Page 28 of Tyrant (The Villetti Chronicles)

Her eyes went to her lap again, fingers curling around her clothes.

This would never be over. I was keeping her, but I wouldn’t let her know that. Dashing her hopes of escaping me one day would be counterproductive. I don’t know when I decided to throw my best intentions out of the window, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. Not when my father had pissed me off beyond belief with his marriage bullshit. Fuck him. I didn’t even believe in marriage at this point. He saw to that. Him and my fucked up family.

Gennaro would go ape-shit if he knew about my deal with Arianna. My father would tell me to give her back to Bennett.

Not fucking happening. She’s mine.

I internally shook myself. It was something to think about later.

“Indeed.” I tugged on her leash. “Stand up.”

She scrambled to obey, forcing me to hide a smile. Someone didn’t want to be punished again today. I caught her face between my fingers. Her cheeks coloured slightly as if my proximity affected her. Fuck, she affected me. I wanted her close. Needed it like air. I didn’t know how she’d dug her way under my skin in such a short amount of time.

“How are you feeling after yesterday?”

She frowned.

“Yesterday?”

“About your uncle.”

“Oh.” Her face clouded over. “I’m trying not to think about it.” She rubbed her chest. “How do you reconcile the fact you’re a killer now? Like I killed someone. He deserved it, but I can’t stop picturing his dead eyes staring up at me in shock. And the blood… all the blood.”

The way she trembled had me pulling her against my chest. Ari shivered in my hold and gripped my shirt between her fists.

“He was touching me in places I didn’t want him to, saying things I never thought I’d hear out of his mouth. I needed it to stop. Had to make it end.” Her hands clasped my shirt tighter. “I never want anyone to touch me like that again, not when I don’t want it, when I have no control.”

I stroked her curly hair, wishing I could take away her pain. I wanted to erase all the hurt she was experiencing. I wanted to smash the cunt’s skull in. He would have died worse if I’d got my hands on the sick fuck.

“Where did he touch you?”

“I can’t.”

“Tell me.”

I rubbed her back with my other hand, reassuring Ari she was safe. She could tell me the truth. I’d already covered up her crime. Not like I would expose what she’d done to anyone else.

“He put his mouth against my neck, squeezed my breasts and… and his other hand was between my legs,” she whispered. “I didn’t give him a chance to put his hands under my clothes. My dad made me carry a knife for protection, so I stabbed Justin in the neck again and again. I… I wanted him to die after he told me he betrayed Dad. I wanted him to burn when he touched me. I’m not sorry he’s dead. He deserved worse.”

Hearing the fear followed by the vehemence in her voice had me clenching my jaw.

“No one is going to touch you that way again. Not without your consent. I won’t allow it.”

Ari burrowed her face deeper into my chest. I could feel her breathing me in.

“Are you okay with me touching you?”

She pulled away and blinked. I don’t know why I asked. She appeared deeply distressed by what had occurred between her and Justin. I needed to know she wasn’t uncomfortable now.

“Yes… I mean, I agreed to this, didn’t I?” She made a face before her features cleared. “You might be super intimidating, but I’m not afraid of you.”

“No?”

Her eyebrow curled upwards.

“Are you going to touch me inappropriately when I don’t want it?”

“It depends on what you mean by inappropriately.”

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