“I’ll still be here. When you wake up, I’ll make you breakfast, and then we’ll go to school. I’ll make sure of that. Then I’ll be spending excruciating eight hours thinking about your body in the dirtiest ways you can ever imagine, knowing that I can’t act based on those fantasies…yet. Later again, around the same time like tonight, I’ll sneak in and cuddle with you all night, while you pretend it’s not my painful erection that’s poking your ass, just like now.”
I imagined her doing that cute jaw drop thing she did whenever she was too stunned to speak. I couldn’t see shit in this induced blackness, though. No wonder she had nightmares.
“I-I mean, how are you going to leave without anybody seeing you?”
I chuckled. “Don’t worry, baby. I won’t let anything hurt or disturb you…as long as you’re here with me, as long as you’re mine.”
“That sounds more of a threat than reassurance.”
“I didn’t mean to. The two days you were gone… You don’t know what they did to me. I wasn’t myself anymore.”
“What do you mean you weren’t yourself?”
I stroked her hair. “Hushh. I’ll never hurt you or put you in danger, Jo. All I ask in return is that you be with me. Can you do that for me, baby?”
CHAPTER 3
Tirone
Her eyes darted around, right and left, like they did that night I showed up unannounced at her door. Except back then she wasn’t hiding them behind another man’s shades. I yanked them off. The idea of another man’s anything on her was unbearable.
Pale blue eyes glared back at me, matching my anger. “Stay the hell away from me.”
“Do you know how many nights it took you before you trusted me enough to show me those eyes? Do you know how many strokes I gave your stupid wig, thinking I was soothing you to sleep? And you give it all to him, just like that.”
“Your fatherearned my trust with the things he’s done for me,” she fumed. “I can’t believe you knew whom he was and never told me.”
“I was going to.”
“When the fuck were you going to tell me, Tirone? After you banished me to Psycho Obsessivia with you?”
Psycho Obsessivia. That’s a good one.“You’re callingmea psycho?Youdrugged me and left me on the fucking street to die.”
“You forced me to break up with my boyfriend, neglecting to tell me he was your dad, and coerced me into moving in with you God only knew where after you raped me with a gun.”
“Raped you? You soaked the fuck out of that gun. Since you liked it so much the first time, maybe I should do it again. My cock will follow for sure this time.”
“Do that and I’ll kill you myself, you sick son of a bitch.”
I scoffed. “Your threats have always been empty, Miss Meneceo.”
“Well, try me now and see how empty they can be.” She kept the menacing eye contact until she seemed satisfied. Then she backed away against the concrete, folding her arms over her chest.
“Why did you not fight me harder that night?”
Rolling her eyes, she just shook her head.
“Answer me.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about and have no intention to carry any kind of conversation with you. Just shut up.”
“The fuck I will, and you know exactly what night I’m talking about. The first night I came to your place when you thought I was gonna rape you. I’ve always wondered why you didn’t scratch my eye or yell or anything. Same thing happened two days ago. Why did you not fight me hard enough? We both know you’re capable of so much more than a knee to the balls and a few kicks and squirms. Better yet, why did you not take your gun from the drawer and use it…either time?”
She cast a long gaze at me, words written in fire in it, secrets she refused to spill. Yet.
“You’re a glutton for punishment,” I speculated, knowing that much was true. Her body loved it when I hurt it.
Her lips twisted in disapproval or mockery. I didn’t know for sure, but it only meant—even if I was right—I wasn’t even close. I walked toward her, demanding an answer.