No taps.
With a yawn, I crawl back into bed and snuggle under my covers. I’m almost asleep when I hear a creak.
Taps? Where are the taps?
Soft thuds make their way to the bed. I hope it’s Bastian. Please be Bastian. His hand, rough from years of lacrosse, isn’t the one that touches my arm.
“There you are, Ro-La.”
I hate being called Ro-La.
Romy Langston.
“Ro-La, the tickle monster is here…”
I let loose a blood-curdling scream as fingers dig into the flesh on my stomach. These fingers are huge, though, with no fingernails. For a second, I breathe easy until I lock eyes with Gareth. I’m dizzied and confused as I try to piece together my present while trying to escape my past.
“Be quiet,” Gareth orders, “or I’ll put something down your throat to keep you quiet.”
I burst into tears as my sleep shorts and underwear are forcibly removed from my body. The hold on my wrists is painful and unyielding. I’m aghast at how efficient and successful Gareth is at undressing me with only one hand while I fight with everything in me.
“All you have to do is tell his secrets, Ro,” Gareth says as he unbuckles his pants. “Talk to me. I have the power to make this stop.”
Caius will kill me.
Is that worse than what Gareth wants to do?
“Go to hell,” I hiss out, spitting at his face.
His eyes flash with wickedness. “Suit yourself.”
He pushes one of my thighs up, exposing me to him. Then I feel his cock at my entrance, where not long ago, Caius had been touching me in ways that made me see stars.
This isn’t happening.
This can’t.
I’m too afraid to let my mind slip into the past. Back then, I didn’t fight. I lay perfectly still and pretended to sleep.
Pain spears inside me.
Terrible, awful, gutting pain.
Before, in the long, horrible past, it was the fingers of a monster, long and slender, and so utterly disgusting. This time it’s a beast with a massive cock, forcing its way inside of me.
I want it to stop.
You can make it stop.
“Calista,” I croak out, voice barely a whisper.
Gareth doesn’t stop bucking into me, but his eyes lock on mine. “What’s that?”
“Calista is his secret. Stop. You promised.”
He doesn’t stop, though. He goes and goes and goes and goes.
I chant her name over and over, hoping it’ll get inside his head and unlock that promise he made to me. I’m telling him the truth now. It’s all I know.