Page 173 of On a Fault Line

“Back home.”

I gesture to the building. “You mentioned back there that we have ‘places to be.’”

“Oh, we’ll definitely be exploring a lot ofplacesbut for the sole purpose of being able to use your body again.”

“Places like…”

“Hmmm…” Collins taps his finger along his jaw. “Perhaps on the countertop in the kitchen, against the wall of windows overlooking the view of the river, and maybe we can fuck in front of the vanity mirror.”

A smile breaks out on my lips. “Sounds scenic. I love traveling.”

34

PENNY

Mark’s sinister laugh echoes in my ears, as he snakes a hand up my legs.

Beady eyes glisten with excitement.

It’s as if he’s morphed into someone else. Gone is the nice man trying to help me level up on my modeling career. Gone is the nice smile and the kind eyes.

Gone.

As his hand gets higher, my survival instincts kick in. I shake my leg to get him off.

No.

No.

“Please stop touching me there.”

I don’t like that.

I don’t want to be touched like that.

It doesn’t feel right. Nothing feels right. This all feels wrong.

“Get off me.”

“You like it,” he insists.

Do I? Am I sending mixed messages? No.

“No,” I try again. My voice is raw. It burns to talk. Hurts. It’s as if someone dumped acid into the back of my throat and a layer has peeled off.

He runs his hands over my body. “You’ll like it more soon enough.”

I try to wriggle away. “No.”

“You crave the rough feel of my hands. Sluts love it rough.”

I shake my head but it makes me dizzy. “No.”

“You want to be a model, right?”

“Yes. Yes, I do.”

“There’s not an agency in the country that will take little whiny, pathetic girls who can’t use their cunts, asses, or throats to get to the top. How do you think those models on the runway get there? Huh? Do you think they are actually talented? Use your brain, you idiot. This isn’t a talent search. Walking in a straight line isn’t a skill, darlin’. Anyone can wear clothes if they have a few curves in the right places, and those can be augmented anyway. This is the survival of the fittest.”

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