Page 49 of Among the Sins of my Father

“I’m not like my father, or yours,” he says while staring up at the stars. “I don’t like forcing people to do things they don’t want to do. It’s a form of power and control I’m simply not interested in. But that doesn’t mean I don’t get what I want. I always get what I want, Everly.” He props himself on his side and looks down at me. “The problem is I don’t have much patience. Not with you. Not when I already know what I’m getting.”

He reaches down and undoes one of the buttons on my dress. I go to lift my hand and swipe his arm away, but my body won’t comply. It’s heavy and disobedient, defying instruction from my brain. A spark of panic ignites. I try to get up. I try to twist away but it’s like the connection between my brain and my body has been severed and my limbs remain unresponsive.

Michael holds up his glass. “It was in the drink.” He smiles slowly. “Yours, not mine, obviously.”

I blink away tears. It’s as though my body is made of lead. I’m trapped, lying here beside him under the stars.

“Shh, shh.” Michael brushes away a tear with the pad of his thumb and lifts it to his mouth, licking it. “You’ve got nothing to fear. I told you I like my partners keen and eager.” He undoes another button. “I’m just reminding you of what could be. Of what you could have. Of who we could be.”

Another button pops undone and Michael pushes the material across my body, exposing my breast. He lets out a groan.

Anxiety grips me violently. I want to curl in on myself. I want to escape this place, but I can’t. I’m lying here, staring up at the sky and all I can do is squeeze my eyes shut as the flash overwhelms me. But for once the flash is welcomed in comparison to the nightmare of my reality.

Jericho paces in a circle around me as I stand, tied with my arms above my head, the light of the moon pouring in through the stained-glass window and tainting my naked skin. “Tell me to stop,” he says.

The tip of Michael’s finger caresses my breast. My nipple beads unwantedly and he flicks it, drawing in a sharp breath when the flesh puckers and tightens. His gaze slowly roams up my body until he’s looking straight into my eyes. “Your body remembers me,” he says.

The sting of Jericho’s hand is sharp. Warmth spreads over the cheeks of my ass and tingles between my legs. I squirm, pushing myself toward him. “Tell me to stop,” he says again.

His eyes focus in on my scar. He touches it and a wave of nausea washes over me. It still feels numb. It still feels as though there’s something wrong with the flesh, like the bullet is still embedded inside.

“I’ll never forgive him for marking you like this.”

My insides lurch as though trying to toss me up and away from this nightmare, but my body remains frozen. Michael’s attention is taken from my scar and drawn back to the exposed strip of flesh between the buttons of my dress. He undoes the final few hurriedly, and pulls the material aside, leaving me exposed to his gaze.

He assaults me with his eyes. They are hungry and filled with lust. The blue that once looked so soft and warm is now hard and cold. My heart pounds but there’s little I can do to still it. The only option I have left is to squeeze my eyes shut, letting the flashes overwhelm me.

“I don’t want you to stop.” My voice is a pant of desperation. My whole body is on fire, waiting for his touch. He slaps me again and the pain sends a delicious spark straight to the coil of lust inside me. Jericho’s hand wraps around my throat as he pushes me into the wall.

“Tell me to stop.”

“No,” I say defiantly. “I want this. I want you. I want the pain and the pleasure of your touch. I want everything.”

Michael slips the shoulders of my dress down, full exposing my breasts. The cold breeze tickles my flesh, beading my nipples once again.

“I told myself I wouldn’t do this, but just think of all I could do right now but am choosing not to. I’m one of the good guys, Everly.” And then his mouth is on my breast. He’s grinding against me, his cock thick and hard against my thigh.

I let out a whimper.

He lifts his head, bright eyes darting back and forth between mine. “Shh, shh.” He holds his finger against my mouth. “Don’t worry your pretty little head. I just want to make you feel good. I just want to feel you and touch you and give you pleasure. I want to remind you of how we used to be.”

A wicked grin spreads over Jericho’s face. The rope is cut from above and my body slumps into his arms. He scoops me up and carries me across the room, throwing me down on the bed. The black onyx of his eyes gleams dangerously.

“As you wish.”

His touch is so gentle it hurts. His fingers feel like needles as he drags them down my skin and hooks them around the lace of my underwear. He tugs softly, drawing them down my thighs.

“Please don’t,” I manage to whimper although it is mumbled and slurred.

He looks at me then, and I plead with my eyes. My mouth won’t work the way I want it to or else I’d scream. My body won’t obey my commands. My mind, although filled with fog, is still witness to the plight of my body.

“It’s okay,” he whispers. “I love you. I’ve always loved you, right from the moment I first met you. We will be amazing together, Ev.”

Jericho clambers over me, knees either side of my body. He doesn’t stop until he hovers over my chest, dark eyes staring down at me and utters the command, “Open.”

I obey without hesitation. He holds my head with his hands as he eases inside, muttering curses under his breath. I twist my legs together, wetness flooding me as he uses my mouth.

When Michael finds me dry, he spits on his fingers and presses them to me, rubbing in slow circles. He closes his eyes, almost as though he’s relishing the sensation. Then he bends down low to whisper in my ear.

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