Page 40 of Innocence
My stepfather’s angry face flashed before my eyes. Well, I might not go that far.
“Have I told you how beautiful you look bowed at my feet?”
I snorted internally at his comment.
Sure buddy, whatever you say.
Strong fingers burrowed in my hair, stroking the back of my hung head. And dammit, if I didn’t want to purr and lean into his touch. Human contact never felt so good.
“This is how it should be. You down there, and me up here.” He gave me one last pet before taking his touch away.
You’d think, by now, I’d have learned to keep my mouth shut. But no. My lips parted and spilled out, “Why? Because you’re a man?”
“Exactly,” he stated flatly.
Well, isn’t someone a misogynistic prick.
Of course, I didn’t voice my opinion. I might be stupid, but I wasn’t that stupid. Besides, when his fingers held out the first piece of sandwich, I didn’t really care about anything else.
My meals all consisted of soup. Solid food was the best thing I’d seen. I happily opened my mouth and revelled in the flavor exploding along my tongue. Who knew tuna could be so good?
I didn’t even mind the salty taste of his fingers mingling with it. I’d lick his entire body for another bite.
“I enjoy watching you eat, Pet.” He tore off another piece and held it out for me. “You make the cutest faces.”
I greedily devoured the morsel in his grasp. The next bite, Enzo didn’t let go of. I had to wedge my tongue between his fingers and pry it away. And still he didn’t immediately remove them.
He kept his fingers in my mouth as I sucked off every last bit I could. I didn’t realize what he was thinking until his pupils flared.
Which was when I dropped my hung head in shame. Because, for just a second, I could picture the same thing he was.
“Look at me.”
Nope. Not gonna happen. If I stared at his feet, I could pretend he was someone else. A beast just as deformed on the outside as he was on the inside. Not some beautiful man wearing shiny black dress shoes.
My eyes locked on a scuff on the toe of the right one. There was a small red drop in the corner. Thick and viscous. Kind of like blood. Panic coursed through my system as I noticed more of the same fluid speckled across the side.
“I said look at me, Pet,” he ordered in a stern tone, that made my body twitch.
There was blood on his shoe! Did he kill someone? Was he going to kill me?
My chin was harshly grabbed and jerked up. “I’m getting very tired of repeating myself.”
“I’m sorry,” I blubbered in response to his growl. “Please don’t kill me.”
Enzo’s eyes narrowed for a second before dropping to follow my gaze, which was still stuck on the ominous red specks. And what did he do?
He sighed and said, “I’ll need another pair of shoes.”
Another pair of shoes. Because that was the serious problem here.
I was too afraid to look at his shoes when he released my chin, so I held my head up while he fed me and focused on his chest. More of those tribal lines peeked out from the open buttons of his shirt. Black curves and swirls inked into his tanned skin. It was beautiful and eerie at the same time. And it gave me something else to think about.
“How much of your body does that tattoo cover?”
Why did I ask? Maybe it was because I enjoyed hearing someone else’s voice? Maybe I needed a verbal discussion to chase away the thoughts in my mind? Or, perhaps, I was genuinely curious about my abductor. Now that was a scary thought.
Enzo’s thick lips curled in a mischievous smirk. “Would you like me to show you?”
