Page 2 of Dirty Behavior

The meeting in my living room at home, my father and his sad, lifeless eyes. . .

And him, the devil in the room, Remo.

His feet danced closer to the bed, sweeping over the glossy wood with ease. “Welcome home, Ivy, I think you're going to grow to love it here.” Playing with his lower lip, his eyes licked my body. “I know I'm going to love having you.”

“Where am I? Where's my father?” Grabbing the blankets, I yanked them up to my chin. I wanted to hide and fade away, melt into water and dissolve into air.

What the hell is going on? This isn't right, this isn't happening.

This isn't home.

This is a dream... A bad nightmare that I'm going to wake up from any second.

Closing my eyes tight, I took in a few small gulps of air, slowly opening my lids again just to peek. But nothing had changed.

I was still there.Right there.

This wasn't a dream. It was a living fucking nightmare.

“You can forget that man right now. In this world, he no longer exists. You're mine, Ivy, and from now on you need to remember that.” Remo's teeth glinted from behind his crooked smile, palming his chest, he fanned his face. “I'm going to have so much fun with you.”

Curling my knees, I hugged the blanket tighter. “What's happening? Why am I here?”

Titling his head, his fingers bounced in the air like he was playing a piano. “Do you remember anything from last night?”

I didn't speak. His question was laced with a contorted and fake concern. Shaking my head no, I watched him cautiously as he kept his slow pace towards the bed.

The sheen off his shoes shined with each step, the hard sole leaving light clicks in his wake that echoed like thunder around me. “Ivy, when I say you're mine, I mean—You. Are. Mine.”Remo glanced around the room, looking at every detail and design. “All this, everything in here, I picked especially for you. But don't get me wrong, Love, none of it is yours.”

My lips thinned, head whirling in thought. This wasn't making sense. I remembered most of what happened, but I wasn't going to let him know that. I wanted to see what he said, see what answers he would give me.

If he stumbled his words or tried to feed me lies, I would catch it.

“That doesn't answer my question.”

Remo's brows snapped down, furrowing into the thin bridge of his nose. “Rule one—Don't talk back.” Holding up a single digit, he lunged towards me, nostrils flaring. “There are rules here and you're going to follow them.”

Curling my lip, I felt my heart speed up as adrenaline purged my veins. I wasn't sure who the hell this guy thought he was, but he didn't have any right to riddle my head with rules. I wasn't a possession, I wasn't an animal; I was a woman.

“Excuse me? Don't talk to me like—”

The last word was slapped down from my mouth as his hand whipped across my face. His eyes lit with black fire, mouth pulling taut. “Rule one. Remember it.”

Coddling my jaw, I sat in shock. He had just hit me, he open-palm smacked my face. No man had ever laid a finger on me like that. Ever.

“You're my virgin, Ivy. The purest form of flesh I have ever laid eyes on. It hurts me that I can't just take you right now, but I did promise your father I would give you a little time. It was the least I could do. And I'm a man of my word.” Bowing his head, he wrapped one arm over his stomach, and the other around the small of his back.

My body went up in a torrent of flames. My stomach spun with battery acid, the burning rose up my throat and singed the back of my tongue.

I didn't believe him. He was wrong, lying to me as if I would believe his manipulation and not see him for the true evil he was.

“My father would never give me away.” Veering my stare, I shot up in the bed. Digging my nails into the blanket, I balled it into my palms.

Chuckling, Remo's hand waved in the air. “Give you away? Is that what you think?” Glaring down at me, his eyes swirled like the deep blackness of an endless ocean. There was nothing inside. “No, no, no, Love, he didn't just give you away. I bought you, I paid good money to take you're sweet little innocence.” Dragging a finger over the blanket, he walked around the bed. “Money talks, and trust me, your father was more than willing to listen.”

I sat quiet, taking it all in. My brain was spinning, my lungs were straining. I wanted to burst into tears and break down with all the feelings running through my body.

But I wouldn't.

---