“For fucks sake, Cora,” Rune snarls. He grips my dress and rips it over my shoulder, down my arm, revealing my breast to Zane.
All that rage, all that bravery, snags in my throat, growing cold at the reality of what’s happening.
Rune is offering me up to Zane. It’s one thing to steal my money. To steal my innocence and keep it for himself. But now he’s offering my body to Zane to use and hurt like he does.
An anguished growl tears from me as I try to cover myself back up. The attempt is useless because Zane grips my arms and flings them aside, raising a hand to slap me again. I wince, letting him pull the other side of my dress open, over my shoulder and down my arms until I’m fully exposed.
“Good,” Zane says. “See. I knew you were smart.”
My anger solidifies. Turns hard. Until it’s not anger anymore. It’s just a mass of pain expanding, forcing air from my lungs. That pain presses on nerves, pinching them against bones and it’s agony. Pureagony.
Reaper promised. He promised.
I refuse to believe everything I felt, everything they said and did was a lie.
It can’t be.
Theclinkof metal on metal punches through my thoughts. Zane backs away, unbuckling his belt. The grating zipper as it slides down, feels like the teeth grate into my mind, ripping apart my soul and cutting away all thoughts. The only thing I can process is the prominent outline of his dick in his pants. The reality of what he expects me to do.
Zane points to the gray carpet in front of him. “Knees.”
I shake my head.
Rune’s hand lands on my shoulder. A scream catches in that agony clawing at my throat. He presses down hard, making my shoulder dip.
I shake my head again.
No. This isn’t happening. Rune isn’t going to let this happen. He’s hurt me, forced me to my knees, but he’s still protected me in his fucked up way.
He stilllovesme in his fucked up way.
Rune pushes harder. The pressure on my shoulder makes tears flood my eyes. I press them closed, sinking to the floor, my knees hitting the carpet silently.
Shame heats my face. Sours my gut.
“Open your mouth,” Zane grates, and I feel hands in my hair.
Zane’s holding it back.
Rune’s holding me in place.
I gag when his dick hits my closed lips, the musky smell of cologne and Zane making me sick.
Another hard slap to my cheek opens the floodgates, and tears slip out. I gasp out a sob, my pride and anger so far gone, it doesn’t matter they know my devastation. I’m too humiliated. Too horrified.
Too sickeningly broken.
There’s part of me that wishes he’d hit me again. And again. Make me feel something other than this agonizing pain coursing through me. A hard slap to my face would hurt far less than this betrayal from the man who tucked me in bed at night. Who threw me parties. Who hurt me because he couldn’t contain his hatred for my mother. Couldn’t contain his need for revenge, even when it morphed into something dark and depraved, until I was something he hated enough to ruin but loved enough to protect.
Rune’s forced me, degraded me more times than I can count, but he’s never allowed someone else to do it.
He’s neverwantedsomeone else to hurt me.
They’re going to come for me.Reaper promised. He’s seen my shattered pieces and said he wanted them anyway. He promised me that he wanted me.
Even if I’m broken. Even if I’m ruined.
Even if I’m nothing.