World's use is cold, world's love is vain, world's cruelty is bitter bane; but is not the fruit of pain. -Elizabeth Barrett Browning
"Danny, wake up."
A deep voice tugs at my consciousness, pulling me out of the safety of my dreamless world. The tip of a finger leaves a quivering trail of uneasiness in its wake. It traces my jawline from the base of my ear to the center of my chin.
Thoughts of where I am flood my mind. I'm in the f*****g cottage. Tension courses through my body like a wildfire igniting a rising fear in the pit of my belly. My body stiffens.
I open my eyes and glare at Aaron. He frees my right wrist from the hard steel biting into my sore flesh.
"Roll to your stomach."
My belly contracts into a tightly woven ball. "Oh God, please, don't hurt me again."
"Relax. I'm no
