Page 51 of Tempting Her Dragons

“He forced me to the forest floor,” I whisper. “His breath reeked of beer, and his long hair brushed my face when he looked down my body. He was heavy.” I close my eyes and can see it as if it were a movie. “His laughter was demented and loud. I smelled his sweat and cologne, mixing nauseously. My hands were held above my head, and his grip was so tight. I froze in fear. I forgot every defensive technique. Even though I couldn’t count on my dragon, there were other things I could have done.”

“Fuck that,” Mav spits, and I look at him. “He took advantage in the worst way.”

“All I could do was stare at him and wait. He reached for the button on my pants.” King’s hand flexes. “My zipper was opened, and he shoved his hand down my pants. Bishop was roaring at the men holding him. Then, suddenly, River runs from the side and tackles the man on top of me. They fought through the shocks flooding their bodies from the collars and killed them. I don’t remember much after that. Bishop burned the place down. It was too much for him to see, and he pushed through the pain, releasing his animal.” I touch my fingers to my mouth, remembering Bishop’s face. “I’ve never seen such pain come from Bishop. We can feel each other’s emotions if we allow it, and his was flooding me. It was overwhelming in its intensity.”

“He felt responsible,” King says, and I drop my hand to his.

“Yes. I have never blamed him, but I think he still does.”

“He’s your brother,” Mav says.

“I decided to hide everything I felt. I wanted him to see I was fine.” I drop my legs, sliding them in between my mates, andKing’s hand slides to my thigh. He starts to pull away. “Don’t,” I say quickly and press on his hand. “Please, don’t be afraid to touch me.” I never want them to hesitate to show me affection.

“Firefly, we never want you to be scared of us,” King says. “But we also can understand why.”

“I’ve worked really hard to move past it, move past the Games.” I thought I did. “I’ve had other experiences.” They growl low. “I know that’s not what you want to hear. I don’t want to think about either of you with someone else, but I said it to show I can have a normal relationship.”

“Everyone has things in their past,” Mav grumbles.

“But, yes, we don’t want to hear about it,” King says. “We can agree to be careful with our actions, though.”

“It was the combination of the button, deciding to tell you about it, and dreading your reaction,” I say. “I was afraid you would see me differently,” I admit. They have done nothing to make me think that, but my emotions pushed the insecurities.

“Fuck, never,” King snarls. “He was the worst kind of man. Preying on the opportunity. Using your lack of abilities and size to overpower you.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you,” Mav whispers. “I’m grateful you had Bishop and River with you.”

“It took a long time to be able to look at River,” I say. “I didn’t want him to judge me in some way.”

“He wouldn’t,” King says.

“No,” I agree. “He’s never treated me any differently. We’ve never talked about it, and he treats me as a sister.”

“We don’t know him well, but we saw your interaction.” Mav cups my knee. “He’s sweet to you.”

“We all moved on. I wasn’t here when the second Games began. It brought back nightmares for him that he wasn’t prepared for.” I’ve spoken to Ava about it, and she told me howit affected him. “I guess it doesn’t matter how much time passes—something random can bring it back in an instant.”

“Anytime you feel scared, use your word again,” King says sternly. “We will never be upset or mad at you.”

“Thank you,” I say softly. Even though it was a rough moment, it makes me trust them more.

“Is that your motivation?” Mav asks.

“What?”

“What that man did to you,” he continues. “You bring justice to women and girls that experience the same thing.”

“At first, I was blind to my reasons. I lived in denial for years, but yes, it’s the main reason I kill. The worst part wasn’t his hand in my pants. The feeling of weakness and hopelessness was horrible. It may not make sense,” I say, shaking my head. “The act alone is a violation, and the regret of being unable to stop him.” I’ve never been able to voice my thoughts out loud.

“It makes perfect sense,” King says.

“When we were held hostage, it wasn’t that fact that fucked with us,” Mav says softly, his face tender. “It was our weakness and not being able to escape.”

“You understand,” I whisper.

“We do,” he says. “We can never understand what a woman goes through, being violated.”

“We never will be able to,” King agrees. “I think we need to add to your list of hard limits.”

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