Page 40 of Their Stolen Obsession (Phantoms and Obsession Duet #2)

“Sit,” Sin ordered as he patted his hand against the couch and watched me. “I want to brush your hair.”

“Then I’ll braid it,” Saint added with his eyes roaming down my body.

Tingles zinged through me like an electric current I recognized from before. Prior to me being kidnapped, and all the fucked-up ways these men made me feel when I shouldn’t. Our spark was still there. Alive, electrifying, and intense. But I wasn’t ready for anything sexual, not yet. Not after…

“Liv? You’re staring, sweetheart.” Sin tilted his head and grinned at me. “You better stop or I might blush.”

The image of Sin Cruz blushing like a lovesick schoolboy made me giggle, and he put my mind at ease with his humor.

I had missed his comedic side so damn much, and I didn’t want him to stop.

He had weeks to compensate for my hellish ordeal, where I’d fought for my life.

Chatterbox Sin could chat his ass off for hours, and I wouldn’t give a shit.

Slowly, I came over to the chaise as Saint watched me with his razor-sharp blue-eyed stare I was sure went right through my pajamas, making my breathing hitch.

Sin kept his hands on the back of the couch as I sat down, and I thought he’d touch me, but he didn’t.

Instead, he reached for the brush and Rocko jumped out of my lap.

“Get lost, you pesky cat.” Sin shooed the animal with the bristles.

Rocko hissed at Sin.

I picked up Rocko and turned around to peer at Sin. “Do you mind? We’re bonding.”

Sin’s eyes widened in surprise. He didn’t get along with the cat and simply tolerated the animal. His body language spoke volumes, and I knew he wanted to yank the feline out of my arms. Instead, he gripped the brush handle and bit his tongue.

“Fine,” Sin breathed through clenched teeth. “I apologize.”

“Don’t apologize to me, Sin.” I thrust the cat in his face. “Say sorry to poor Rocko.”

Sin sighed. “There, there, kitty. I’m sorry.”

Sin gave Rocko two pats on the head. The cat meowed its acceptance of forgiveness. All was right between them.

I smiled. “Much better.”

I turned back around and placed Rocko in my lap.

My hand ran through the kitty’s coat as Sin ran the bristles through my damp hair and combed the strands.

He made me into his princess while he treated every lock of hair with care, and Saint ran his fingers through it afterward.

I closed my eyes, every part of me relaxed while they showed me more gentleness, and I fell deeper for them.

“We missed you so much, little obsession.” Saint sighed, emotion thick in his voice. “Every piece—all your strength and your gorgeous body.”

Saint ran his hands down my neck as he traced his fingers along my collarbone, igniting sizzles inside of me. My belly wrung tight, pleasure peaked, and I bit my lower lip. His hand traveled down toward my cleavage.

Sin groaned from above me. “Can’t leave out that amazing rack.”

Saint whispered in my ear, “Fuck. I’ve missed touching you.”

“I don’t think—” Words left me when Saint’s wet tongue licked my earlobe.

A flashback hit me. Quickly, I reacted, and I slapped Saint’s hands away.

He removed his touch instantly and stood quietly behind me.

I expected him to retaliate, to grab me by the throat and make me obey, but he didn’t.

Neither did Sin. Something between us had changed.

I was different, and they had sensed the shift in me.

“What happened just now, darling?” Saint asked, concerned. “Where did you go?”

Tears bit at my eyes. “I was back there .”

“What was happening?” Sin questioned me as he sat down beside me, and he didn’t touch me, no matter how much he wanted to.

Sin treated me as if I were a delicate flower, which I hated. He was always forceful, in control, and his dominance turned me on, but he knew I wasn’t ready. The damage was done, and now he wanted to pick up all of my broken pieces. He wanted to fix me, but I wasn’t sure I could be.

I stroked the cat to calm myself down while the terrible memory played in my head.

It was like a movie scene, featuring me that I didn’t want to see, but someone held me down and made me watch it.

I couldn’t turn away from the damn screen, and terror froze my mouth shut, preventing me from screaming.

I was numb with fear watching the horrific moments frame after fucking frame.

