Page 121 of Pretty Thing

Getting out, I walk around to her side of the car and carefully open the door. Eden jerks upright as she’s about to fall, then blinks up at me with red, swollen eyes. I make quick work of her seatbelt and lift her out of the car, but she just flops in my hold like a ragdoll. Eden doesn’t put her arms around me. She doesn’t even seem to notice when I have to put her down to get the keys out.

She sinks to the ground as I pull open the door. Lifting her into my arms, we make our way upstairs to my loft. I get her inside and put her on the floor so I can take off her jacket and boots. No matter what I do, my Pretty Thing, is like a puppet who’s lost her strings.

I try to sit her up, but she flops to the side with her back against the wall.

Gripping her shoulders, I shake her.

“Eden. Come on.”

I shake her again and her head bobs, but there is no response.

Terror I’ve never felt grips me tighter like a noose around my neck, choking off my air.

I smooth the hair away from her face and cup her cheeks, but she just stares off into the distance.

“Look at me, Eden. Please look at me. You need to snap out of it.”

A memory of my mother just like this after a harsh beating from my father toys with me. No, I won’t let that happen to her. She can’t disassociate from me.

This is not happening.

Grabbing the front of her dress, I push her up against the wall, pinning her in place. Her head lolls to the side.

I growl and grab her by her hair, forcing her to look at me.

“Eden! Snap out of it,” I shout in her face. She barely blinks.

My hand moves to her throat, and I squeeze just enough that I can cut off her breath.

“I’m sorry, you’re leaving me no choice,” I whisper and then slap her across the face.

The sound echoes in the loft as her head snaps to the side. And the pain in my hand is matched by that in my heart. I never want to hurt her. Never.

Eden gasps, and her arm lifts to mine but then falls away.

“Eden! Come back to me!” My voice shakes with dread. “I can’t live without you.”

I hate Kyle for making me do this, for turning me into my father. I smack Eden again, harder this time.

She jerks, eyes wide and fixed on mine like she’s woken from a nightmare.

I grip the front of her leggings in my fists, growling as I tear them apart until her tiny thong is exposed. I move the flimsy material aside and shove a finger into her while my other hand wraps around her throat.

“Felix…”

I won’t let her fade into whatever fucking dreamscape she’s using to hide. Pressing my body into her, my teeth graze her neck before I bite hard enough to make her scream through the grip I’ve got on her throat.

“I can make the pain go away. I’m the only one who can help you. Say yes. Tell me you want my help?” My voice is coarse and raw with emotion as my fingers slip between her legs. Eden whimpers. “Tell me,” I order and rub her swollen clit.

She swallows, and the sensation makes me rock hard.

“Y…es,” she wheezes.

There is nothing sweet or romantic in me right now. The frantic need to have her and to keep her here with me overrides everything else as I unzip my jeans and pull my cock out.

She screams, the sound harsh and muted as I thrust into her. I groan as her hot, wet pussy envelops me.

“I’ll never leave you,” I growl into her ear and feel her tremble. Her nails dig into my shoulders. “Do you hear me, Pretty Thing?”