by Cassie Wild
It never had been, and when my rescuer arrived, it was in the form of Isabel, not the man who’d promised to take care of me.
You can’t blame him, that soft voice insisted. You ran away.
I knew it was foolish and wrong, but that lingering doubt stained my thoughts.
“Daria,” Brooks said, his voice soft and calm.
I shook my head again and rolled over, pushing myself to a sitting position.
The blanket fell down around my hips, and I pulled it up around me.
But Brooks had moved again.
He hooked a finger under the ruined strap of my tank top and tugged it up gently. The few threads that still remained held, but it wouldn’t take much to rip the strap away completely.
“Somebody touched you,” he said, voice flat, almost dead.
Since Sunday night, quite a few somebodies had touched me—their hands groping my butt as I went through the motions of a lap dance, their sweaty faces pressed up against my breasts while their hot breath spilled over my skin.
Not everybody had been like that, but far, far too many had been quite eager to touch me, whether I wanted them to or not.
It was another violation, so many of them I could no longer keep them straight.
I swallowed and darted a look at Brooks’ face.
He had a flat look in his eyes and a wooden expression that confused me.
Was he angry with me?
Did he know what I’d been doing the past week?
I wanted to hunch in on myself, mortified at the very thought.
His expression gentled, and he let the strap go, cupping my face instead. “Daria, you’re safe, okay?”
“Yes.” I gave a stilted nod. His hand was hot against my skin, and the warmth made me want to press up against him until the chill inside me faded.
“What happened?”
Over his shoulder, I saw movement.
Isabel came into the room, and the truth that had been on the tip of my tongue began to pulse and burn inside me. How could I tell him? With her watching? How could I tell her that her brothers were monsters?
I just didn’t know how to form the words.
“They found me,” I hedged. “I was in Cuba after I called you and someone hit me, then I woke up at the club where Leon had tried to…”
The words trailed away, and I had to wait until my voice was steady enough to continue.
“I was told that I had to pay off the debt to the family, and I could either strip or sleep with men until I’d earned enough to cover the debt.”
I heard Isabel’s soft gasp.
“I was told if I fought, then they’d just hold me down. Some of their customers liked it that way,” I whispered. My voice cracked.
“Who told you, Daria?” Brooks demanded.
I lowered my head and stared at my lap. Mute, I shook my head.
Brooks asked again, but when I didn’t answer, he stroked his hand down my hair, then leaned and pulled me closer to him.
With his face only an inch away, I felt cut open. His eyes roamed my face, and once more, he traced the bruise around my eye and along my cheek. His words came slowly, almost reluctantly, as he asked, “Were you…” He stopped and cleared his throat before trying again. “Did anybody…”
“Nobody touched me like…that,” I said, hedging. I couldn’t stand the thought of reliving those moments with Marcos. If Duardo hadn’t come looking for him, I had no doubt that he surely would have raped me.
I pressed my face against his shoulder as the shakes grabbed me again.
“It’s okay,” he whispered. He sat on the bed and pulled me onto his lap, arranging the blanket around me until it completely covered me. Then he started to rock. “It’s going to be okay, Daria.”
I wanted so desperately to believe that.
Chapter Seventeen
Brooks
She wouldn’t tell me who had put that mark on her.
Once she stopped shaking, I eased her off my lap and went to the bathroom, looking around. The deep, jetted tub caught my attention, and I went to go turn on the faucet. Once the water was good and warm, I left the tub to fill.
Daria had curled back up into a tight ball.
Just looking at her made my heart ache.
I was going to find out who had hurt her, but for now, she needed me to take care of her.
Movement from the door caught my attention, and I turned to see Isabel still lingering there. She gestured for me to follow her, and I did, although I didn’t want to leave Daria. We stood in the middle of the living room, Isabel and I, and for a long moment, we just stared at each other.
“How did you get into my room?” I frowned even as the question came out. That wasn’t at all what I needed to know just then.
Isabel hitched up one shoulder. “I might have bribed the front desk clerk into giving me a copy of your room key. I told him I was here to give you a special surprise.”
I laughed without much humor.
She lifted a brow. “Well, I didn’t lie. You are surprised.”
“It’s a good surprise,” I agreed. “Where did you find her?”
She told me, and I closed my eyes, squeezing my lids together. Red washed over my vision, but I battled the rage back down. Not now. It wasn’t time for that now.
The club where Isabel had found Daria was the same club where I’d managed to track down Duardo.
She’d been there.
I should have just ripped the answer from Duardo, even if I’d had to beat him to get him to talk.
The idea actually held a lot of appeal.
Daria, I reminded myself. Focus on Daria. Revenge comes later.
“Did she tell you anything?” I asked Isabel.
“She wouldn’t even speak,” Isabel replied. She stood with her arms crossed over her chest, hugging herself. Bracing herself, I thought.
We both had a suspicion about who had touched her, who the unnamed they were. They found me, Daria had said. She hadn’t once given a name, but I suspected Daria knew.
