Page 33 of Arseni

I smile.“No.No, I do not.”

He elbows my arm to give me shit, but then turns the radio back on.A voice comes on mid-sentence saying some police jargon Hudson ignores as soon as he registers it isn’t for him.Still, it’s time to go.

He holds out his hand.“It was good to see you, man… And hey, happy Thanksgiving.”

I take his hand and shake.“Yeah, you too.”

“Now we can say we didn’t spend it alone.”He winks as he stands.

I don’t respond.The holidays don’t even occur to me most of the time, but the only tolerable Hallmark days are the ones I share with no one.Familial cheer is not something I choose to be around.I’m pretty certain Hudson would understand.

He pulls a wallet from his back pocket.“Don’t give anyone too hard of a time, all right?If you need help, call me.”He tries to hand me his card, but I just stare at it.“Fine, don’t ask for my help, but take my number anyway, you prick.I’d like to have a beer more than once every five years.”

I take the card and rest it on my lap.

When he’s at the door, he hesitates and gives me an awkward, pitiful look.“Steve’s the best vet in town… Your dog’s gonna be fine.”

I lift a hand in a little wave and watch him walk out.Once he’s gone, I face forward and take another drink.

As soon as I’m finished with my beer, I’ll call my roommates, see whose fault this is.I can’t think of anyone who’d want to trash the place because of me, so one of those degenerates had to have caused this.Fox is going to be livid when he finds out what the bastard did to Roscoe.

Whoever the son of a bitch is, we’ll find him before the night is over.

12

MARGOT

Finally, I find sleep.

At first, the idea of closing my eyes on this place felt impossible.I fought my tired eyes, staring up at the pipes running across the ceiling while planning my escape.Well, fantasizing.I’ve pulled and jerked on the heavy chain to no avail, so while I’m down here, escape seems feeble.But it was better than thinking about everything else.Better than thinking of Arseni orHim.

How unfair is it that I attracted two psychos?

The thought kept my head spinning for hours, it seemed.Even finding slumber, it isn’t peaceful.

I see my captor in my dreams, haunting me without consciousness.His naked, scarred torso is so muscular and so tan, I can’t take my eyes off it.It should repulse me, but my mouth waters, and my tongue runs across a raised line on his pec.Even in my dream, I know to be ashamed.

Something tickles my clit, breaking away his image.He appears again between my legs, watching me as he kisses everything wet for him.The sensation feels so real, I find myself being pulled from the dream, like the pleasure is so good it’s waking me up.I feel my forehead wrinkle as my head turns, but I’m not quite conscious, and the sensation doesn’t stop.

Not until I feel the slice of a tongue at my entrance.

I snap awake, my head jerking up to see Arseni between my legs, just as I’d dreamed.I slam my thighs shut, nearly crushing his head in the process and scramble up the bed to get away from him.

My face burns hot as I hike up my knees and drape my skirt over my legs to cover myself.

“You have a beautiful pussy, Mommy.”

I turn my face away and clench my eyes shut, resisting the urge to beg him to stop.He knows I hate him calling me that.I hate it now even more than I hated it back when he was my foster kid.That’s his point.

“Are you really going to pretend you didn’t enjoy that?”

“I was asleep, you…”

“What?”he asks, his voice deceptively gentle.Playful, even.“What mean name do you want to call me now?”

Deviant.

Disgusting pig.

---