Page 99 of Devour

“Or what?” My voice is raw, and my throat burns from throwing up. “You’ll drug me again? You’ll rape me like you have done for years?”

“I don’t have to drug you anymore.” He doesn’t even flinch. “Because you’re going to think about Kynlee on that auction block. You’re going to think about everyone in our world knowing that you’ve been fucked by your brother. And you’re going to think about the way Axl looks at you right now, and you’re going to ask yourself if he’ll ever look at you that way again once he knows. So you’ll keep your fucking mouth shut unless my cock is in it.”

My eyes burn, and I clench my jaw so hard my teeth ache. I want to fucking scream and cry, fucking throw everything in this room. I can’t let my best friend go to auction. I can’t put that on her because of my fucked-up family.

“What’s to stop me from telling everyone after the year is over and Kynlee is free?”

He gives me a sympathetic smile. “Because you still don’t want to be the girl who fucks her brother.”

I grit my teeth. “I didn’t fuck you. You raped me.”

“Lots of sluts cry rape, Sayl. And I’m going to give you some time to adjust to things, because I love you so much. But I’m only going to be able to wait too long before I have you again. But can you quit letting your fucking king tattoo you? That’s just more shit I’ll need to have removed from your body when you’re mine again.”

I’m going to be sick all over again thinking about how he’s seen my naked body.

He holds up his phone to me. “Yes, I know the arrogant prick thinks he’s some fucking king. I can read all of your messages, and I can intercept them. You should be careful about who you let use your phone. I can’t believe you get off on that king shit. But I’ll make you kneel soon too. I’ve been dying to know what it feels like to be inside your mouth.”

The bile is at the back of my throat, but I manage to keep it down. I’ll never willingly touch him. But what he said about the messages makes everything I haven’t been seeing click into place. I’ve been so fucking stupid. “You set Tracy up in Axl’s room, didn’t you?”

Justin’s the reason why I never got Axl’s messages that day.

“I thought it would get you away from him. Just look at you, Sayl. He’s treating you like a whore.”

“As opposed to what? My brother who rapes me?” It’s a good thing I don’t have my knife, because I’d stab him over and over. And that would ruin everything for Kynlee. “I love Axl. And once we’re out of here, he’ll never let you near me.”

Justin lunges at me and wraps his hand around my throat, shoving me back into the wall. My head hits the wall hard, and I see dots for a minute. “You’re going to fucking love me. Do you understand?”

His eyes are wild, and I’ve never seen him like this before. He’s psychotic. There’s no telling what he’ll do.

I don’t fight him. Not because I can’t, but because I don’t want to do anything that will make him harm Kynlee. She could walk in at any second.

So I hold his stare, and I let him see exactly what I think of him.

“You can choke me all you want, Justin.” My voice is a rasp against his palm. “But I’m never going to love you. And the second Kynlee is safe, Axl is going to rip you apart.”

His grip tightens. For a second, I think he’s going to do it. I think he’s going to slam my head into the wall again or drag me to the bed and force me while I’m awake this time.

But he lets go. He steps away, and the calm slides back over his face so fast it makes my skin crawl.

“I’ll give you some more time.” He releases me, and I draw in a long breath of air. “As proof of how much you mean to me. But don’t fucking test me, Sayl.”

He walks to the door and turns the lock. The click echoes through the room, and he holds the door open for me like he thinks he’s some fucking gentleman.

“As much as I would love for you to stay, you had better go, Sayl. I have somewhere to be.”

I walk past without looking at him. I keep my shoulders straight and my hands at my sides even though every part of me is shaking. Justin follows me out and whistles as he strolls down the hallway going wherever the fuck he was headed before this shit happened.

I punch in the code to Axl’s suite with fingers that won’t stop trembling. It takes me three tries before I get it right and the door opens. Once I’m inside, I slam it shut and press my back against it. Axl isn’t back yet.

I slide down the door until I’m sitting on the floor with my knees pulled against my chest. I can still feel Justin’s hand on my throat. I can still smell that fucking cologne. Axl was right, and every nightmare is playing out in my mind. I press my face into my knees and scream into the fabric of my yoga pants.

Axl is going to walk through our door, and I’m going to have to pretend that my whole fucking world didn’t just fall apart.

If I tell him, Justin dies. He’s killed for me for far less. If that happens, Kynlee goes to auction. And I become the girl who got raped by her brother in a world where that kind of shame will fucking follow me and not Justin.

I wipe my face with the back of my hand and force myself to stand. I walk into the bathroom and turn the shower on. I want to scald my fucking skin with hot water.

Axl will be back soon. And I have to find a way to keep him from knowing any of this. That’s what’s going to kill me. I’ve given him every part of myself, but I can’t give him this.