Page 116 of Sinner's Salvation

“How long are you going to play the victim?”

It’s like she slapped me. She lifts her chin up. She’s always taunting me, always shoving me out of my comfort zone. “He was an evil man who did horrible things. like your mother said, you had to be smarter.”

I gulp the drink down and continue. “On that fateful morning, Silas had this grin on his face; I knew he did something. But I chalked it up to his reelection.

“He left the house. I should have gone to class, instead, I watched my mother rush my sister down the stairs. She was about to leave. She was being so obvious about it; she’d been jittery and paranoid. Silas finally had enough power to get away with murder.

“I’ll never forget that moment when she looked at me, and I at her. She mouthed, I love you. I waved. I fucking waved.”

Violet comes to sit next to me, taking my hand, and dragging me from the inferno of my thoughts.

“I watched from the window as Kieran’s father took them away. My little sister so innocently thought they were going on a vacation. After a few minutes, my restlessness became unbearable. I got in my car to make sure no one was following them.

“I found the car on the side of the road, wheels up, and the front completely wrecked. My mother was gurgling out blood, and more oozed from her ears. ‘Protect her’ That was all she said. I picked up my little sister, who was somehow unharmed. I knew Silas did it. And yet again, I was incapable of saving someone I cared about.”

“It was not your fault.”

“It will always be my fault.”

Violet swings one leg over my thighs, straddling me. She palms my cheeks, infusing warmth through the ice of my body.

“Look at me.”

“You can’t fix me.”

“You’re broken, and that’s fine. We’re all a little broken, Cameron. But you’re in pain. Knowing you, you didn’t allow yourself to grieve or to forgive yourself. You should because it will destroy you. Your mother should have never abandoned you.”

“You’d do the same if you could.”

She rolls her eyes at me and takes her blouse and bra off. Her chest rises and falls in a wild staccato.

“More,” I demand.

She stands up in front of me, giving me permission to peel her jeans off and bringing me back to life.

My hands shake as I unzip them and pull at the fabric, revealing flawless skin. She shimmies out of the pants, and I’m glad I’m sitting. The image of her in just her panties would have knocked me down.

My gift. Ready to be unwrapped.

“You’re perfect.”

She is, and she will never get rid of me. She’s mine.

I trail my fingers up and down her legs. Satisfaction pumps through my blood when my touch leaves goose bumps on her skin. Gripping her waist, I drag her onto my lap, nibbling her neck.

“I’ll own you, tear you apart and put you back together. Fill you in every hole and make you beg me for more. You’ll become mine, my little mesmerizing freak. Every inch. Every heartbeat. Every thought.”

She swallows in apprehension, in acknowledgement and in desire.

His words sear my chest. His eyes bore into mine, and heat rushes through me. What this man does to me with his unapologetic possessiveness and his bold arrogance, borders on surreal. I am giving in to him like I never thought possible. I feel him hard beneath me, and I place my hands on his chest to support myself.

It’s just a matter of time before Cameron owns me completely. I gulp, wondering if he will ever be mine. Just mine.

He takes my mouth, his tongue entering my hungry lips for his satiating kisses. A world of passion bursts free. Where is the girl who trembled only at the thought of a touch? Now, I tremble in desperation and need. Goose bumps erupt on my skin. Cameron is everywhere. And I’m here for the taking, ready to submit and be everything this man wants me to be.

“So damn brave. So damn beautiful. So damn mine.”

Facts. And I feel every one of them tattooed into my core.

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