“Zane took me to these men to clean up. He left. They made me strip naked, but I wouldn’t listen. So one of them… He…” I got choked up.

“It’s okay. You’re safe.” Sin pet Rocko alongside my hand.

I was brave enough to continue.

“He ripped off my bra and hit me. They wanted my dirty underwear off next, but I knew if I did, they’d…

” I swallowed the lump in my throat, tears fell down my cheeks.

“I fought back, but I was no match for them. They sprayed me with cold water from a hose on full blast and the temperature was so freezing it stung.”

Sin stopped stroking the cat and formed a fist. His knuckles cracked, his eye twitched, and he clenched his jaw. He was beyond pissed and did everything to hold the madness in.

“Did they—”

“No. Knoxlee came in. She tried to stop them, but they turned on her. One man made her perform oral sex on him.” I was numb, my hand frozen on Rocko’s furry coat. “She only wanted to get them away from me. To save me because I had fought back. But he wouldn’t stop.”

Sin asked, “Who, sweetheart?”

A second went by, a few more beats of my injured heart, as I could still sense him hurting me. His arm wrapped around my neck, restricting my lungs from breathing while I clawed at him. The pain from his unwanted touch on my breast and his pure violation of me.

Saint pressed, “Who hurt you, darling?”

I blurted out, “The guy with the fucking vacation shirt, okay? I… I don’t even know the guy’s goddamn name.”

Snot dripped from my nose, and I wiped it away. Unable to stop the deep ache inside that formed a bottomless pit of despair. I was numb until everything hurt all over again.

“Okay,” Sin said, glancing down at my hand that was shaking against Rocko’s fur, and he took my hand into his. “Vacation shirt guy. Did he rape you?”

Rape. The term was easy to pronounce. Except rape was one singular word that held much brutality .

“Yes,” I whispered.

Sin cursed. His reaction mixed with Saint’s silence was all I needed to make me cry. The tears were uncontrollable because I had held them back for so long. The shock of the sexual assault set in at full force, and my phantoms let me lose all control. They knew the horrible truth.

It took several minutes for me to stop sobbing, but it felt like hours had passed.

Saint gripped the back of the couch to keep from consoling me while a slight hiccup escaped my mouth.

He let Sin connect with me in my time of grief over all I had lost. My dignity had been stripped away by a nameless man who only brought me agony, and I knew how much he wanted to kill him.

Sin dared to ask, “Is he dead?”

“Yes,” I choked out and wiped my tears away with one hand. “Zane shot him.”

“Good,” Sin said.

Saint didn’t utter a sound while he took my hair, and he parted the locks into three sections.

Repeatedly, Sin stroked the pad of his thumb over my hand as his best friend made a crisscross pattern throughout the strands.

The braiding technique soothed me, creating calm after the storm.

No more turbulence and the violence was gone .

“I think we’ll book you a massage. How does that sound?” Saint asked as he secured an elastic band on the end of the braid to hold it in place.

I shook my head. “I can’t afford that. Sebastian has vanished. Because they’re investigating his disappearance, the police will freeze all his assets.”

“Our treat,” Sin said as he squeezed my hand and reached into his pocket. “But you’ll have to promise to wear this.”

The rose pendant. Sin and Saint’s gift they had given to me. I thought I had lost the necklace.

“Where did you—”

“Your parents found it,” Sin interrupted and handed Saint the chain.

“We want you to wear it again,” Saint added.

I yanked the necklace from Saint’s hand, surprising him with my catlike reflexes. It wouldn’t be the first time, and certainly not the last.

“Why?” I asked, unable to understand the importance. “What’s important about this damn thing?”

“Is the brat back?” Sin asked with a raised eyebrow.

I giggled. “I’m only fucking with ya.”

I unclasped the chain and put the rose pendant back around my neck, right where the necklace belonged. That treasured gift came from my phantoms—the men who had captivated my heart and revealed my destiny to be with them.

“Damn. I’m glad to have you back.” Sin sighed with a devilish grin and kissed the back of my hand. “Right where you’ve always belonged.”