Page 57 of Deranged (American Street Kings 3)

“He’s here to hurt Dahlia so you can get your medicine. I won’t let you hurt Dahlia. I won’t let you hurt her.”

Jeffrey leaned closer, and I felt his warm breath against my cheek. I didn’t want him to come any closer, so I reached for the drink as a distraction, a way to get just a little distance from the man who still had his hand on my leg.

The soda tasted different, a little bitterness mixed with the sweet. The bubbles burned my throat as I swallowed, but I drank it all. Every last drop.

“Such a good girl,” Jeffrey uttered, his words sharp like knives. Hewashere to hurt me. Glenn was right. Daddy’s friend came here to hurt me.

He reached out, touching my chin and turning my face to his. But I didn’t look at him, keeping my eyes on the untouched slice of chocolate cake.

“Your daddy was right. You are the prettiest little girl in town.”

My heart hiccupped, my body numb. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted him to stop touching me, but I didn’t want to make Mommy and Daddy angry. I didn’t want to be punished again, locked in my room for days, having to pee on the floor. And I didn’t want Daddy to hit me the way he hit Glenn. But I wanted Jeffrey to stop touching me, and to leave.

What do I do?

What do I do?

Jeffrey traced his nose across my jaw, and his breathing started to deepen. “You smell just as sweet as the cake.” His hand slipped under my dress, fingers brushing against my panties.

It hurt. But not where he touched me. It hurt inside my chest. It hurt there where my heart pounded.

I looked up at Mommy, pleading at her with my gaze to make him stop. But she simply smiled, her eyes hooded and heavy. She had the same look on her face whenever she took her medicine, like she somehow managed to escape this world—like she was flying high, far away from us. Away from me.

When I felt him slip his fingers through the side of my panties, I jumped up. But as my feet hit the ground, I tripped, the world suddenly turning, spinning faster and faster. My head felt strange, and I blinked as my vision blurred.

What’s happening?

I tried to get up. I tried to reach for my mom, but she moved farther and farther away from me, even though she just stood there leaning against the entryway.

“Mommy—”

“It’s okay, Dahlia,” I heard her say. “You’re going to get your present now. A present only meant for big girls…like you.”

I closed my eyes, dizziness making me feel sick. My stomach turned, and my arms and legs became numb. I didn’t know what was happening. All I knew was I wanted the butterflies back. I wanted to feel their wings flutter with excitement again, like they did before Daddy came home. But they never came back.

Ever.

16

Wraith

Present

It was after midday,and I refused to leave my bedroom. I just wanted to stay there and sulk like a little bitch, feeling sorry for myself. It had been a while since I allowed myself a pity party. Seemed like Onyx changed a lot of things for me.

First, he managed to make me find pleasure in a man’s touch, then proved to me that I wasn’t just an object whose only worth was to get fucked. He showed me what it was like to be made love to, to be worshipped between the sheets instead of used against walls and tables.

His touch. His kiss. The affection he showed me, it was incredible yet startling at the same time. For as long as I could remember, my brother was the only person who ever cared for me—at least that was what I thought, what I had believed my whole life.

No man had ever treated me like something precious. But Onyx did. In his bed, he treated me like a queen, refusing to use me the way I was used to. Now I wasn’t sure whether I’d be able to go back to my old life after that—after finally experiencing how it was supposed to be.

Turning on my side, I exhaled, nestling my head deeper into my pillow. After Slither left my room, I dragged my confused and tired ass to my bed, and I stayed there for the last few hours. Slither wanted me to do another job for him, the kind of job that had always been my way of paying him back for taking care of me. The first few times he had meentertainsome of his VIPs, I would throw up afterward and shower under scorching hot water until my skin turned crimson. But eventually, the self-loathing that came with the dirty deeds disappeared, replaced with a sense of duty. The jobs became easier, and I started playing the game like a pro, but I never got to a point where I was able to enjoy a single minute of it. Every touch, every kiss, every thrust felt vile, like a piece of my soul died every single time.

But not with him. Not with Onyx. And it confused the hell out of me. Why would something that had always felt shameful and abhorrent turn into something that felt amazing and beautiful simply because it was him touching me, kissing me, thrusting into me?

A tear slipped down my cheek and lapped onto the pillowcase. It had been a years since I found myself in this hole—a pit where nothing but darkness lurked. Yet all I could think about was how much I wanted to be with him again. How I longed to look into his striking blue eyes, hear his voice, feel his touch. Every fiber in my being urged me to go to him, to be with him…just one last time, without someone’s vendetta and orders forcing me to. But the question was, would I survive it? Would I be able to be with him without breaking, without giving away my true self?

Turning on my back, I stared up at the ceiling, tears escaping down the sides of my face. I closed my eyes, trying to imagine his face, but the image in my head didn’t do him justice. It only made me want to see him so much more.

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