Page 62 of Neverland

“You took your clothes off just fine, Lucy.” His voice was husky with desire.

“I don’t know how to be sexy. I’ve never…” I hugged myself tighter while staring at anything I could to avoid the intensity of his stare. “I’ve never even been with anyone. How do I know how to tease and dance seductively?”

“You’ve never had sex?”

I shook my head. He knew my story. Why would he think after all I’d been through that I’d be even remotely interested in a man touching me?

Dominic fell quiet for some time and I worried what was going through his mind. His fingers grazed my cheek, gently guiding my face to his. “I feel overwhelmingly possessive toward you, Lucy. It’s frightening how you affect me, so much so, I don’t know if I can control myself and not hurt you. But then…” his tone turned sinister, “… a part of me has always wanted to hurt you, from the moment I saw you in the schoolyard, to right now with you standing in front of me so gloriously naked. The things I want to do to you are criminal.”

I started to cry because the reality of the situation I’d suddenly found myself in was a dangerous one. I wasn’t dealing with a drunken father and abusive uncle, I was dealing with mobsters who were happy to exploit underage girls, and who ran their corrupt business in the seedy underbelly of the world.

“Why are you saying these things, Dominic?”

He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Because, little Lucy, I’m a very jealous man and I’d quite happily kill anyone who thinks he can lay a finger on you. And I’ll kill you if you ever think about escaping me.”

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