Page 35 of Virginity Sold

“Relax, Elena. Let me spoil you.” His hot breath dances along the nape of my neck.

“Sorry,” I mumble, my breathing growing heavy as his hand slides across my chest, rubbing the loofah over my already sensitive nipples. My head falls back against him as a moan escapes me.

“Never say you’re sorry. How long has your mother been dead?”

My eyes go wide and I turn my head to face him. Dead? My mother? Does he know something?

“She’s not dead. Why do you think she is?” My vision goes blurry as my heart races.

“Earlier you said she was gone. I—we just assumed she was dead.” He presses his mouth to my hair, kissing me with those full lips of his. “Where is she?”

I choke on the lump in my throat. “I don’t know. She left a few nights ago and hasn’t come back.”

He drops the loofah and pulls me tightly to him, wrapping his arms around my waist and squeezing. Fuck, I didn’t realize I needed a hug until now.

“Is it something she normally does? Maybe she’s with your father?”

I can’t help the choking laugh that bubbles up my throat.

“No, I seriously doubt that. If she had reconnected with him, she’d be happy as a jaybird and would take great joy in telling me. She blames me for him leaving, telling me it was because I was a bad kid and he was tired of having to teach me lessons I never learned.”

His arms tighten around me as a low growl erupts from his chest, vibrating against my back.

“Did he hit you?” His deep voice rumbles, sending chills down my spine.

I can’t answer. How can I tell him how I was so scared of my father that I would hide in the closet and pray to be invisible? Why couldn’t I be the daughter he wanted?

“Elena, do you still see your father?”

I shake my head vehemently. Taking a deep breath, I answer.

“No, not since the day he left. I feel like an awful person for being happy about that. I just wish my mama didn’t hate me.” I can’t contain the tears any longer and break down in his arms. He lifts me, angling my body so he’s cradling me in his lap. Pressing my face into his bare chest, I release all the tears I’ve been holding for so long while he holds me tightly, whispering sweet words that I can’t even make out.

Killian

This petite wisp of a woman has uncertainty churning within me. My parents are dead because of her father, yet it seems like she lost hers year's ago as well.

How can I make her pay for her father’s mistakes when she’s already been put through hell because of him?

Rage boils in me, but I have to keep it contained, soothing the fractured woman in my arms. I sit there with her until her body stops heaving and she drifts off to sleep. The once hot water, now cold.

A knock sounds at the door, before Kyrian slowly opens it, peering inside.

“Uncle Liam wanted me to check on you. He said you’d been in here a long time and we needed to get her to bed.”

“I know. This water’s fucking freezing and she’s shivering. My legs fell asleep, and I didn’t want to risk standing with her and falling,” I tell him.

“Here, lift her up and I’ll take her.” He pulls a towel off the rack and lays it across his arms as he steps up to the tub.

I lift her slightly and he takes her in his arms, holding her tightly to his chest. It’s then I see it. The glimmer in his eyes as he gazes down upon her sleeping form.

He’s in love!

Kyrian will never hurt her to get revenge. I need to let Uncle Liam know. Maybe we need to reevaluate the plan. If Kyrian is falling for her and I myself am uncertain, then it might be time to alter the plan. I don’t know if this weekend will be enough for my brother and me.

Can I use her like a pawn, knowing the truth about her father? Is she even a viable option to lure him out, seeing how he doesn’t seem to give a fuck about her?

Kyrian wastes no time turning and leaving the room with her. Standing slowly, I shake my leg to get the blood flowing before stretching my back. I grab my towel from the rack and dry my body, stepping out of the tub.

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