It had been either Duardo or Marcos, and some remnant desire to protect Isabel had kept her from talking.
Isabel turned away from me and walked to the couch. She picked up a backpack and tossed it to me. “I was at the house earlier. Her things had been packed and put away, and I didn’t want to risk anybody realizing I was looking for her, so I packed some of my things for her. We’re the same size. I was…I had no idea how I’d find her, and I put together some toiletries and stuff too.”
She was talking so fast, the words were running into each other.
“I’ll take care of her,” I told her softly.
“I know.” She gave me a tight smile. “I need to get back to my place. I don’t want Sean knowing I was out tonight.” She laughed weakly. “He usually isn’t home until four or five in the morning. Watch him be at the condo waiting for me.”
“If he gives you any trouble…”
She shot me a look over her shoulder, and the look in her eyes had me reassessing her yet again. “I can handle your brother, Brooks. Take care of my friend. I’ll call tomorrow.”
She left, and I flipped the security latch on the door before returning to the bathroom. I left the backpack on the bed and went to check the water level. It was almost high enough.
Sliding out of the bathroom, I went to Daria.
She didn’t resist as I tugged her up from the bed and led her to the bath.
I gently stripped her naked, dropping the clothes she wore onto the floor. If I could have done so, I would have burned them.
Once I had her naked, I guided her into the tub, and she sank down, down, down, until her head slipped under the water.
Before I could panic, she came back up, her hair dark gold streamers that framed her face and clung to her shoulders.
“The water okay?” I asked as I reached for the faucet.
She nodded, her eyes on the surface of the water. She didn’t seem to want to look at me.
> I couldn’t say I blamed her.
I’d failed her in the worst way possible.
I couldn’t afford to worry about that now, though. I had to take care of her.
Returning to the bedroom, I unzipped the backpack Isabel had left with me and dug through it, unearthing several pairs of jeans and tops. There weren’t any bras or panties, but I could take care of that. In the bottom, zipped into a protective plastic bag, I found shampoo, soaps, a body sponge, conditioner, lotion. I gathered all of that up and carried it into the bathroom, knocking before I stepped inside.
Daria was sitting in the middle of the tub, her knees drawn up, her arms wrapped around her legs. She was rocking back and forth slightly and didn’t even look up at me as I drew closer.
Going to my knees next to the tub, I reached out and touched her, almost scared to do so for fear that she’d flinch away from me again. But she didn’t, and when I brushed her hair back, she leaned into my hand.
“I’ve been so scared,” she said, swallowing. “I kept trying to figure out how to get out of there, but I knew if I wasn’t careful, they’d find me, and I just…” Her voice broke.
“It’s okay.”
The words sounded wrong.
It wasn’t okay.
That warning tremor of rage danced through me, and I fought it back.
She didn’t need anger from me.
Withdrawing my hand, I reached into the bag and pulled out the soaps, the sponge, the shampoo and the toiletries. Lining them up on the lip of the tub, I said, “Here. Isabelle packed some stuff for you. I’ll put the lotion on the counter.”
“Thank you.”
I’d never felt so helpless. “Do you want me to help you?”
“No.” She sat up a little straighter, her eyes on the items I’d pulled from the bag. “I can handle it. Just give me a few minutes, okay?”
“Okay.” I stood and left her alone in the bathroom, the door opened a slice. Once I was in the bedroom, I dropped down on the nearest chair and dragged my hands through my hair. Through the door, I could hear her splashing around, and the sound settled me.
I needed to get my temper under control, and I needed to do it before she finished in the bathtub. I got up to pace, hoping to burn off some of the restless energy burning through me. Through the door, I heard her moving around more, and then the splashing stopped. I started toward the door, but then I caught a flicker of movement in the mirror. She stood next to the tub, wrapping a towel around herself.
I watched her through the small opening between the door and the jamb, my heart in my throat as she took another towel, using it to rub at her hair. My hands shook with the need to touch her. Control it, Brooks. I turned away. She didn’t need this invasion of her privacy.
A few more minutes passed before she came out of the bathroom, her hair still damp and spilling down around her shoulders and back.
She stared at me, then looked down at herself. When she lifted her head back up, she had an odd little smile on her face. “It’s like we’ve reversed roles.”
I didn’t follow.
She gestured to the towel, then back at me. “Remember how we met?”
I lowered my gaze to the towel as my memory drifted back to the day she walked into the wrong room as I came out of the shower. I looked into her eyes and shook my head. “I don’t see how you can make jokes right now.”
“Right now, I need to make jokes.” She drew in a deep breath, and I watched her straighten her shoulders. “I need to think about something else, anything else.”
I stood still as she crossed over to me, heat and want and something else I couldn’t name in her expression.
“Daria…”
She laid her hands on my chest. “Actually, I think what I need to do is stop thinking.”
I stared down into her face, her beauty unaffected by the bruise that was slowly turning a deep, dark purple. As she slid her hands down my chest, my heart skipped a few beats. I caught her wrists in my hands and guided them up, pressing a kiss to her palm. “I can help you not think,” I whispered against her skin. “If you’re certain.”
