Page 113 of Bad Wolf (Wild Men 4)

“You answer a question, I answer one. It’s only fair.”

“What?” I glance down at her, startled. Her face is turned up at me. “Gigi, no.”

“Come on. It’s just you and me here.”

True. Feels like we’re alone in the world.

“I’m… not sure what I meant,” I say truthfully, and yet lying. I’m not sure what I’d meant to say, but I sure as hell know how I feel.

This game fucking sucks.

“Fine,” she whispers, a line appearing and fading again on her forehead. “Your turn to ask.”

I open my mouth and close it. Ask her something about herself? So many questions that I have and not one comes to mind now.

“What really happened in Destiny?” I blurt out.

Shit.

Well, she’s the one who wanted to play.

I expect her to push me away, turn her back to me. That’s what I’d have done. Put distance between us. Close herself off.

Instead she snuggles closer, nuzzles my chest, and my dick starts getting interested in what’s happening once more.

“In Destiny, we were the pariahs,” she says. “We didn’t know our father, and the local bullies had a field day with that. They called us bastards, called our mom a whore. Mostly they did it with my oldest sister, Octavia. I got… a different kind of attention.”

“Shit, woman.” I shift to get a better look at her face. “Did they touch you?”

She gives a quick, jerky nod. “They’d follow me around, especially after school. Try and corner me in quiet spots where nobody would see them, and feel me up. Show me their dicks. Try to get me to suck them. Once they pretended they were going to rape me. They didn’t, though.”

I feel sick. My vision is narrowing like a tunnel. I’m aware of my heartbeat booming. “Holy motherfucker. You’re giving me names, and I’m gonna make them regret the fucking day they were born. Those assholes—”

“Shh.” She rubs her hand up and down my chest. “It’s over, Rett.”

But it’s not, is it? It’s like a thorn in her mind. I know how that feels. And I feel like I’ve failed her, even though back then I hadn’t even known she existed.

“My turn,” she says and turns a smile at me.

“Shoot,” I grunt, too furious and frustrated to care about this little game anymore.

“What’s your middle name?”

I stare at her. “No way. Another one.”

She laughs. “Okay. When I told you we were moving away… You were so pissed at me. Told me to leave you alone. Why?”

“What?” I blink at her, confused. “I didn’t…” Did I? I try to remember the details of those awful days. “I had… Fuck, I’m sorry.” I close my eyes. “Dad… Mr. Lowe had just died. And then you said you were leaving, and I just… I kinda lost it, I guess.”

She lifts a hand to my face, strokes my jaw. Her eyes are sad. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I didn’t know about that. God, these past two years I thought you’d been so mad at me.” She sighs. “Your turn.”

“I dunno, Gigi.” My thoughts are all tangled up with memories right now, and my heart’s hammering so hard I feel sick.

“Then here’s another one: why do you limp?”

No way. “Know what? This game is stupid. I think we should fuck again.”

She laughs quietly. “Answer my question.”

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