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‘I already told you, I’m not,’ I snapped, narrowing my eyes at him.
He was going to turn me into a prostitute. Images of a never-ending line of faceless men, with bad breath and sweaty palms, grated at my nerves.
Panic bubbled up inside me, replacing the calm I’d worked so hard to maintain.
Don’t ever show fear.
Emilio grinned, his gold tooth glinting. ‘Have fun,’ he said, slapping his son on the shoulder. ‘And take an inventory while you’re there. But don’t mark the little bitch. We’ve already lost enough time from her unfortunate fall.’ He made rabbit ears with his fingers as he said the word ‘fall’, and I cringed.
He was almost at the door when he thought of something. ‘Check if her tits are real,’ he said casually to his son, as rage burned inside me.
Dornan watched as his father left the room, slamming the door in his wake.
And then slowly swivelled his head back to me.
I surveyed him with quiet determination, suddenly calmer without Emilio present. Safer. It didn’t make sense, yet it did. Because Emilio demanded that I call him Master, and he broke my ribs, and Dornan didn’t really seem to care what I called him.
‘Papi,’ I said flatly. I licked my lips before I could catch myself, a nervous habit that I often displayed when unsure. Damn it! Stop it. He probably already knows exactly what you look like when you’re scared. He watched you cry like a blubbering baby this morning.
Dornan laughed, and I could have sworn my chains rattled at the low, booming noise that reverberated every fibre in my being.
‘Doesn’t that mean daddy?’ Dornan asked, his face relaxed and his stance casual, unlike yesterday, when I’d seen him tightly wound.
The time he’d smiled as my blood poured from my wrist and onto the floor.
I smiled back, despite myself. Despite the situation. Try to get him on your side. ‘It’s a friendly term. Casual.’
He pursed his lips. ‘So do you want me to be your friend,’ his lips quirked up into a sneer, ‘or your daddy?’
My cheeks burned at his question as I trained my eyes on his, refusing to let them dart lower. Screw trying to get him on my side. The way he asked the question while he stared at my chest — it was pretty obvious what he was getting at.
‘How about neither?’ I replied condescendingly. ‘How about you’re just an asshole?’
He chuckled. And that made me mad.
‘You’re afraid of him,’ I blurted out. ‘Your father. I see the way you talk to him.’
Dornan’s eyes flashed darker, his eyebrows bunching together. He clenched his jaw, and I imagined the teeth inside grinding down on each other.
He reached out and fingered my cuffs. I stood and drew a sharp intake of air. I hadn’t even noticed him get that close, he was so beguiling. Sleek, like a panther. And just as deadly.
I didn’t want to be sitting down when he pounced. He looked like he wanted to rip me to pieces.
‘I’m not afraid of anyone,’ Dornan growled, his tone measured, his fingers light as a feather on my wrist.
Liar.
‘But you, on the other hand . . .’ he trailed off, his impressive six-foot physique overwhelming my five foot two. I craned my neck to look up at him as he drew closer still.
He was beautiful. He was terrifying.
‘What about me?’ I asked, my voice wavering slightly.
‘That’s the thing,’ he replied quietly, a low rumble that threatened to break me apart. ‘I can’t figure out if you’re more scared of me, or of yourself.’
I glared at him. I felt utterly naked. He saw inside me, and I hated it. I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from speaking further.
It was too easy to speak to him, to share my secrets, like falling into an abyss. I enjoyed talking to him, enjoyed being around him, and that revelation was disturbing.
