Bear My Heart: A Small Town Paranormal Romance Read Online Free Page A

squeezed her eyes shut and fought against the
pain and nausea.
    She wasn't going to live half
a life and keep looking over her shoulder.
    It had to stop.
    When she opened her eyes
again, she saw Troy staring intently at her. He was sitting opposite
her now, his brilliant, knowing blue eyes boring into hers. For a
few terrifying heartbeats, Dot felt as though Troy could see what she
was hiding, who she really was.
    “I...”
    She let out a small cry like
a wounded animal when Troy leaned forward and covered her hand with
his. She knew she should pull away but his touch seemed to comfort
and calm her. She wanted him to keep touching her. Her body angled
forward of its own volition as though it were trying to close the
distance between them.
    “Everyone has secrets
and everyone has a past. Many people come to Bear Cove to start a
new life.” Troy paused and took a deep breath. “I did,”
he said quietly.
    Dot started. Was Troy
dangerous? She froze and stared at him. Handsome faces could house
evil hearts.
    Was Troy a monster...like him ?
    “What happened in your
old life?” Dot whispered before she could stop herself. She
bit her lip hard. If she didn't want people asking her about her old
life, she shouldn't ask about theirs.
    “No. Don't answer
that,” she said, jerking away. “I...I'm sorry. I was
out of line. I have no right to know...”
    “You have every right
to know,” Troy said in a low voice.
    Dot's breath caught as she
tried to compose herself. “No I don't,” she said firmly.
“I don't even know you.”
    The corners of Troy's eyes
crinkled in gentle amusement. “You do now.”
    “Th-that's not the
point,” she stammered.
    The smile was still playing
on his lips. “The point is, you don't trust me.”
    Dot winced. “Look, I'm
sure you're a nice guy...”
    “I'm not.”
    She froze.
    “I was a nice
guy,” Troy said, his blue eyes flashing. “I was nice,
and foolish.”
    Dot stared into his deep,
blue eyes. “What happened?” she whispered.
    Troy leaned forward and took
her trembling hand in his. “Look at me, Dot. Look at all of
me. Tell me what you see.”
    Dot let her eyes trail down
his handsome face to his neck and shoulders. She stared at the
jagged scar on his neck and gasped. It was an old scar but it looked
like a savage bite mark. She looked down and noticed the old faded
scars down his arms.
    “You were attacked,”
she whispered.
    Troy nodded slowly.
    “For years, I blamed
myself for what happened to me. I kept thinking, if only I hadn't
stopped to help, if only I had run faster or fought back harder...”
    “It's not your fault,”
Dot said immediately.
    “No. It took me a long
time to see that. The worst part was that for years, I kept
punishing myself. I lived in fear, anger and hate. I hated myself,
hated life, hated everything. I didn't want to let anyone in, but
being alone made everything worse.”
    Troy sighed and said softly,
“Talk to me, Dot. I'm on your side. I will protect you.”
    Dot swallowed and said sadly,
“No. You can't protect me.” Even the police can't. “No one can.”

CHAPTER
TEN

    Troy watched Dot turn away
and hug herself tightly. Her jaw was clenched and the doubt, rage
and sadness in her eyes broke his heart.
    He wanted so badly to hold
her and comfort her. She wouldn't believe him if he told her how
much he cared about her. To her he was just the town handyman. She
hadn't even spoken a word to him until today.
    He was just a stranger to
her. But she was...important to him.
    Troy knew he couldn't very
well tell her that he often drove past her house on his way to work
and on his way home. And on most nights, he would find himself
strolling down her street just to make sure that the light was on in
her house. He didn't like to think of her driving or walking home
alone after dark. The streets were usually very quiet and deserted
at night.
    He didn't tell anyone that he
was keeping an eye on her. Yet Megan knew. His sister always said
that she