I don’t remember. Let’s just go back to
sleep.”
    “Okay.” We cuddle up together and they’re
both snoring in a matter of minutes. Whatever