Page 61 of Reverse Perspective

“What’s your safe word?” Lance asks.

“Banana,” I say. Lance grabs my hands and pulls me to the bedroom that we share “What are you doing, Lance?”

“Proving a point,” he says. I turn and try to push him away but he wraps his hand around my throat and pulls me to him. “You deserve normalcy. We are done walking on eggshells and treating you like you’re broken.”

“I am broken,” I say quietly.

“Oh, Little Demon…” he says softly, despite how he has his hand firmly wrapped around my throat. “You are not broken. You are merely bruised is all. Only you can break yourselfbecause no one has that power but you. You only break when you give up and we refuse to let you give up. We will drag you out of the mud every single time you try to lay down and let it all drag you under. We said forever, and we meant it. Forever does not have a stipulation for trauma.”

“It doesn’t change that he’s always going to be lurking in the back of my head,” I counter.

“Baby, when I have you coming while you scream my name, that piece of shit is the last thing that’s gonna be on your mind. I can promise you that right now.”

“I don’t know what to say to that,” I admit.

“Challenge me, Little Demon,” he says, brushing his lips against mine. I sigh and relax when real pleasure sneaks up on me. “Go ahead. Tell me I’m wrong.”

“You’re wrong. He ruined me,” I say firmly. He did ruin me. Why would they want to be with me after what other men did to me? They know that Paul forced me to come more than a dozen times, and then made me beg for it when he was edging it. He knows how them teaming up to rape me means that I did nothing to fight them off. “Lance… I didn’t even fight him.”

“You’ll fight me, but not him. Why?” he asks.

“What kind of fucking question is that?” I snap.

“One you need to answer,” he smirks. “Why?”

“Because…”

“Because why, Sadie? Tell me,” he says.

“Because with him I shut down,” I say quietly.

“Why did you shut down?” he asks as he pulls my shirt off and tosses it to the floor.

“Because I didn’t like it.”

“But you like what we do to you?” he asks and I nod. “Even when we are rough?”

“Yes,” I breathe.

“Even when you are sore for days after?” he asks, jerking my pants and underwear off me.

“Yes.” I glance to the doorway to see Todd and Stacy standing together. He is standing behind her with his arms wrapped around her. “Look at me. Not them.”

“What do you want, Little Demon?” Dean asks.

“I just want to forget,” I say. “I need a moment of peace.”

“Turn around and bend over,” Lance says with a smile tugging at his lips.

“No,” I say, curling my face up.

“Now, Sadie. Turn around and bend that pretty little ass over for me,” he says. Maybe I’m going crazy, but I want to fight him. I want to lose. I know if I say that safe word he will stop immediately. I have no doubt about my safety.

“Make me,” I say simply.

“If I have to make you bend for me, I’m fucking you thoughtless,” he says with a warning in his tone. “As a matter of fact… if I have to make you… we areallfucking you thoughtless.”

“We’ll see about that,” I say. Lance smirks before shoving me backward onto the bed. I immediately roll and try to crawl up the bed to get away but he grabs my ankle and pulls me down until I am bent over in front of him. “Fuck. I’m bad at preventing assault.”

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