Page 27 of The Devil Within

The brat in me wants to undo the belt just to prove a point, but I won’t. Something is clearly eating at him, and I don’t think that right now is the time to push his buttons. Clearly Will said something, or did something, that truly upset him. He’s always so calm and composed, but this …unhingedside of Luke is unsettling, and honestly a bit of a turn on. Crazy likes crazy, what can I say? Without another word, he revs the car and peels out of the parking lot.

I wait until we’re cruising on the interstate, far from the casino, before braving to say anything. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” he states matter of factly, but fuck that.

“Too fucking bad, cause we’re going to talk about it. You want to get to know me? Fucking open up and stop acting like an asshole.”

His eyes fly to me in surprise before swiftly returning to the road. He lets out a long sigh and I’m convinced he’ll shut me out, but he surprises me. “Will, that guy in there, was my foster brother. My mom wasn’t well, and my dad was out of the picture, so I ended up in the system. Unfortunately for me, I ended up in Will’s home. His parents were nice enough, strict, but nice; but their son is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

I don’t disagree. He looks attractive, put together, and appears nice enough. But the things he asked of me, the way he wants to exploit me, is unthinkable.

“He didn’t just fuck with me,” Luke continues as his knuckles turn white on the wheel. “He and his cronies hurt girls at our school. Will was older, graduated before us, but he’d be home from college, come to the high school parties, put things in girls drinks, and have his pals all take turns on her.”

My stomach rolls at the thought. I know what he propositioned of me was bad, but to do it to girls. High school fucking girls. And to include others in his sick and twisted shit—I should have let Luke beat the shit out of him. And the way he won’t say exactly what Will did to him, he doesn’t need to say it, I can feel the scars that mark his soul. My heart aches for the memory of the young man sitting next to me.

“He filmed it, too.” Luke’s voice is barely a whisper now, so low I almost can’t hear it over the sound of the rain on the windshield. “He put the videos online. I don’t even know if all the girls know what he’s done, how he’s profiting off their assault. It’s—horrib—vil—”

“He’s a fucking asshole who deserves to have his cock ripped off and shoved down his fucking throat,” I finish for Luke.

“Yeah.” He nods in agreement. “He and the entire group of guys who helped him all deserve to get fucked up.”

“And those girls deserve justice,” I add and he nods again.

We sit for a moment in silence before I’m brave enough to tell him the truth. “He’s still doing it. He’s still filming women for money and putting the videos online. He propositioned me.”

We pull up next to a nice looking building. The brick facade is bright red against the gray northwest sky. The large windows are outlined in matte black, giving it a very modern vibe. Luke puts the car in park and turns off the engine before shifting to face me.

“I won’t let him hurt you, Flower. I promise. Just stay the fuck away from him, okay? I’ll help you file a restraining order or whatever it is you need.” He takes my palm in his. His hands are large, warm, and strong. They feel reassuring wrapped around my own.

“I wish it were that easy Luke, I really do.”

And I mean it. I wish I had been born to a family without the weight of addiction constantly weighing us down. I would have loved to have had a childhood free of worries about money for food and making sure my only parent didn’t lose our house by gambling away the rent. I would have given anything to just be a carefree kid and to lessen the grip that addiction seems to hold on my father. But I’m not that girl. This is my cross to bear. We’ve been in tough situations before, and I’ve always figured a way out. I’ll figure a way out of this one too.

“Do you want to come up?” Luke asks as he motions to the building we’re parked in front of.

“Up? Like to your place?” I ask, glancing at the posh exterior behind us.

He chuckles before exiting the car and coming around to my side. As he opens my door, he holds out his hand to me. Willingly, I slip my hand into his and let him lead me inside.

SEVENTEEN

Luke

if u think i’m pretty by Artemas

Iwatch from the corner of my eye as she takes in my living room once we step inside. I’m proud of this place; I worked hard to be able to afford a home of my own, and a nice one at that. But still, I feel the sudden urge to impress her. I feel like a foolish kid hoping the girl he has a crush on appreciates his appearance.

My townhouse is sleek and modern. I’m aware it’s very masculine with the dark tones and sharp lines. Some would call it cold, I call it clean. I like things clean and neat.

Having my Flower in here, in my space, is both nerve-racking and fucking exhilarating. I’ve been watching so long and solely existing on the outskirts of her life. I’m so fucking sick of playingwith her behind a mask. Having her here with her scent filling my space makes the blood rush to my cock. Thinking of her splayed out on my fucking bed and at my mercy, without the damn mask, has my cock aching against my zipper.

Her pink curls bounce as she moves her head up and down looking over everything. “It’s nice in here,” she finally states. “I like the windows.”

She moves to stand in front of the two-story wide panes I had put in. You can catch a glimpse of the ocean from them if you look closely. Her curvaceous frame is silhouetted in the low light of the gray day outside. She’s gorgeous. Andmine. I’d remove both of Will’s hands and shove them up his asshole before I let him touch her. She’s my perfect Flower. Mine to corrupt. Mine to play with. Mine to love.

Love. A word I thought myself completely incapable of until them. Liv and Celeste—my girls. Some would call this obsession, lust, or possessiveness. But for a monster like me, something forged from years of surviving pain, this is as close to love as I can get.

“I bought it specifically for the windows,” I state as I come to stand directly beside her. “I grew up in a really shitty trailer, before going into the system obviously, and the windows were always covered with cardboard. It was important for me to have a place with big windows.”

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