Page 147 of Deserter

His gaze softened. “Not with your girls, I swear it. Look at me.”

I brought my eyes back up to meet his in the mirror.

“You cooperate and they’ll stay safe.” He pushed my breasts against the counter and tore open the back of my dress with his hands. “You scream, and they’re next. Are we clear?”

I began struggling against him when realization hit. “No. No.”

His hand slipped under my throat and he pulled me up against his chest. The dress fell away, and his eyes roamed over my body appreciatively. “Fuck, Celia. Look at you.”

My chin and lips began quivering as he unclasped my bra. “Please don’t,” I whimpered.

“Your old man was too fuckin’ stupid to see that his most prized possession was right here.” His hand moved up to my lips. “Right fucking here.”

I didn’t think. I just did the only thing I hadn’t tried yet. I fought back, sinking my teeth into the skin of his fingers until my mouth filled with the copper tang of blood.

Cobra didn’t flinch or react at all how I’d imagined. With a grin, he simply whispered, “My turn.”

What happens when they come for us, Jamie?

He spun me around, tossing me up onto the counter as if I weighed nothing. The back of my head connected with a painful thud against the mirror and the edges of my vision blurred from the impact.

Come for you? I ain’t letting anyone come for you.

It was a lie.

All of it.

I’d been blinded by the facade of invincibility that seemed to surround Jamie, seduced with the idea that we could maintain it.

Cobra’s teeth clamped down on my breast and I blacked out again with a scream.

* * *

The paint didn’t reach the baseboard beside our bed.

It was an odd thing to notice. I wondered if Jamie had done it or if it had been someone else. Maybe it was his father. It seemed like something he would’ve done.

“That’s a good girl. So fuckin’ tight,” Cobra growled against my ear as he rutted into me from behind. His hand briefly moved to rest against my throat before moving back down to my hip. “You’re doin’ great, sweetheart. Absolutely fuckin’ perfect.”

Each thrust tore me open more; the pain worse than anything I’d ever experienced.

Still, I stayed quiet.

I disconnected from my body again and focused on the blank patch of wall space; deciding that Jamie had done it. He’d been in such a hurry to move me in when he found out I was pregnant that he hadn’t taken the time to tape off the baseboards or get the paint down to them.

Pregnant.

I sucked in a silent sob. I couldn’t think about that now. I had to be good and quiet.

“You gonna finish sometime before dawn,” Hawk complained.

Cobra paused and adjusted his hands on my hips. “Of course.” He pulled himself from my body. “Be my guest.”

Hawk grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head off the carpet, and as I tried to inhale, I realized that at least one of my ribs had been broken while I was unconscious.

“Every man in that club jacked off to the idea of fuckin’ your cunt like it was made of gold.” With a twist of his hips, he impaled me and I slumped forward with a muffled cry.

Cobra had been rough, but Hawk pushed into me with hatred; each thrust was like the stab of a knife. My body grew slick and my cheeks burned with shame.

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