Page 20 of Ambition

My pulse lurches inside my chest. “I wasn’t even here.”

“That’s the problem.”

“You knew what was happening.”

“It made it worse.” He still doesn’t look at me and his brows are drawn, and his lips are poking out a little.

I take a breath in, steadying myself as I grip the fuzz of my blanket tighter. “Listen. Ever since…that night…” I don’t have to tell him which one.

He blinks a few times but doesn’t turn toward me.

“Dad, your parents,Writhe…They’ve treated me like glass. Like I’m fragile, but like I can’t cut. WhichI can.”

He nods once, shallowly, but the confirmation makes me feel good.

“And this is myin.”I keep my voice down but I know this much Cosmo can’t do anything with regardless.“They won’t give me the violent work, and I think it’s because maybe after that night they thought I was some sort of psychopath or something or—”

“No,” Von says softly, facing away. “They don’t think that. They just don’t want you to have to…experience any of it again. You were taken because you were bait to our parents and Writhe and—”

“That is exactly why we can’t be together. They take me, you come running, even if it’s not about you.” And none of this is even true, but I guess he doesn’t know. No one ever told him I wasn’t the bait to anyone buthim.

He turns to look at me dead on then. “And I still will, together or not.”

My stomach flutters but I ignore it. “Maybe, but this makes it less obvious. No neon signs flashing, pointing at us.”

He rolls his eyes. “For me, there’s always a sign above you.”

“And what does it say right now?” I challenge him. “‘Here’s your best friend, the giant whore.’”

I hear Cosmo snort in the background but we both ignore him.

Von narrows his eyes. “You’re not giant.”

“Oh, but I’m a—”

He sits up then and the sudden movement stalls my words. Especially as he leans over and picks me up—blanket and all—and puts me in his fucking lap.

I immediately tense, ready to fight my way free, when his hands come to my hips, beneath the blanket, and his lips come to my ear.

“You’re not a whore, I understand you were only working,” he says softly, breath on my skin. “And I saw you earlier, in your room. You’re sore, and you’re tense.” His fingertips press softly against my hips. “Let me relax you, okay?”

“Von, what the fuck are you doing?” I ask it without looking at him, keeping my voice sharp. He does notrelaxme. If anything, he does the opposite. But getting worked over with a massage or some shit after my first night sleeping with someone for secrets was not on my bingo card for Von and I am highly confused.

He’s being reasonable, and he’s not that, not when it comes to me. The tension in our house on a daily basis isn’t extreme because I don’t flaunt my hookups and he doesn’t often bring girls over and the work I do for Writhe is usually—intentionally—mundane.

But I knew this would come to a head when I started really proving my worth.

Yet this…thisdoesn’t feel like what I expect from him.

He keeps kneading my hips and my eyes are glued on the TV, but I’m not watching a damn thing on it. Instead, I feel Cosmo watching us and it’s like the tension in the room grows so heavy.

“Really,” Von says softly, curving over me, his lips brushing my shoulder, exposed from my tank top. “I’m sorry for earlier. I just…” He pauses and I wonder if this is the moment we’ll fight again. But then he asks, “Are you okay?” And he says it lightly, so I know he means physically. “Can I just…help you?”

“Fine,” I answer, but decide to give him some truth and some guidance, if we’re really doing this. “My neck hurts a bit.”

For a moment, his hold tightens, and I wonder if he’s going to push me off but…he doesn’t. Slowly, he glides his hands up my waist, over my shirt, the fabric brushing my skin.

I arch my back a little, giving into the feel of his strong hands gliding up and over my shoulder blades, then his thumbs dig into my spine as he starts to massage me without holding back.

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