Page 12 of Good Girl

Let Daddy take care of me.

My eyelids flutter shut, and I try to let everything go.

Let Daddy care for me.

Slowly, I open my eyes and look up at Darcy. “Daddy, I don’t know what to do.”

Darcy’s eyes darken, but his smile returns. “Okay, princess. Let me help.”

Capturing my hand again, he tugs me up to the pillows. He pulls back more of the duvet. “Which pillow would you like to sleep on?”

I look to the side and then down at the pillow directly in front of me. Five options. Too many. So, I pick the one that is directly in front of me and right on the edge of the bed. The middle seems too...much, somehow.

I point at the pillow I want.

“Okay, that’s a good choice. Now, lie down for me.”

Without giving it too much thought—because, really, what is there to think about?—I do as he requests and lie down.

Cool fabric kisses my skin as I lower my head to the amazingly soft but firm pillow. Which is so weird. How can a pillow be soft and firm at the same time? I start on my back but then roll to my side. I watch Darcy as he pays me no attention, going back for the blankets and slowly pulling them up my body, until they are tucked beneath my chin.

He lowers himself to a crouch so that we are eye-level, his fingers tracing along my hairline before tucking behind my ear.“I took the liberty of plugging in your phone to charge. It’s on the dresser. Which reminds me…”

Does that mean he went through my borrowed handbag? Do I care?

He stands and goes to the dresser, returning with my nameless bear. Gently, he lifts the edge of the blankets and tucks the bear in against my chest. Reflexively, I cuddle the bear tightly, snuggling it into my chest.

“The light switch is here, if you need it.” He points to a small LED panel embedded into the headboard that I hadn’t noticed before. It has the time and a bunch of buttons, but the only one I am concerned with is the one with the icon of a light bulb.

“Do you need anything else?”

I shake my head, my hair making ashushingnoise against the pillow.

“Okay, well, good night, princess. I’ll see you in the morning.” Darcy leans forward and comes in for a kiss.

Okay, so we are starting. My pulse quickens as he gets closer. I close my eyes in anticipation.

I am expecting his lips to make contact with mine. Spoiler alert: they don’t.

Instead, I feel them on my forehead.

Before I even register what has happened, the room goes dark, and I hear Darcy leave, gently closing the door behind him.

What the hell?

Chapter 7

Emery

Dead, dark brown eyes stare back at me from my place on the giant pink bed. Tray’s frame is thinner than I have ever seen him. His cheeks are hollow and acne scars run along his temples.

“Why’d you leave me, Mery? Don’t you know I’m the only one who can keep you safe? You owe me.” He reaches out a hand toward me, a look on his face that I’m sure is supposed to bebeseeching, but I see it for what it is. Desperation. He needs me to spread my legs for him. Again.

I scrabble backward until my back hits the bedhead. No, no, no. How did he even find me? How?

Suddenly, his face contorts with rage, and he shoves his hands into his dark brown curls. “No one else can have you. You’re mine.”

I suck in a huge breath of air as my eyes slam open, heart racing, and just a little disoriented. It takes me a few moments of whispering quietly to myself that I’m safe, over and over, until my brain focuses on the thing attached to the ceiling.

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