Page 30 of Luka

“Hmm?” he hums, rolling my other nipple between his fingers and making my back ache to arch. I force it flat, force my entire body to remain still.

“I believe in waiting until marriage,” I lie. In reality, it was Mario who wanted to wait. I think the fear of what my father would do if he ever found out he’d ruined me sat too heavily in his mind, and I could never blame him for that. The possibility scared me as well. I thought maybe once we’d reached Mario’s cousin in Chicago—the home we planned to settle in until we could make it on our own—we could revisit the idea, but obviously, we never made it that far.

Luka chuckles as he glides his hand over my belly, making me instinctively suck in and hold my breath. He tucks his hand between us until he finds the same button of pleasure he foundearlier, only this time with the shirt in the way. Still, when he rubs, it’s hard not to sigh. Hard not to allow my body to relax, let him bring me to a false sense of safety.

“Tell me the truth,” Luka begins, “Have you sucked him off?”

My face pinches, mostly out of annoyance, but it’s a relief to make some sort of expression with the way he’s touching me instead of keeping a blank face. “Why do you care so much about this?”

Luka licks at my nipple through the wet cotton, and despite my determination to keep still, I can’t keep from wiggling.

He doesn’t answer, but as his rubbing between my thighs intensifies,roughens, I think I have it anyway.

I think, for reasons that I cannot fathom, that Tall is jealous. That he’s possessive. That he’s another version of my father.

That somehow, I managed to escape my cage, climb the wall, evade the guards, drive hundreds of kilometers away from home just to stumble onto the same man I ran from. Only this time, there’s no familial bond to protect me. He isn’t trying to possess me out of love. It’s something much darker.

“I’ve never touched him,” I say, just to test my theory. “I’ve never even seen him naked. You’re the only man I’ve ever seen that way.”

Tall’s hand between my leg stills as his forehead presses against my chest. His breathing is slightly labored, but I can’t tell what it means, not without seeing his face.

And then, his head lifts. Deep blue eyes that once reminded me of the river outside my house now remind me of roaring rapids. They make me think of drowning. Of getting pulled under by a current.

He stares at me with such intensity, such burningdesire, that I know with absolute certainty that my theory is correct. Luka is the jealous type. The type that likes to own. If it was possible to feel any more sympathy for his dead girlfriend, then I would.

“You’re lying,” Tall accuses.

I don’t respond. I don’t see why it would be necessary to argue, what difference it would make. Whether he wants to or not, he doesn’t own me.

“Are you lying?” he presses, creeping up my body until we’re face-to-face.

I consider not answering but settle on shaking my head.

He flicks his gaze around my face, searching for the lie. It’s almost frustrating how much this matters to him, but I don’t say so. I remember his cold stare, the evenness of his tone, his lifeless eyes. I never want to see that side of him again.

Without warning, his lips crash against mine in a brutal kiss that steals the breath from my lungs and makes me jerk against the rope on instinct. Both of his hands hold my jaw, the one he’ll chop off with an ax when he’s done with me.

I gasp and turn away when he releases my lips, his hands rubbing my arms then traveling to rest beside my breasts.

“You shouldn’t have told me that,” Tall says, his voice low. Menacing.Even, like before when I angered him.

I shudder, but whatever trepidation he breathes inside me pushes to the back of my mind when he lifts my shirt over my hips. He shimmies it all the way up to collect just above my breasts, fully exposing me to him.

Minutes ago, he had my body melting at his touch, but now when he pushes his erection against my entrance, entering me with the head of his length but going no farther, it’s all I can do not to cry. I stare up at the ceiling and start to count, no number destination in mind.

“You’re wet,” Tall says, relaxing on top of me. His lips press against my cheek, then my ear. “You like it when I touch you.”

My cheeks begin to burn, my lungs working a little faster. I don’t answer. Don’t dare take the chance of my voice betraying me if I argue.

“I wanna be the only man who’s ever been inside of you,” he says, his chest rumbling. His words are hot against my ear, his skin a fiery inferno caging me in. His desire is so strong that my tense arms unwind just a hair like he breathes his desire into me too.

“I know I can make you want that too. But I want to hear you say it, Peach. I want you to say you want me to fuck you.”

My heavy breathing slows. “I’llnever?—”

“Never say never,” Tall says, his hand moving to my nipple. He tweaks the hardening bud until I shift beneath him, my core squeezing at the stimulation. “There are many ways I can force you to say it, but I’m willing to bekindthis time. You give me what I want, and I’ll tell you anything you want to know. Answer whatever questions you have, no swaps required.”

I want to say no right away. Want to turn my head away and force him to do whatever he must to see that I will never play his game. I will never sacrifice my integrity for scraps. Not for him, not foranything.

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