Page 247 of Lessons in Cruelty

Who knows what the fuck he’s up to?

I punch the closest tree, and it throws leaves down at me.

Shaking out my fist, I hurry after them, staying just close enough so I don’t lose sight of them in the woods.

Following them into the dark.

Following her.

Ezra’s always taken what’s mine.

Toys. Clothes. Credit. Punishment.

Now he’s taking Haven…and maybe I want him to.

Maybe I want to see what he does to her.

Maybe I want to see if she survives him better than I did.

Chapter 62

Haven

“You feel good, Haven? Enjoying yourself?” Ezra’s mouth is too close to my ear, but I’ve tried to push his arm off my shoulder like three times already. He just keeps putting it back.

Where’s Kai?

Why isn’t he stopping this?

But then I laugh, because Kai? Really? He literally just called me a slut.

Again.

And maybe he’s right. I let him finger me against a tree—again—just like I let him finger me under the bed.

I’m sensing a pattern.

I shove Ezra’s arm off my shoulders. “Melissa,” I manage through clenching teeth.

“What’s that? You do feel good? Yeah, of course you do. Everyone does. Even trailer trash bitches like you. ‘Cos you know that’s what you are, right?” He chuckles, and the sound makes my skin crawl.

What is he doing? Taking me on a fucking tour of the dance floor?

Is he trying to make Melissa jealous or something?

Me and Ezra were never on speaking terms.

I know what he did to Kai back when we were kids. I saw the marks. Kai never snitched, but his eyes did all the talking back then.

Guess they still do.

Fuck, his eyes were so…so…God, he was angry when Ezra took me away just now. Which makes no sense, because I swear he was about to kiss me. I was silently begging him to.

That was when I was still imagining it was him, of course.

Should have known.

Who else would know my body like that? Exactly where to caress, where to stroke, where to⁠—