Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 107687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
“Barely,” I admit, and her lips curve at one side as she runs her fingers along my jaw.
“I promise, Dimitri. I’m well,” she whispers in Russian, and again, my heart clenches. My name with her accent has me tight everywhere and wanting more of her. But I know I have to take this slow. She’s fucking bleeding, for fuck’s sake. I take her hand in mine, kissing her palm then the back of her hand, before bringing her arms around my neck. I lift her body into mine and start moving us backward toward the showerhead.
“I want to clean you,” I whisper against her cheek.
“I’ve never had someone clean me.”
“I’ve never wanted to clean anyone,” I admit, and that satisfies her. I ignore it so I don’t take her once more and turn the knob to release a steady stream of water from the top of the shower. I hold her close to me as the water warms up, steam rising and filling the space.
“I thought the locker rooms had a communal shower,” she says, and I nod.
“This is a private stall. It’s actually for coaches, but I’ve been using it when I work out on my own.”
She cuddles into my chest. “Well, it was perfect for what we needed.”
“It was,” I say, caressing her cheek and running my thumb along her swollen lips. “Listen, I know by now I’m annoying as fuck, but are you sure you’re okay? I didn’t break anything or stab your lung or anything, right?”
She rolls her eyes. “You are so full of yourself.”
“I’m just saying,” I say, fighting back a grin. “I have a rather large cock—”
“Your head is getting bigger by the second,” she tells me, and I laugh, feeling my smaller head come to life. “And I am just fine. You ask again, I’m going to inflict pain on you.”
I grin. “Are you—”
She twists my nipple, and I laugh out loud, capturing her mouth with mine as she squeezes her arm tightly around my neck. I pull her under the hot stream, and nothing can compare to the heat that explodes all over me. I watch as the water runs down her flushed body and along mine. I’m breathless as her eyes close and the water trails along her lips. I reach behind her, pressing the button for some soap. I lather it before gliding my hands down her shoulders, arms, and then her breasts. I step back so I can wash her stomach, but then I notice something along her left breast. My brows come together as I look closer, hoping she doesn’t notice as I wash her hips. Surely I’m losing my mind, because it looks like teeth marks.
“They’re what you think they are,” she whispers, and the emotion in her voice has my chest tightening.
I meet her gaze as the uneasiness descends over me.
“Remember how I said I had a bad upbringing and it was very sheltered?”
I nod.
“It was a cult.”
I can’t control my face. My eyes widen, and I feel like I took a puck square in my cock because…what did she just say? “A cult?”
“Yeah, a pretty nasty brainwashing one,” she says, her voice becoming more even. “They teach that women are nothing more than a means for pleasure to a strong male. You’re meant to do whatever pleases them when you ‘come of age.’ But pleasure was never for us, only them.”
Anger sparks in my soul.
“When a man took interest in you, he requested that you go into this building called the Halo,” she says, holding my gaze. “It was said that our God made the Halo a circle so a man could move around you, looking at all angles, and decide what part of you he wanted to touch. You basically walked in wearing whatever was requested by your potential ‘master,’ and they’d come down and…” Her voice trails off, and my heart fucking hurts.
I can see the pain on her face, the fear of that trauma, and I want to find the men who touched her. I want to rip off their skin with my bare hands. Crack their knees. Torture them the way they did my beautiful, precious Janie.
“They’d come down and ‘inspect’ us, but really, they’d touch us. And if you showed any kind of emotion—for me, it was always disgust—they’d find that disrespectful, and they’d abuse you. I apparently disrespected one, and he just kept biting me until he drew blood. To teach me a lesson for not enjoying giving him oral sex.”
I can’t even process what she just said. Anger burns through my body as I gaze down at her. “Give me a name, Janie. I’ll kill him.”
A tear escapes, running down her cheek, and my heart fucking shatters. I reach out, wiping it away, and then I kiss her. I wrap my arms around her, holding her so close to protect her from her demons. Her nightmares.