Page 354 of Tempted By her Daddies

Tamsyn. Not baby or Little one or Pet.

Nope. Just Tamsyn.

Because that was who she was. She wasn’t theirs.

Had she become some sort of charity case? Someone they took on out of pity.

God.

She wasn’t sure what was worse. Pity or ire.

Actually, yes, she was. She hated being pitied.

She moved her gaze to Salem’s, obeying him. Because that’s how he’d trained her.

And she couldn’t seem to break that hold he had on her. That they all had.

Reaching down, she started scratching at the scab on her knee. She wasn’t sure when she’d gotten it but couldn’t seem to let it heal. Every time it itched, it felt like a reminder of what she’d done.

Of how she’d lost everything.

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“Stop itching,” Roman urged. “You’re going to scar.”

So?

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.

Suddenly, Alexei was behind her. Reaching around her, he grabbed her hands and yanked them up.

He didn’t hurt her. His touch wasn’t harsh. But it did make her skin wake up. Electrical shocks of surprise and . . . and pleasure ran through her.

Really? She felt pleasure?

When she had been trying so hard to feel nothing for the last few days.

Keeping herself numb around these guys was far harder than she’d thought possible.

“Do not scratch,” Alexei told her, placing her hands gently on the table.

“Tamsyn.”

Salem again. Right. She was meant to be looking at him. But she felt overwhelmed, confused.

Alexei stepped away, taking even that small bit of comfort with him.

If there was ever a time for her to cry, now would have been it. But she was empty.

Be numb.

You can’t cry. If you start, you don’t know when you will stop.

“You. Will. Eat.” Each word that Salem spoke was infused with command. A pure order that couldn’t be ignored.

Yet, she found herself shaking her head.

“Yes.”

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