Page 84 of Ruthless Savage

“Please,” I cry. “You’re…you’re hurting me.”

“Good.” He laughs humorlessly. “I could do worse. I could show these pictures to your father. Let him decide where you were going. Because I don’t believe you. This innocent virgin act isn’t the real you, is it?”

He drops his face close to mine, and I taste the hint of beer mixed with his foul breath.

“I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I was out with friends.” Tears leak out of the corners of my eyes.

“If I catch you going there again, you will pay for this.”

Once he releases me, I rub at my scalp, the pain shooting down my neck.

He gathers the photos from my bed and stuffs them back inside.

“Were…were you serious about me being a virgin before marriage?”

My pulse shoots out of my throat, like it’s living outside of my body, but I need to know. I need to be sure before I do something I can’t take back.

His palm snaps around my throat and squeezes so hard, I can’t seem to breathe. “If you decide to fuck someone so I don’t marry you, I’ll make your life hell. I’ll humiliate you. Make you a laughingstock. Let everyone know what a slut Eriu Quinn is. And no one will touch you. So go ahead. Do what you’re thinking and see what happens to you.”

My inhale catches in my throat, and I blink past the moisture continuing to build in my eyes.

With a final look of disdain, he marches out. As soon as he’s gone, I rush for the door and let out a sob, pressing my back against the hard surface.

As I slide down against it, my face hits my knees while I silently cry. I can’t go on this way. If no one is gonna help me, I have to help myself. And if he decides to spread rumors about me, let him. It’ll just end up getting him killed.

I swipe under my eyes and get to my feet, knowing sitting here and crying isn’t going to solve my problems. Getting my cellphone from my bed, I scroll through my emails to the one I’m looking for. Staring at the application the owner of the club sent me, I read over the questions before I get to the end, the fine print.

Carefully, I glance over the terms, chewing on the inside of my mouth.

Once I submit the application, it’s non-reversable. I commit to this and can’t change my mind.

What happens to the girls who do change their minds, though?

But with the kind of man who owns that club, I don’t want to know.

Am I really doing this? Am I applying for the auction?

But I have to do something. I can’t go on like this.

Before I change my mind, I fill it out, attach a photo of myself, and hit submit.

It’s done. I did it. And I instantly regret it, my stomach knotting with tension, but this is the only way to get Mason out of my life for good.

I curl into a fetal position and wish this life away. But it’s mine, and I have to do what I can to make it worth living.

There’s a heavy knock on my door, and I instantly flinch awake, my pulse picking up speed as I realize I passed out on my bed.

I know it’s probably Rogue checking in on me, but in my mind, it’s Mason coming back to finish what he started. I still don’t understand how he managed to get my code for the door.

I brush a hand down my face when another knock comes, harder this time.

“Eriu! Open up.”

“Devlin?” Shock weaves into my voice as I jump out of bed and rush for the door.

As soon as I open it, a concerned Devlin looks me up and down. “Are you okay?”

“Um…”

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