Page 21 of Dirty Dillon

“Do not sass me right now. Plunk your ass down.”

It’s quiet for a minute, but I never met a silence I couldn’t fill. “I don’t understand why you’re mad.” I hate the crack in my voice. “I thought you’d be happy to see me. Unless...” I peer down the short hall. “You’re alone, right?”

“Of course I’m alone!” The words come out angrier than that muffler he was working on today.

I hold up my hands in surrender. “Geez. Then why are you acting so weird?”

“Why am I acting so weird?” He takes a deep breath, and then exhales slowly. “Cressida, I’m trying not to lose my temper. I know you’re used to getting away with a lot of things, but this isn’t one of them. You need to tell me what’s going on.” He takes a step closer and all I can think is that I want him even closer. Like, inside me closer. “You need to tell me what is going on.”

“Nothing is going on.”

“Don’t tell me nothing is going on. Your mascara is running down your face, and the tip of your nose is red. You didn’t come here to seduce me. What’s wrong?”

The urge to hide my face is unbearable, but the damage has been done. He can’t unsee it. “I’m pissed off. And I’m heartbroken. And I don’t want to bother you,” I start crying again, “but you were all I could think of when I ran out the door.”

He crouches in front of me. “Baby, I’m glad you’re here. I want to be the person you come to with your problems.”

“I’m so tired of having problems, Dillon.” Exhausted, actually.

His big hands cup my face tenderly. “Then let’s get rid of them. Tell me what they are and I’ll help you.”

“It’s my father,” I say. “He’s betrayed me in the worst possible way. I don’t even think I can say it.”

Dillon’s expression hardens, and I can see the anger in his eyes. “What did he do to you?”

I struggle to find the words to explain what has happened, my emotions threatening to overwhelm me. I take a deep breath, trying to center myself. “My father promised me to Blake Masterson in exchange for Blake’s silence about something. Some kind of indiscretion,” I confess, my voice shaking.

Dillon’s expression darkens as I speak, his jaw clenching in fury on my behalf.

“Like an arranged marriage?”

A dark chuckle erupts from my throat. “I’m pretty sure Blake is already married. I think...I think my dad is trading my body for Blake’s silence. I think I just became a whore.”

Saying it makes me feel dirty. Used.

The truth hurts.

“Those bastards,” he growls, his voice low and dangerous. “Cressida, you’re not a whore.”

I can feel the intensity of his gaze on me, his eyes boring into me. It’s like he can see everything I’m feeling, everything I’m thinking, and it’s almost too much to bear. I push his hands down. It’s too intense. I need some space.

“I don’t know what to do,” I whisper, looking away from him and down at my hands. “What kind of monster sells his daughter?”

Dillon picks up one of my hands but doesn’t force me to look at him. “You’re never going back there, Cressida. “

I look back up at him, my heart pounding in my chest. “Dillon...”

He leans in closer, his breath hot against my ear as he whispers, “I’ll protect you. Whatever it takes.”

He moves his hand from my arm up to my cheek, cupping it gently and tilting my face up to his. His lips brush against mine, a feather-light touch that sends electricity shooting through me.

“I don’t think I should drag you into this,” I whisper, tears pricking the corners of my eyes. “I think it might be dangerous. Obviously my dad is not a saint, but this...he must be backed into a pretty dark corner to make this kind of deal. I don’t want you to become collateral damage.”

Dillon’s eyes soften, his thumb brushing away a tear that escapes down my cheek. “I’m not afraid of your father. Blake Masterson will never get near you again.”

I take a deep breath, feeling Dillon’s hand tighten slightly on my cheek. It’s like he’s trying to ground me, keep me steady. And I need that right now. I need him. “You didn’t sign up for this.”

Dillon shakes his head, his eyes never leaving mine. “Didn’t I?”

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