Page 35 of Heartless Monster

While there are a lot of people inside the house, it appears most are outside—aside from the two dozen at the door.

I look up and see Rome walking past the open banister upstairs, heading left. I follow him with my eyes, watching as he enters a room.

I hurry to the stairs, going up two at a time. The hallway is as long as the house with around seven different doors up here, and at the end of the hall is another staircase. I move quickly to the room Rome entered and once I’m there, I pause for a second in front of it. Without thinking, because I know I’ll talk myself out of this, I knock gently.

“Rome,” I say softly. “Are you in there?”

When there’s no response, I turn the handle, and to my surprise, it opens. I step into a very large bedroom, closing the door behind me. It’s pretty basic, so I take it to be a guest room.

There’s a stream of light coming from a cracked open door on the far side of the room that catches my eye. I tiptoe toward it, my heart thumping at warp speed in my chest. “Rome,” I say again, this time my voice nearly a whisper. Maybe I don’t really want him to hear me. Maybe part of me knows this is a terrible idea.

Yet, here I am, gently inching the door open just enough to poke my head inside.

I see him standing with his palm pressed to the marble sink, his eyes down. Pushing the door open farther, I step inside, rubbing my slick palms together.

“Rome,” I say one more time, this time loud enough for him to hear me.

His head shoots up and he eyes me through the reflection in the mirror. “What the fuck?” he snaps, spinning around quickly. He jabs a stern finger in the air, pointed at the door. “Get the fuck out!”

The way his icy blue eyes are glazed over with animosity makes my insides shiver.I quickly close the distance between us and propel forward. Not allowing him to get the upper hand, I immediately reach out and grab his arm, feeling the tension in his muscles. I'm taking a risk here, but I need him to hear me out. “I didn’t mean for you to get hurt in the process, Rome!”

The veins in his arm protrude and he uses his free hand to grab me by the throat. “Do you have a fucking death wish, Freckles?”

Cold fingertips dig into the skin of my neck, cutting off my air supply. Then in a swift motion, he pushes me into the wall with his hands on my shoulders.

I gulp, drawing in a few bumpy breaths. “Let me fix this.” I feel the words claw their way up my throat, hot tears welling in the corners of my eyes. “Please!”

He’s in my face, his jaw ticking with fury. He plants his hands on either side of my head, caging me in. “You wanna fix this?”

I nod rapidly, sucking in another deep breath. “Yes, I really do.”

His features suddenly shift from someone terrifying to a person intrigued. His mouth tugs up in a sly grin, his voice thick and raspy. “Then get on your knees and fix it.”

My heart jumps into my throat. How can he even be suggesting this? He saved me from this exact situation and now he thinks I will just give it to him. Not to mention, we’re practically related.

He’s my stepbrother, for fuck’s sake.

I feel like I’ve been transfixed back to that park a year ago and I’m staring at a complete stranger who wants to use and abuse my body.

My eyebrows pinch together tightly. “You can’t be serious?”

“I’m dead serious.” He leans in and his fingers painfully pinch my chin. “You want to fix this, then make me forget how brutally you fucked up my life.”

My head shakes no and he tightens his grip. “That’s not going to fix anything.”

“I beg to differ.” He stands to his full height, towering over me and trapping me between him and the wall at my back. “I’m gonna fuck your mouth and you’re gonna let me. If you don’t, I’ll tell the whole student body you’re the one who potentially cost their team the season by having their star player benched.”

The threats just keep coming and coming. No matter what I do, I can’t win. Rome quite literally has me wrapped around his finger.

I have to be strong. It’s the only way I’m going to survive this next year.

Without another word, Rome puts his hand on the top of my head and pushes forcefully. I drop to my knees, my body trembling.

The sound of his zipper coming down is deafening, but it’s nothing compared to the boom of his pants dropping to his ankles.

I look up to see him fisting his cock in his hand. It’s girthy and long and I’m suddenly terrified. Still gripping himself, he presses his soft head against my lips.

“I can’t,” I tell him, my voice shaking even more than my hands, which is really saying something.

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