Page 193 of Dare To Break

I turn and slide down the door, closing my eyes. Eli’s face is imprinted in my brain. His tight, angry mouth, the hard lines of his cheekbones, and the slash of his eyebrows dipped in a glare over his stormy green eyes.

I had sex with my enemy.

My fucking evil stepbrother.

He took my virginity.

And from what I can remember of it through my hazy memories, I liked it.

My mind races. I can’t breathe.

A fist slams into the bathroom door, and I jump. “Arabella!”

“G-go a-away.” I press a hand to my mouth.

“Open the fucking door!”

I screw my eyes shut and press my hands over my ears. He’s right behind the door, and I have nowhere to go.

“Eli?” Elliot’s voice booms from somewhere outside in the house.

“Arabella, open the fucking door.” Eli ignores his dad.

“Eli, get down here right now.” The usually soft-spoken Elliot roars. His voice is closer.

“Give me a fucking second,” Eli shouts back, then lowers his voice. “Arabella, come out and talk to me.”

“Downstairs. My study. Now.” Elliot’s voice is so close he must be in my bedroom.

“I’ll be back. We need to talk.” There’s another thump against the bathroom door, and then it goes quiet.

I lower my hands and listen for movement.

Silence.

I press my ear to the wood.

More silence.

I rise on shaky legs and ease open the bathroom door, peering through the crack. The room beyond is empty, and there’s no sign of Eli. I step through, race across my floor, and close the door to my bedroom, and lock it. Turning back, I stare at the rumpled sheets.

Memories come in pieces, growing sharper as they roll through my head.

Make me stop.

Do you want to fuck me, Eli?

Do you want to stick your cock into my pussy?

I’d taunted him into having sex with me.

It’s my fault.

I choke back something welling in my chest. It splits open my heart, breaking the organ still beating behind my ribs. Fresh tears tumble from my eyes to drip off my trembling chin.

Eli knows I was a virgin.

I need to talk to Miles. I need to tell him what happened. I need a friend.

---