Instead of answering, she pressed her lips to mine, rising up on her toes to reach me. Curving my hands around her waist, I tugged her closer.
The towel dislodged, and when I lifted my hands to cup her face, it fell away altogether. Her mouth fit against mine as she practically purred against my lips, “Now, it’s really a role reversal.”
I swept her into my arms and murmured into her ear. “Maybe that’s what you need tonight, more reversal of roles.”
She cocked her head. “What do you mean?”
I caught her hands and lifted them to my chest. “How about you take control tonight?”
Those were words I never thought would come out of my mouth, but as something lit her eyes, I realized they were the exact words she needed to hear.
“I thought you liked being in control all the time,” she said softly.
“I do, but I think you need it tonight.”
She hooked her fingers in the line of buttons on my shirt, then started to undo them. She moved slowly, working one button free at a time. The closer she got to the last button, the more my heart raced.
Once she was done, I shrugged it off. She was already reaching for my belt. Her fingers brushed against my skin, and at every whisper of a touch, I had to fight the urge to take over.
Closing my hands into fists, I locked myself into place.
She freed the belt and reached for the zipper of my pants, easing them over my hips. My cock pulsed almost painfully when she went to her knees in front of me. I felt her breath brush against my thighs, and I squeezed my eyes shut. It didn’t do anything to lessen the impact of having her on her knees in front of me.
Once she’d stripped my pants and shorts away, she rose to her feet, long and elegant and graceful.
As she pressed her body to mine, heat exploded through me. She caught my shoulders and walked backward to the bed, tugging me along with her.
Once she reached the bed, she nudged me around until I had my back to it. “Lay down,” she told me, lightly pushing at my shoulders until I followed her instruction.
She placed one knee on the mattress, then the other before leaning over me and braced herself above me on all fours.
I found myself reaching for her, but I pulled my hands back, clenching them into fists once more.
She brushed her lips over my belly. I felt her breasts drag over my thighs, then higher as she climbed up my body.
Soon, she was straddling me, and I groaned as the wet heat between her thighs settled around me, cuddling my cock.
I grabbed her hips without thinking about it, but she didn’t seem to mind. “I want to put my mouth on you,” I told her.
“Then do it,” she said, straightening her spine.
I sat up and caught one nipple in my mouth, sucking on it, working it until it was tight against my tongue.
Then I shifted my attention to the other one while she rocked against me.
If she kept that up, I was going to come right there, before I was even inside her.
But I didn’t take control back from her.
She continued to move, and a soft whimper escaped her throat.
Hell. I recognized the sound of that. She was close to climax. I caught her hips and tugged her near to me, arching up to press closer.
“Brooks,” she whispered. The sound was breathy and broken, and I knew if I kept it up, if she kept it up, she’d fall right over that edge.
That suited me just fine.
But before she hit that edge, she stopped and fell forward over me.
“Why did you stop?” I asked, my fingers tightening on the soft curve of her ass.
“Because I want you inside me.” She sat up, biting her lip.
I reached over to the nightstand, grabbing a condom from the drawer. Handing it to her, I watched her fumble with the packet, then gasped as she rolled the rubber on me.
Daria blushed, then shifted around until she could do just that. As the wet heat of her pussy closed around me, I gritted my teeth together.
She went slowly, learning the unfamiliar position and settling on a rhythm that soon had her rocking against me. Her eyes were rapt, wide on my face, and I stared up at her, imprinting this moment on my memory.
Her lashes fluttered closed, and I watched as her head fell back. Her nails sank into my skin, and I shuddered as she tightened around me. This was pure, slick, wet pleasure, and I thought it just might kill me if she didn’t climax soon.
Tightening my hands on her hips, I pulled her in closer.
“You’re killing me,” I muttered.
A shock of delight curled her lips into a rapturous smile, and her head fell back, a look of blissed-out pleasure crossing her features.
She tightened around me, and the milking sensations of her cunt had me almost ready to come right then, right there.
I fought it back, but only because of the look that crossed her face—one of sheer, blissed-out joy. Again, that look alone might have been enough to make me come, but I didn’t want to go over by myself.
She smiled at me, a lazy, sensual curl of lips.
I shuddered as she ground herself onto my cock.
It wasn’t enough, nowhere near enough, but as she tightened around me, the hunger that burned inside her fed my own, and soon, I was rocking her and driving into her, harder, and harder, and harder.
The orgasm hit me hard, fast, only seconds after she started to come.
I closed my eyes, too flooded by the pleasure to even think.
Chapter Eighteen
Daria
The low, quiet sound of voices had me stirring as I lay in the bed.
If I could have, I would have rolled over and buried my face in the pillow. I had some dim hope that I might be able to block the noises from my thoughts.
But even as I tried to do just that, that small movement I made sent pain shattering through me. I groaned and reached up to the tender area on my face where the pain was centered.