Page 68 of Guarded By the Phantom

My hands clenched into fists, and I took a step closer. At least I was angry now, and anger made me brave.

“Because you made me so,” I hissed. “You never let me learn how to have a proper life. But you know what? I’ll figure it out. Besides, I’m an adult and I can access my trust fund without your permission, which is what I’ll do.”

“No, you won’t,” she said, her nostrils flaring. “Not if we have you committed. Which is what will happen if you don’t listen to me!”

She screamed the last part, and I flinched away, fear choking me up. She breathed hard, stepping closer, until she had me cornered against the wall.

“Getting married is the one thing you’re good for, and by God, you will do it,” she hissed, getting in my face. “Adonis will behere for dinner. You’re going to smile, laugh at his jokes, and when he kisses you goodnight, you’ll kiss him back.”

Everything in me burned with the need to do what I always did: break down and say yes. But my body still buzzed from Phantom’s touch, his scent still clinging to my skin, and I remembered I was safe. He wouldn’t let her hurt me.

“No.” The word felt so alien and yet so right in my mouth. “If he comes here, I won’t see him. If you force me to be at the table, I will be rude to him and make him leave. I’m not afraid of you anymore.”

Well, that was a lie. When her face twisted into a mask of horrible fury, I wanted nothing more than to run in terror. For a moment, I thought she would hit me, but after a few tense seconds, she stepped away, her face smoothing out.

Now,thatwas even more terrifying.

“Fine. I’ll call off the dinner. But this isn’t over, Barbara. You will do what’s right in the end.”

She left, and I slid down to the floor, shaking. It didn’t feel like a victory, and yet, I was so proud of myself.

I was sick with fear, and yet I said no. It meant I was strong.

It meant I could do it again.

Chapter 23

Phantom

Iwatched my arts and crafts project critically as it sat at the desk in my room. Something wasn’t exactly right, and I tried to figure out what.

It was a sort of scarecrow, the suit Clarissa had given me filled out to resemble a person. Its head was a pillow I’d stolen from one of the guest bedrooms, its face painted to resemble my skull. It looked pretty good if I said so myself. I had skillful, crafty fingers.

Oh, yes, indeed. I laughed under my breath, remembering how Barbara had writhed on my hand. I couldn’t wait to make her do it again.

Now that I thought about her, Iknew what was wrong with my big suited doll. I leaned in, grabbing a tub of pink paint, and carefully filled out the eye sockets to give them that pink glow I seemed to constantly have around her.

There. I put my hands on my hips, admiring my alter-ego. He was elegant, very handsome, and he would wear the suit in my stead if Madame Ashford ever demanded it of me again.

A beep from my comm set interrupted my thoughts, and I took the call to receive reports from the guards stationed around the property. Everything was fine, no suspicious behavior anywhere. As expected, the mind manipulator was a no-show once we’d increased security.

“Good job, boys. I expect another report at oh-six-hundred.”

I frowned, looking at my scarecrow. I’d lost my way a bit, I admitted. The goal had always been to get the mind manipulator to approach us and eliminate him. Even now as I thought about what he’d done to my girl, my eyes covered with red, and I had to shake my head to clear it from the angry daze.

Yes, I wanted him dead. But if he was dead, I’d have to move out. It was a conundrum, since I’d rather cut off my tongue than leave Barbara’s side. She had me now, and I didn’t think I could live without her.

Maybe… Maybe I could ask her to move in with me. I cringed, thinking about my apartment that was a fucking cave and not the right place for my doll. It was reasonably clean, granted, but my décor leaned goth rather than old-money-chic. Plus, I’d have to warn her off multiple weapons cabinets so she didn’t hurt herself. Also, I’d seen her bathroom counter and wasn’t sure I was ready to have so many pink, expensive bottles lying around my own utilitarian bathroom.

But maybe, just maybe, I could make it livable for her and she’d agree to limit her cosmetics collection to fifty items. Also, my bed was awesome. I had the perfect mattress, huge and not too soft. When I imagined fucking her into it, I couldn’t keep the horny smile off my face.

A soft knock came from the door. My heart sped up at once, and I jumped to open it, already knowing who was there.

“Hi.” Barbara gave me a shy smile, looking up as she played with the lacy trim of her silk robe that was deliciously indecent. “Can I come in?”

I shuffled away from the door, speechless. That robe was light pink, made of shimmery satin, and it barely covered her, hanging loosely around her frame. Underneath it, she wore a flimsy negligee that reached the tops of her thighs. Her legs were bare and I saw her nipples through the satin, pebbled from the cold or from her excitement to see me.

When she came in, her scent enveloped me. I breathed in shakily, the citrusy spice of it scrambling my brain. It was overlaid with other scents, too. Sweet, powdery fragrances that smelledpink.

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