Page 104 of Stand: Part One

Now’s your opportunity for redemption. Tell him what he wants to hear. Make him forgive you.

“Because my place is h-here,” I whispered, my breath hitching. “And leaving you isn’t an option.”

My soul sank at my words, but they were still technically true. My place was here so that I could tamper from the inside, like an infection festering in a wound. And I couldn’t leave Darren until I knew he was fucking dead.

His features softened just slightly, signifying his acceptance and approval of my answer. His hand gently reached out, his thumb caressing my cheek, smearing the tears into my skin. Hope flickered when Darren finally sighed a breath of satisfaction.

“Good girl,” he cooed. And then he swiftly flipped me back over onto my stomach.

Within seconds, my shoulders were searing from the hot lash that bloomed across my skin. I screamed, my hands instinctively reaching out to pull myself away, but Darren’s hand snatched the back of my neck and held me still. Blow after blow from his belt rained down on my back, ass and thighs, scorching my skin to shreds.

“I told you the truth!” I cried, my nails cracking as they dug into the wooden desk.

“I know you did,” he rasped, his voice barely recognizable as he struck me harder than he ever had before, making me scream louder. “But you still lied. And you assisted in her escape. You have no idea how much penance you owe for those grave mistakes, little girl.” He struck me again, the belt hitting just below my ass and I swore I could feel my skin splitting. “But I’m going to rectify that so it never happens again.”

The strikes were endless, my back, ass, and legs made up entirely of acid as Darren rained hellfire over my skin. When the exhaustion was too much, and I didn’t have the energy to scream anymore, only then did he finally stop.

“You should know that I’ve had that footage for months,” he growled as he tossed the belt aside, his voice rough with fury. “So if you’re still wondering why I kept you trapped in our bed for so long, now you know. I couldn’t very well punish an already broken body with more pain. At least, not yet.”

I closed my eyes at his confession, hating the absolute poetry of it. There was more than one way to make me suffer, and keeping me trapped like that had certainly hit its mark. Now it all made sense.

Fucking monster.

I didn’t even flinch when I felt his cock suddenly slam into me, my passage still just as wet to allow him to slide in with ease. I lay there like I was dead, internally sobbing from the pure agony of my skin combined with the punishing onslaught of his cock inside me.

Grabbing my hair at the back of my head, he yanked my face up from the desk and snarled in my ear. “The fact that you obeyed me and stayed behind like a good girl is the only reason Kayla will be allowed to live when I find her. Until then, you and I will be exploring some new methods for your much-needed attitude adjustment.”

Oh God. No.

“You’re mine, Jaden. And it’s fucking time you started acting like it.”

With a savage growl, Darren pulled out and came all over my back and ass, creating a sharp sting where each rope of cum landed. And then the bastard rubbed it into my skin with his hand, causing me to cry out and shudder from the minor touch.

When he was finished, he picked up my dead weight, removed the remaining ribbons of my clothes still hanging from my arms and chest, and placed me over his shoulder.

My back stretched in a new way that made me grimace and cry. But still, I had no energy to move. I just hung there loosely over his back, watching the floor as we passed over it. And then he opened a door and started walking down a set of stairs.

An icy river of panic shot through my spine as we walked farther down the steps, Darren pausing as he unlocked another door.

No. No. Please, no!

I tried to move, tried to pry myself away from him, but my body had nothing left to fight with. Every last molecule of energy had been drained away from me, while the slightest twitch felt like a shard of glass in my skin.

Kicking the door shut behind him, Darren slowly slid me from his shoulder down his chest, placing his hands under my arms to turn me around and hold me still.

Pure devastation laced with absolute horror rushed my system as I eyed the familiar room I had sworn I would never see the inside of again.

“You know, this room will always have a special place in my heart. And I’m really looking forward to making some new memories.”

Darren’s voice could barely be heard over the sound of my blood pumping through my ears, my eyes instantly locking on the steel cage tucked in the corner of the room.

The familiar bite of the chilled metal flared against my skin, the phantom sting rattling the inner cell where I had trapped that trauma away.

Fear instantly liquefied in my eyes, the tears bursting against the brim of my lids as I fought back against the violent tremble in my knees. I would have crumpled to the floor already if Darren hadn’t been holding me up.

I shook my head, my chin quivering uncontrollably.

No. I wouldn’t do it again.