Page 22 of Shane: His to Possess

“He had you trapped.” Shane’s tone was neutral, but the tense set of his body behind hers gave away his anger.

She nodded. “It escalated. Soon, my mouth.” She dipped her head, shame assaulting her all over again. “And…behind.” Even now, her sphincter tightened as she remembered the horror of Aldo penetrating her. “When he did that the first time, I freaked out and told my father what was happening.”

He let out a low growl, but his hand remained gentle around hers. “What happened?”

“He told me not to make trouble, and that there was more to grasp than I could ever understand.” Tears blurred her eyes as she recalled Vadim’s cold features and the complete lack of concern he’d shown. Now she knew he must have been referring to the tenuous truce between the families, but it still hurt to know he’d chosen his criminal alliances over protecting his teenage daughter.

That had been the day she’d completely stopped loving the man who had contributed genetic material to her makeup. “The bastard suggested I should be flattered, as though it was an honor to be desired by Aldo.”

“You were just a child. How could he be attracted to you?”

Mia managed a small, genuine laugh. “I guess I must be like catnip for psychos. Normal guys sometimes liked me, but they don’t cross the line to batshit obsessed crazy.”

He snorted, though it was difficult to tell if from anger or suppressed laughter.

“Aldo found out I’d gone to my father, and he threatened me.” A chill crawled down her spine as the sensation of cold steel against her heated flesh came back to her. “He pressed his gun to my forehead and told me he would shoot me if I tried to tell anyone again. He promised I wouldn’t die. He’d just make sure I was paralyzed so I couldn’t escape him. My body would be his plaything, and I’d be unable to stop him.”

Shane’s embrace tightened. “How did you manage to keep your virginity, baby girl?”

“Honestly, I think he was teasing himself again. In fact, I know he was, but I didn’t find out why until I was seventeen. A few times when he was really into what he was doing, he seemed poised to rape me there too, but when I resisted, he reined himself in and found other ways to amuse himself.”

“What did you find out when you were seventeen?”

“He revealed his master plan to me. My father had agreed to let him marry me, so he was saving my virginity as a wedding present to himself.” Nausea churned in her stomach and a tear streaked down her face. “He told me Vadim had relented and was prepared to sign the marriage certificate so we could get married before I turned eighteen.”

Turning slightly, though her legs remained pinned, she instinctively curled a bit closer to Shane. “That crazy bastard was planning to make me marry him within days. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t let him keep me, so I went to Stefania.”

The tears came faster as she remembered the frail woman lying in the bed. Her stepmother had been as pale as the white bedding behind her, but her eyes had sparkled with anger and her cheeks had turned red as she had listened without interrupting as Mia confessed years of sexual abuse at the hands of her son.

“What did your stepmother do?”

“She saved me.” Mia drew in a deep breath. “I don’t even know how she did it exactly, but she helped me escape that house and found me a job with Arvin Lovelle. He’d been her boyfriend long ago, and I think he still loved her.” She shrugged. “Stefania gave me some money and helped me find an apartment. I know she concealed my whereabouts for a long time.”

A tremor racked her. “One night, Aldo was waiting for me outside Lovelle’s. He never spoke to me. It was just his unnerving, creepy stare that made me vomit right there on the sidewalk. He finally turned and walked away, and I hadn’t seen him again until today, except briefly at Stefania’s funeral a couple of years ago. I only stopped in for a bit to say a quick goodbye. My father saw me, but I don’t think Aldo did that day.”

Shane sounded confused. “He just left you alone for four years?”

She nodded, sharing his confusion. “I don’t understand it, either. I’d half-convinced myself he’d given up on me when I left his sphere of influence.” The hunger in his gaze had dispelled that theory, so why had he waited? And why had he acted now? Was it because Vadim had sold her to Shane? “What will he do now?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure he won’t let you go.” He loosened his legs and turned her sideways onto his lap. “I speak with the absolute certainty of someone completely fucking obsessed with you that he won’t let you go. I wouldn’t in his place. I would do anything to have you. And I will do anything to keep you.”

She licked her lips, both unnerved and reassured by the depth of his intensity. “What do you expect from me, Shane?”

Cupping her chin, he drew her toward him for a gentle kiss. She resisted the urge to fight him, remaining still as he brushed his mouth against hers. As always, his tenderness breached her defenses when his other tactics reinforced her determination to resist. She accepted the soft kiss, letting her lips mold to his.

He wore a gentle expression when he lifted his head. “For now, I expect you to go relax. Maybe take a bath or a nap and try to put all this from your mind. I will keep you safe from him.”

She frowned. “That’s all?”

“For now.” Desire blazed through his eyes for a second before the tenderness returned. “There will be plenty of time to test our new understanding, baby.” With an efficient motion, he lifted her and set her on her feet before he stood. And then he was gone.

Mia stared after him, completely puzzled about his reaction. He hadn’t raged or screamed. He hadn’t expressed sorrow or sympathy. He’d been distant. Unaffected? Didn’t he care what she had gone through? Did it give him any appreciation for the way her traumatic past with Aldo had made his kidnapping and claiming of her that much worse? Was there any remorse in the man?

With a snort of disbelief, she shook her head and left the main salon. Mia headed to her room, deciding she would take advantage of some time alone and try not to dwell on what it meant that Aldo had clearly never gotten over his sick infatuation. All this time, he’d been playing some kind of sick game, and she knew she could drive herself crazy trying to decipher the rules and figure out his ultimate goal.

8

Shane went straight to the gym on the ground floor. He tore off his clothes with little regard for where they landed so he could slip on tight shorts and no shirt. A quick glimpse of himself in the mirror revealed something akin to a raging bull rather than a man.