Page 20 of Sinful Desires

Chapter Nine

She felt secure intheir arms, like nothing could ever happen to her, and there was no way she could be taken from them.

“It’s my turn,” Aiden yelled across the room.

Malik snorted.

“What’s his turn?”she asked.

“You.He wants to snuggle.”

She grinned.“I better go then.”

Malik chuckled.“Yes, you should before he comes and gets you.”

She walked behind the sofa and screamed when Aiden lifted her and placed her on his lap, and her chest against his.

“You scared me,” she accused.

“You weren’t moving fast enough,” Aiden told her.

“Next time, I’ll be sure to run,” she said sarcastically.

He kissed the top of her head.“You do that, baby.”

“You guys want a movie?”Malik said.

“But the electricity is out.”

“Yeah, but we have a generator.We could last here for months.We can’t get reception up here, so we have to depend on the DVR,” Aiden told her.“Put one in.”

Malik started going through their DVD collection.“Any preference?”

She shook her head.“No.Just nothing gory.”

Both men laughed.

Malik cuddled in on the other end of the sofa and set her feet on his lap.The movie was good, and they all laughed several times.

She hadn’t realized how much she missed things like this.Vegging on the sofa and watching TV.She had always enjoyed it before her mother remarried.

At first, her stepfather had been nice to her but mostly dismissive until she turned seventeen, and then his attitude toward her changed radically.Instead of ignoring her, all his attention seemed to center on her.She hated it and hurt for her mother, who was practically being ignored.

Edward, her stepfather, had turned into a tyrant to both, forbidding them just about everything.Her mother had been put on a diet when she married him and hadn’t yet come off.He started making her follow the diet and other restrictions.It was like living in prison.Except in prison, you still got fed even if you misbehaved.In Edward's house, she’d gone days without eating and with only the water from her bathroom tap to drink.

She had fought him in the beginning, but he’d done things she would never forget to put her in her place.She had begged her mother for help, but her mother had always turned her away.

The turning point where she’d started making plans was when she overheard him talking to one of his creepy friends.The things he had planned for her made bile climb up her throat.She’d swallowed several times because she hadn’t wanted to miss anything.

From that day, she’d stolen whatever money she could find around the mansion.Thankfully, Edward had so much that he never missed a few hundred out of his wallet, and he also kept an envelope in his desk drawer filled with money she’d taken on the day she left.She’d also taken food at night for when he locked her in her room and when she escaped.Camila knew the sooner she could go, the better, but she also had to be ready.

When she thought she’d had enough, she took off.She snuck out a side door of Edward’s house and walked to the nearest bus station, then took the first bus out of town.When she arrived at her destination, she bought a used car and drove out of town.The first few days had been blissful.The freedom had almost made her giddy.

That hadn’t lasted.They’d caught up with her within a week.She couldn’t believe it had been so easy for them because she only used cash and bought a cheap car.When they found her, she’d been in a café eating.She’d seen the dark car pull up beside the one she drove, and a few men got out.Her heart about burst from her chest when she recognized one of them as being her stepfather's man.She’d escaped out the back of the building and left everything behind.She didn’t have a choice.She just knew she couldn’t go back to that monster.