Page 15 of Death

When I begin to calm down, he murmurs, “There you go, my love. It’s not the end of the world. You have me, and I’m the only person you need in your life.”

His creepy words have me pulling away and scooting to the other side of the couch. I wrap my arms around my middle and hunch my shoulders.

“Don’t be like that,” he says, his tone tensing. “I let you talk to Grace. The least you could do is thank me.”

God.

I sit still, refusing to kiss him.

My Dad died, and Grace is in the hands of a monster. I can’t deal with Nolan right now.

“Don’t test my patience, Ciara!” He grabs hold of my arm, and I’m yanked off the couch. When I fall to the floor, missing the coffee table by an inch, he orders, “Come kneel in front of me.”

I move onto my knees, keeping my gaze lowered.

Nolan leans forward, and when he reaches for the dress, I try to pull away, but he grabs hold of my neck, his grip brutal.

“Stop! You will do as I say, or I’ll punish you. You don’t want that, right?”

My breaths explode over my lips as I quickly shake my head.

“Hold still,” he orders, then he lets go of my neck and takes hold of the dress. I have no choice but to let him remove it. The moment I’m naked, I cross my arms over my chest, but he shakes his head. “Arms down. Place your hands on your thighs.”

Reluctantly, I do as I’m told, but the moment Nolan undoes the button of his jeans, I dart to the side. I don’t get far before he’s on top of me, shoving me down against the wooden floor.

There’s a hard smack to my butt, setting my skin on fire. “I said keep still!”

I flinch from the rage in his voice, and when he flips me onto my back, I desperately shake my head. “Please don’t.”

“Hold still, and I won’t be forced to punish you.” He raises an eyebrow at me as he crouches over me. “Okay?”

I nod quickly, but when he reaches into his jeans and pulls his hard-on out, I let out a hopeless cry.

“Shh. This will be good for both of us,” he coos, his palm cupping my cheek before he trails his fingers down my throat.

Nolan fists his dick and begins to stroke it slowly. I’m unable to watch, but cautiously thankful that he’s not raping me, I just turn my head away from him and try to distance myself from the horrible moment.

His knuckles brush over my breast, and I hear slick sounds as he pumps himself faster and faster.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I pray I’ll fall into a panicked trance, but it doesn’t happen, and I’m forced to listen as he masturbates while groping my breasts.

Suddenly, he grunts, then a lukewarm substance hits my chest and throat in spurts.

While Nolan orgasms, I’m hit with an intense wave of nausea, and not thinking, I shove him off me and scramble to my feet. The chain rattles as I run for the bathroom, and I almost don’t make it to the toilet before I start to vomit.

Hell.

I’m stuck in absolute hell, and there’s nothing I can do to save myself.

Grace isn’t looking for me, and Dad’s dead.

My body jerks violently as I keep throwing up, emptying my stomach of its contents.

Chapter 5

CIARA

Staring blankly at the wooden floor, my mind is inundated with hellish memories of the past week.