Page 91 of Cruel Devil

It was a shitty thing I did, but I couldn’t control myself.

Not when I let him get on top of me.

Not when I shoved him off.

Bet he wishes I never came to his room tonight.

Things have been…difficult…since I escaped. I’ve tried dating a few times, but even random hookups trigger me too much. I really need to see a therapist, but they cost money, and I haven’t exactly been flush lately.

Gideon Fyre offered to treat me, but I wouldn’t have been comfortable speaking to him. Not knowing what a man like him was capable of.

The sheer magnitude of his violence is…awe inspiring.

And not in a wow, that’s amazing, kind of way.

In a biblical Armageddon, we’re all fucked and we know it, kind of way.

Luckily for the world at large, he’s chosen to focus his malevolence toward nasties and creeps that are better off dead anyway.

Holy cow, it’s like Nyx unlocked Pandora’s box inside my mind. The weed had actually helped for a while, but as soon as Vito’s lips had touched my skin, I was stone-cold sober.

Such soft, warm, gentle lips.

I’d been terrified after walking into Doctor Gomez’s house. The awful crime scene, those putrefying bodies so purposefully arranged…I’ve met deranged people in my life, but no one holds a candle up to whoever orchestrated that nightmare.

The children…

Then Caesar and Vito Domingo walk in. I was so terrified, I nearly shot them both before I realized who they were.

Vito is nothing like I first thought he would be. He looks like a rich playboy in his designer clothes and immaculate haircut. But there’s a darker side there, and not just the kind that plays with floggers.

When he thinks no one’s looking, his smile fades, and his eyes go dark. Is he looking into the future, fantasizing about the wicked, depraved things he’d like to do? Or he is peering into the past, remembering all the terrible things that were done to him?

I groan quietly, burrowing my head into the pillow. I might as well admit I’m not going to get any sleep. Maybe I should go back to the cinema room and see if this palace has Netflix.

Sitting up, I gingerly slide closer to the edge of the bed.

“Stay,” Vito murmurs from his side.

“I can’t sleep. I’m just going to keep you awake the whole night.”

His hand slides over the silky sheets with a soft rasping noise, fumbling until they find my arm. He gives me a gentle tug.

“Come here.”

“I really don’t think we should?—“

“Just…come here.”

I never figured he’d be like this.

Compassionate. Understanding.

It’s freaking me out.

I really am broken, aren’t I? Will I ever be able to tell the good guys from the bad?

I lie down on my side, and let Vito draw me closer to him. The pillow’s still between us, but that doesn’t stop him leaning his head forward until I can feel his breath against the back of my neck.

---