Page 31 of Dirty Dillon

“I’m so sorry, baby,” I say, pulling her close. She clings to me. I stroke her hair, whispering soft words of comfort against her skin. “You didn’t deserve that. No one does. He’s the one who should be ashamed, not you.”

She peers up at me again, eyes wide and vulnerable. “You don’t think I’m stupid? Or dirty?”

“Never.” I kiss her then, deep and thorough, hoping she understands what I can’t quite put into words. She’s safe here, with me. I’ll do whatever it takes to help her heal, to show her she’s so much more than what’s been done to her.

I think about the day she came into my garage, offering me her mouth when she obviously didn’t want to.

“Cress, are you sure you wanted to do that this morning? You don’t ever have to do anything with me you don’t want.”

She holds my face in her hands. “I promise I wanted to, Dillon. And I promise I’m going to want to again. I loved it. With you. I love how you make me feel and everything we do together. I just don’t think I deserve you.”

“I’m no prize, baby. But you’re stuck with me.”

She snuggles into my side again with a contented sigh, tracing idle patterns across my chest with her fingertips, her touch feather-light. I thread my fingers through her hair, enjoying the simple intimacy of the moment.

“It’s not just that it happened to me. That’s not even my biggest shame. It’s that I didn’t stop it last year. Other girls had to...to join our sorority. I’m part of the problem.”

“Could you have stopped it?”

She shrugs. “I could have tried. I should have tried. I did try...this year. Dillon, you can’t tell anyone...but I’m the one who took the story higher up. I spoke anonymously to the school paper, and they cracked the story.”

“Why don’t you sound happier about it?”

“Because the only people who got punished were all the girls who had his cock in their mouths. My sorority chapter was disbanded. We were all expelled. The national organization is under investigation, but I doubt anything will come of it.”

“And the dean?” I ask, already knowing I won’t like what I hear.

“He’s back at work. The newspaper has been accused of running a false story, so the student reporter and editor are done. The dean...nothing happened to him.”

She stands up and starts pacing. “I’m so tired of men like my father and Blake and the dean just getting away with things. Like women are pawns.”

“What would you like to do about it?”

“I want to take them all down, Dillon.”

“Then that is what we will do.” Her stomach rumbles. “After I feed you breakfast.”

***

Ipull my truck upto the towering iron gates of Mayor Hamilton’s estate and feel a twinge of intimidation. The imposing mansion looms before us, a symbol of the privileged life Cressida has known up until now.

Fuck me, it’s big.

“Are you ready?” I ask her.

Cressida nods, her expression resolute. “Let’s do this,” she says, her voice trembling just slightly.

My brother let me know the mayor was in a council meeting this afternoon, so we decided to grab some of Cressida’s things without having to chance a confrontation.

There will be a confrontation eventually. Hamilton and Masterson will not get away with what they tried to do to my woman. But Cressida doesn’t need the stress of it right now. Once she’s settled and feeling safe, she can be part of the plan. Or not.

We walk side by side through the immaculate gardens toward the front door, my hand protectively on the small of her back. As we enter the opulent foyer, my eyes widen at the grand staircase and marble floors that seem to stretch on forever.

“Wow,” I murmur, taking in the extravagance of it all.

Cressida gives me a wry smile. “You should see the ballroom.”

“Ballroom? Does the town pay for this?”

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