Page 204 of Soul So Dark

She admires the flowers, carefully cultivated in their own delicate and controlled environment for this very purpose.

“This is the nerdiest thing I’ve ever seen,” she looks over her shoulder again, this time with a smile, “and I love it.”

“You would know,” I lean back in my chair and clasp my hands behind my head. “Remember what a nerd you were back then, when you begged me to sneak into your room and then tried to convince me that statutory rape was just an unfortunate conflict between culture and biology?”

“Good thing you didn’t listen to me,” Dallas giggles as she meanders back to the table.

Then she swings her leg over my knees and slides onto my lap. I reach down and pull the hem of my t-shirt up over her bare ass.

“It was such a buzzkill keeping you in line.”

“I still suck at Spanish, though.”

“I can still teach you. And with how well you learn from me, you could be fucking fluent by morning.”

She pulls me close as I trail soft kisses over her neck, gently pushing the shirt up her back.

“Teach me.”

I turn to speak in her ear. “Te prometo, si no te doy niños bonitos, me puedes azotar.”

“Te prometo, si…”she speaks carefully.

“Si no te doy niños bonitos,” I repeat.

“Si no te doy niños bonitos…”

“Me puedes azotar.”

“Me…puedes azotar,” she finishes.

“Perfect,” I try to suppress my smile, but she catches the slight switch of my cheek.

Dallas furrows her brow with suspicion, “What?”

“Nothing.” I shake my head. “That was just for practice.”

“What did you make me say?” she asks through narrowed eyes.

“I’ll make you say a lot of things,” I twist my fingers through her hair at the back of her head and give it a tug backward, “and your ass will find out later if you don’t give me pretty babies.”

Her jaw drops and she tries to move, but I hold her firm, tracing the contours of her shoulder and then her collarbone with my lips. Gradually, she sinks into me, her muscles trembling with anticipation.

“I went up to the railroad bridge with him,” she suddenly says, “before I knew it was him. He waited until he—until we were…” she stops short, unable to articulate further.

I give a shake of my head and loosen my fingers in her hair. Pulling her tighter to my chest, I guide her face to mine and look her in the eyes.

“I’ll listen to whatever you want to tell me, but you don’t ever need to explain yourself.”

I know Dallas’s reasons for not telling anyone, probably better than anyone else. I saw what happened when Colson tried desperately to tell everyone about Bowen. I saw Canaan rally around Bowen and paint the Lutzes as a family with a grudge. I know what will happen to Dallas if she tries to follow the rules.

She flirted with him.

She wanted it.

She voluntarily went up to the railroad bridge with him.

Her family is still trying to pin her stepsister’s murder on him.