Page 54 of Twisted

“Baby doll,” he’d said, lips hovering over hers, caging her in her seat on the porch. “I know your every desire, and I’ll fill ya to overflowin’ with whatever you fuckin’ want.”

A shiver rippled through her and her nipples hardened to stiff peaks. He was perfection. Sinful, pure perfection. She wanted to feel lucky, but she didn’t want to jinx it, not now that she had something worthwhile to cling to.

Cup of coffee gone, she sighed and meandered shakily back into the cabin, the creak of the floorboards soothing. Her million-dollar home with Carter hadn’t been this warm, this inviting and cozy. Setting her mug in the sink, smile painting her lips as his shirt brushed her thighs, she explored, wanting to learn more about this man that had branded her body and her heart.

He had a bookshelf filled with titles from Louis L'Amour. Her smile widened. Her father was a connoisseur of the very same novels. Westerns, mostly, and romanticized cowboys. It fit Jaeger seamlessly, and she brushed her fingers over their spines in a loving caress. Pulling one from the shelf at random, she flipped through the tattered, yellowed pages.

Her fear was gone; it took her a moment to realize that. She supposed it had been well on its way out as soon as she’d pulled that trigger, but here and now she truly felt its absence. She knew it had something to do with the man who’d swept in and claimed her, body and soul. How easy it was to fall seamlessly back into her childish fantasies of a knight in shining armor.

She was free to lounge, to touch his things, to drink more than a cup of coffee (with more than one measured ounce of creamer). It was exhilarating and slightly terrifying. As she clutched the book, her mind waged a war. Shouldn’t she be tidying up? Making his bed, washing the dishes, doing her hair, covering her scar? A film of gritty dust seemed to layer most of the unused surfaces. Would Jaeger be upset? Would he notice or care?

She stood in the small living room, battling with her incessant, obsessive thoughts, the fear she’d thought had gone creeping back in. Sinking onto the couch with the book still clutched in her hands, she realized with a clenching of her heart that she may never get past this; she was damaged, bent and bruised and broken from the inside out. Would she ever be able to relax, to allow herself a taste of the freedom she’d fought so hard to obtain?

Just as her panic began to mount, the book slipped from her hands with a dull thud onto the wooden floorboards. Sniffling as tears fought their way forward, she bent and reached for the worn book, a crinkled photo slipping from between the prison of its pages. Curious, she plucked it off the floor with a careful hand and flipped it over. Maybe it would clue her in to who this man was—this man she was already head over heels for.

But as the faces in the picture came into focus through her blurry eyes, her heart ceased its beating altogether. There stood a young Jaeger in an Iller Trail Academy for Boys uniform—the deep forest green collared shirt and tan pants strikingly familiar to her. The most troubling part, though, was who stood next to him under his lanky arm, their similarities altogether striking and foreboding.

Lindsay.

Jaeger

Eleven Years Ago

(Jaeger is 17)

“Jaggy, c’mon!” Lindsay whined, straightening out her blouse and hiking her already promiscuous skirt even higher. Jaeger rolled his eyes, pushing himself off his old red Chevy truck—a truck he’d worked his ass off for since their father chose to only dote on Lindsay and his various mistresses. He kept his bitterness to a minimum for Lindsay’s sake; their father’s hatred toward Jaeger wasn’t exactly her fault. He’d just been born too damn rebellious with an apparent evil streak that none could tame.

Being sent to an all boy’s school had been his ultimate punishment, but he’d flourished, passing out fake IDs and pills like they were candy. It was how he’d afforded his piece of shit truck. It was how he’d climbed the societal ladder and ended up fucking half the girl’s portion of the school two miles away.

He’d even blackmailed a few teachers who’d caught him dealing, and he’d slept his way out of expulsion with the assistant principal. Poor thing hadn’t been the same since. The minor threats and love notes in his locker were proof enough of that.

True to his nature, though, he didn’t give a flying fuck. He did what benefited him, did what kept Linds safe and out of trouble. As he ambled over to where she stood next to her brand new BMW, her smile widened.

“Just one picture to commemorate your last year at school with me,” she said, bright eyes glinting in the sunshine as she flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder. Clearing his throat, he waved his hand in a gesture that meanthurry the hell up. Her cackling brood of friends blushed and made way for him to stand next to his sister, an arm draped loosely over her bony shoulder. He knew she only ate once a day. Another thing about Lindsay that pissed him off.

“Smile!” One of the girls said, holding up her phone, twisting it to different angles to get the best photo for the prima donna.

But his eyes were elsewhere, roaming the wide, lushly landscaped communal parking lot that lead to the main office, seeking out an easy target. A flash of deep brown hair met his eyes, and the smile that curled onto his lips was real. Marie-something was her name. An overachiever, debate team captain and college bound uptight ninny. He had just what she needed to pass her SATs and all of her entrance exams.

“Got a few good ones!”

Jaeger patted Lindsay’s shoulder and extracted himself, making his way toward a disheveled Marie who’d dropped her keys in a puddle from an earlier rainstorm.

“God, Linds, your brother is so fucking hot.” He smirked to himself as he walked away, quite confident without the constant chatter in the wake of his passing. All the girls had a crush on him, and all the female teachers let their eyes linger a little too long on the boy who was more a man than their husbands.

All except Marie.

He leaned against her shitty black Camry, crossing his arms as she stood and swiped her hair from her blotchy face. With a yelp of surprise at his proximity, Marie held a hand to her heart and glared. Jaeger’s smirk widened as he eyed his victim.

“God,” she whispered harshly, eyes darting around the lot full of boisterous teens. “Could you maybe try to be a little more discreet?”

Hand diving into his pocket, he produced a baggy filled with little blue pills and dropped it into her palm. She fumbled to catch it, her face reddening even more. Pushing himself off the side of her car, he leaned down into her ear.

“You owe me one, Marie.”

When he pulled away, she was biting her fat bottom lip, her eyes watery. Ashamed. Naive. Innocent. Just how Jaeger liked his women.

“I have…I started datin’ someone…” she whispered, nervous. Jaeger crossed his arms again in annoyance, glaring down at her.

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