Page 35 of Dark, Forbidden, & Taboo

“Daveigh, it’s Daddy.”

Who else would it be? I wonder as I swipe away an angry tear quickly, then hug the pillow tightly against me again.

“I’m sleeping,” I reply quietly. I start fake snoring, hoping he’ll leave me alone. “See?”

“Don’t lie to Daddy,” he says in a hushed tone. I cringe when I can hear the sound of his muffled footsteps heading toward the bed, then do my best not to run away when the mattress dips as he sits down.

You’re not my daddy, I think angrily.

“Are you ready to show me what a big girl you are?” he asks, running a hand down my only exposed leg. It makes me mad when he touches me like this. It makes me even madder that I didn’t hide my leg from him under the blanket.

“Come on, sweetheart,” he coos as he starts to pull the blanket off my body. “Take your clothes off and show Daddy what you remember. Then I’ll teach you something new.”

___

“Goddamnit,”I grumble irritably as I sit up in bed and rub my eyes.

I thought seeing this shit when I was still awake was bad enough, but not being able to sleep in peace now was going to be a problem.

I know that the only reason this is happening as frequently as it is these days is because of my little plot to blow all of them out of the water with their deviant, backdoor bullshit, and expose him in front of hisguests.

I’m reliving the worst moments of my life when I’m awake and asleep.

Nothing is going to make this stop until I show the worldexactlywhat kind of man Julius Parker is.

And it’s not the expensive, three-piece suit-wearing business mogul that he plays during the day.

I glance at the time on the small clock on the bedstand, then sigh as I lie back down and turn on my side.

I just have to make it through tomorrow and then, when night comes, so will his goddamn reckoning.

But first I’ll take care of the entire reason I’ve had to fight for my fucking life every single day since.

Emily.

Chapter 6

Emily

“What?”

I pull the phone away from my ear after Rock barks his greeting into the speaker and I take a deep breath. Barking back at him isn’t going to get me anywhere. I need to stroke his ego and make him believe that I am as beholden for this conversation as he expects me to be.

“Hey, Rock,” I respond, forcing myself to seem cheerful.

“Emily?”

The twinge of suspicion in his tone is almost instant, and I get it. We’ve never gotten along. Ever since we were kids, we’ve competed with each other. If he ran a mile, I’d run three just to spite him. If Daddy and Momma took me to Hawaii for a weekend, his father would rent out the whole of Aspen so he could have a party with his friends for the week.

“Yeah! Are you busy?”

“Nah,” he replies with a chuckle. “Just walking home after getting head from Dolores.”

I arch an eyebrow and make a face, thankful that he can’t see me right now. Dolores Cambridge is sixty-five years old and recently widowed. Though the rumor is that she had William murdered for the life insurance.

“Really?” I ask, unable to mask the revulsion in my voice.

Rock laughs, “Really. I’m telling you—those older ladies really know what they’re doing. Besides, she takes her dentures out when she goes down on me, and that definitely changes the game.” When I don’t say anything right away, he pipes up again. “Jealous?”

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