Page 9 of Insatiable

After replying to say I can’t wait, I quickly send Chris a text telling him not to bother picking me up. I have the dress with me I’m wearing tonight, and I can grab a shower at Lu’s too.

My stepbrother will definitely be pissed, but he’s always mad at me.

A few days ago, after Kade dropped me off, I begged him to release me and lied that it was Luciella who drove me home.

I have concealer hiding the faint bruises he left on me.

I connect my Bluetooth back up to the speakers that surround the hall, restart the song and take in my sweaty appearance in the mirror.

When my gaze drops to my chest, I stare the small scar on my sternum, purple and deep. As much as my breasts hide it, it’s there. That was why Chris ripped a key against my skin – to deter others from touching what he thinks is his.

He made me lie to Nora and say I did it to myself, and she believed me. She’d wanted me to seek help from a therapist, thinking I was harming myself.

No. Your son is just a fucking monster, Nora.

I run my fingers up the titanium poles. There are seven of them spaced out throughout the hall, a hoop in the middle hanging from the ceiling and deep-pink silks at the back. In the next room, there’s a huge dance area where the kids go.

Tylar’s family owns the building, and she’s had plans to expand into somewhere bigger for the last year but has been caught up in her studies while her parents work on a project in Rome.

I wrap the silk around my wrist, getting a good grip of the material, then do the same with my foot and pull myself onto it. Flipping myself upside down, the material twists around my thighs, holding my weight safely as I quickly fix my hair.

Then I let the music take me on a lyrical adventure, using my flexibility and rhythm to map out the perfect choreography I could use at the Festival of Fright Night at Halloween.

By the time the song finishes, sweat is layering my skin, and my limbs ache from the constant pulling and tugging on the silks. I flip myself upside down once again, settling in a full straddle, and pull off my top to reveal my sports bra.

But when the material at the hook tangles and I start to spin slowly, my entire body freezes – there’s someone watching me.

“Chris!” I snap. “You aren’t allowed in here!”

My stepbrother shrugs as I untangle myself and drop to the floor.

I narrow my eyes at him. “What the hell are you doing?”

He smirks, making me step backwards as he takes one step forward, eyes dropping to my chest. “You know I like to watch you.”

Uncomfortable shivers rush through me, bile rising in my throat. “I told you I’m going to my friend’s house.”

“I’ll drive you. I’m not taking no for an answer.”

“I don’t need you to drive me.”

Chris lifts his hand to me, and I instinctively flinch away before he can touch the strands of hair that have fallen into my face.

“You’ll do as I say, little sister,” he says. “Unless you want me to lock you in my room again. Maybe I’ll chain you to my bed this time?”

I blanch. “No.”

He smiles. “I’m driving you.”

I gulp and nod, knowing I won’t win with Chris.

I turn my back on him and head for the small changing room, throwing on my top as I go. I still feel far too exposed to be around him. After putting on my socks and shoes and wiping my face with a towel, I yank on a hoodie then pull my coat up my arms.

He’s going to try to make me cancel tonight, but he can shove it.

Not only would giving in to him make him feel powerful, but Lu would also hunt me down. This has been planned for ages, a secondary celebration of her twenty-first.

A knock at the door makes me jump out of my skin. “Hurry the fuck up before I get you ready myself.”

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