Page 54 of Sinful Desires

Kicking my feet over the side of the bed, I brought myself to my feet. I could feel them all staring, but that wouldn’t deter me. I dropped the blanket and snatched Collin’s shirt off the ground before tugging it on, followed by my socks and shoes.

As I approached the doorway, my heart started beating out of rhythm. “I’m going to go now,” I said slowly as I attempted to squeeze between Foster and Hunter.

When a hand latched around my arm, panic consumed me. All I could think was I didn’t want to go back to that cellar. So, I did what any rational person would have done in this situation. I spun, pulling my free arm back and smashed it into the culprit’s jaw. Foster loosened his grip on me as he stumbled backwards, giving me the perfect window, I needed to bolt. So that’s what I did.

My legs moved as fast as they could, the cold air from the conditioner licking them as I ran. When my gaze snagged on my door up ahead, hope swelled within me. I was almost there. If I could just get inside, then I could lock it.

My lungs seized as they ached, but I wouldn’t give up or slow down. I was almost close enough to reach the doorknob. Reaching for the handle, my fingertips brushed against it when a hand wrapped around the back of my neck, causing my arms to widen.

I was jerked backwards and before I could even process what was happening, I was thrown face-first into the wall beside my door, my head smashing against it before everything went black.

Chapter 16

Collin

Her body curled in on itself as she flickered in and out of consciousness. Her brows furrowed and a shiver crawled through her flesh. The cold floor beneath her probably wasn’t helping matters, and neither was the fact that we were in a passageway that didn’t get much heat.

Guilt slithered through me. I should have just taken her back to her room. They weren’t mad that she escaped. They were mad that I helped her, and then fucked her. It wasn’t like I didn’t try preventing having sex with her, but she didn’t make it easy.

Not that it was an excuse, but I’ve been sex deprived since cutting Madison out of my life. When I brought Aspen back to my room, the last thing I expected was for her to even want to do anything—not with everything that had happened. Images of her bent over my dresser resurfaced and the reminder of her screaming my name as she shattered around me had my dick coming to life.

“Why’d you do it?” Hunter asked in a low tone as he joined me near the cell. My jaw ticked as I stared at her through the bars. They had her locked up like a fucking animal.

“Do what?” I snapped back. “Fuck a girl who was practically begging for my dick? You would have done the same.”

He snorted, rolling his eyes. “Don’t think you’re special Collin. She was sucking my dick a few days ago. The difference is, I didn’t fuck her and I wouldn’t have let her out of that cellar either.”

Anger bubbled inside of me. “You’re lying.” My voice wavered as the words left my mouth. I knew he wasn’t lying. He never did. I didn’t know Aspen well enough to obsess over her, yet I felt the sting of jealousy all the same.

“You know I’m not.”

Blowing out a breath, I shook my head. “What are they going to do with her?” The thought of them marking her and destroying her had my stomach twisting. Myles was in charge after all, and that never ended well for anyone except him.

“I don’t know. Myles said something about seeing if she can take the heat. Maybe branding her with something?”

“Fuck,” I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose.

“Don’t sweat it,” he said, slapping me on the back of the shoulders, making it sting in the best way. Her nails marks were engraved in my back and shoulders, reminding me of a night I’d probably never forget. “At least you got to fuck her, right? You weren’t looking for anything serious anyways.”

I nodded in agreement. “Yeah.”

Hunter had a point. Aspen would have made a great fuck buddy though. But even though she was a great lay, doesn’t mean I was going to start worshiping the ground she walked on. I made a mistake by screwing her and helping her, but at the end of the day, she wasn’t who I was loyal to.

“Moment of truth,” Myles said as he made his way over to us. His gaze landed on me, anger swirling behind his irises. “Let’s see if you’re still one of us or not.” He offered me a cigarette which had me furrowing my eyebrows, but I took it anyways and put it in my mouth. A sadistic smile twisted his features as he brought the lighter up and lit it for me.

Foster wasn’t far behind, carrying a tub of what appeared to be ice water. Setting it down beside the cell, he fished out a key and inserted it into the lock. With a flick of his wrist, the door creaked open. After returning the key to his pocket, he grabbed the tub of water again and stepped into the cell, not stopping until he hovered over Aspen. In one movement, the water was pouring over her and splashing everywhere.

A gasp tore from her throat as she bolted into an upright position, her chest heaving. Her wide, green eyes darted around the room, fear consuming her when she realized what was happening.

Her hair was drenched and the shirt she wore clung to her like a second skin—my shirt. Foster grabbed her by the arm and forced her to her feet. My eyes narrowed as he turned her so that she was standing in front of him and he hooked his arm through hers, holding them behind her back while using the other to snake around her waist so that he could hold her in place.

His blue eyes bore through mine as he gave me an expectant nod, but I didn’t know what the hell he wanted. So, I stepped forward, taking a long pull of my cigarette before flicking the ashes on the ground.

“Burn her,” he ordered, excitement flashing through his eyes.

My jaw slackened as my gaze dropped down to the cigarette resting between my fingers. When I looked back at Aspen, she was struggling against him, her eyes wide with fear.

I knew I didn’t have a choice. Myles’ words were clear. This was a test, and I had to choose a side. The choice was easy enough, but violent forms of torture weren’t my forte.

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