Page 54 of The Doctor

He thrust a hand through his hair before turning away from me and walking to the other side of the room.

My lips, raw and swollen from his brutal kiss, curled into a smirk. “Did you like that, Daddy? Did I make you feel good?”

“Clara!” He didn’t turn, didn’t look back at me. Instead, he kept staring at the far wall. “Enough!”

You’ll never be enough.

Grabbing my clutch from the counter, I bolted for the front room. And though I knew it was my pathetic hopes telling me so, I swore, as I raced out the door, that he’d followed me there and watched me go.

19

Clara

Getting into the club without my normal primping felt sacrilegious, but I’d already spent too much time with Zee. I didn’t have time to shower, do my hair and makeup, and likely have to do it all over again.

Instead, I called a car to bring me home, and even had them wait while I ran upstairs to change. With my hair still pulled up into a ponytail, I painted my lips bright red.

That was it.

That was all I had time for.

I couldn’t allow myself to get caught up in the million little rituals that were sure to surface if I gave them a chance to breathe.

Back to the car I went, then off to Club Sentinel. Kylo was at the front door again, and he gave me a cautious smile as I approached.

“You know you shouldn’t be here,” he said, thick arms crossed over his even thicker chest. “You’re gonna get me fired if you pull a stunt like you did last time.”

My mouth dropped open and my eyes burned. Words failed me for a long minute before I finally pulled myself together and hissed out, “He assaulted me, Kylo. I didn’t do anything!”

The big man lifted his chin, staring down his nose at me with narrowed eyes. “You expect me to believe your brother let someone hurt you, then threw you out on the sidewalk?”

A scoff left my chest. “My brother would rather watch me get mowed down in a gang war than lift a finger to help me.”

He pursed his lips, and my own trembled. Tears I couldn’t afford danced in the corners of my eyes.

First Zee.

Now Kylo.

Did I matter to anyone?

Without a word, the bouncer reached for the rope, unclipping it to let me through. Ritual or not, there was no fucking way I was going to kiss the bastard’s cheek.

It served him right for not believing me.

Served him right for thinking for one minute that Stephano gave a flying fuck about me.

As long as I was hidden away, my brother didn’t give two shits. God forbid I try to do anything on my own. God forbid I live my own life and be something other than a pretty little doll without a brain.

Pushing through the crowd, I made my way toward the stairs leading to the VIP section. But I stopped in my place, and it had nothing to do with the hard shoulder of some partier that slammed into my chest.

Jimmy was there at the bottom of the steps, and there was no way in hell he’d let me up. If Kylo, a man I’d always considered a friend, gave me grief about getting in, Jimmy would likely dump my ass on the sidewalk without my brother even knowing I’d been here.

Fucking traitor.

Ugh! I spun in a circle, bouncing off some girl who was dancing like she learned all her moves from a video game. There was only one other way upstairs, and it wouldn’t be easy to get to.

Not with this crowd.