“And then?”
Tabitha’s lips twisted. “The first time we had sex without a condom, Grit was so happy. He was stroking my belly afterwards as though there was already a baby growing in there. Talking about how we’d be such good parents, how the baby would be loved, how we’d protect it from the fucking world.”
Oh, that wasn’t good. Violet concealed a grimace. To any other woman, they were magic words, a sign of a wonderful father in the making, but to Tabitha… they were a reminder of what her father, her stepmother had done to her. They’d dedicated their lives to poking and prodding the little girl Tabitha once was, drugging her, training her, erasing her piece by piece in order to turn her into an assassin for hire.
Her father had raped her repeatedly from the age of ten onwards.
Her stepmother had documented it all, down to the last scream.
Violet wasn’t supposed to know even half of what she knew, but sometimes men needed to talk, especially when things wereeating at them. Grit had confided in her a few months ago, swearing her to secrecy before filling in a hell of a lot of details she hadn’t been aware of when it came to the mysterious sub.
“The doubts started creeping in. Grit’s solid, he has a loving family, he comes from good, kind roots.” Those ice-blue eyes ticked to Violet, a hint of madness dancing in the pupils. “You know what I come from.”
“I—”
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you for knowing too much information. Grit admitted he’d told you everything. Can’t lie and act happy that you’re one of the few with the power to eviscerate me with my own history, but if anyone needs to know, I’m glad it’s you.” She sighed heavily. “My bloodline is pain, death, and pure evil, Violet. It is a bloodline that needs to be eradicated, scrubbed from the face of the earth. Burned from the soil until nothing is left.”
“Jasper has kids,” Violet reminded her gently.
“Yeah, and the idiot keeps on expanding. He’s breeding the bloodline that forced his wife to become a murderer, kidnapped said wife while she was pregnant. The bloodline that was going to rape her, impregnate her, turn her into a broodmare to continue the line.” Tabitha snorted and switched the tap on, filling her cupped hands with water. “Ironic, isn’t it, that he’s fulfilling my father’s sick wish to prolong the family name? Consensually, which makes a big fucking difference, but Dominic is probably laughing and gloating from hell.”
“Do you really see your brother making a life and a family in that way?”
“How can I not? I love those kids. I’ll kill anyone who lays a hand on them. But they carry Dominic’s blood in their veins, just like me and Jasper and our brothers.” She dunked her face into the pool of water, gasping as the cold hit her flushed skin. “We’re monsters at the core, Violet, and I don’t know if I can bearthe thought of creating another human being with my father’s biological influence staining its DNA.”
“Have you talked to Grit about these concerns?”
“Pretty sure he’s not going to be talking to me at all once he realizes I’m actively undermining his efforts to knock me up.”
That was somewhat of an understatement. Doms generally didn’t appreciate their subs making decisions without some form of input—particularly Doms who were in committed, loving dynamics and heading for a more serious, official kind of contract.
“He’s going to find out a lot faster than you’d like.”
“I know my time is limited, trust me.”
Violet reached out to grab a towel as Tabitha dunked her face a second time. “Why steal the meds? Why not make an appointment with Doc Isaac and get him to prescribe you them?”
A laugh bubbled into the water. Lifting her head, blinking against the drops on her eyelashes, Tabitha took the towel and dabbed her face dry. “I’m phobic when it comes to medical shit. The Doc would probably end up with his head stuffed in his ass and a few broken bones if he tried to touch me. Risking that once is bad enough, but over and over again? I couldn’t take that chance, and eventually, he’d rat me out. They always do.”
There were laws that prevented that, but Tabitha had never been protected by them during her childhood. Explaining that to her now was superfluous—the damage may already have been done… just not to her.
“I just figured what was the harm, you know? It’s a sex club. Everyone’s either got their dick wrapped or birth control implanted. I checked the Doc’s records; there hasn’t been any Plan B prescribed for months. So I took the meds and assumed he’d just order some more after the next stock take. I mean, who was it going to hurt?”
A laugh erupted before Violet could prevent it. The damn thing burst free, slightly hysterical, shocking both her and Tabitha. Once it started, she couldn’t stop it despite the hand she clamped over her mouth.
“Did I say something funny?”
“Oh, sweetheart, you have no idea.” Eyes watering, Violet blew out a quiet breath as more laughter threatened to rise. The situation was not a laughing matter by any means, but something about it tickled her. “I’m going to let you in on a secret, Tabitha. You have to promise, on your life, you won’t divulge it to anyone, not even Grit.”
Pale blonde eyebrows lifted. “Did you miss the memo about him not speaking to me once he knows the truth?”
“He loves you. He’ll understand. I need you to promise.”
“Callie insists a pinky swear is the best promise.” Holding out her right hand, littlest finger extended, Tabitha waited until Violet curled her own around it, then nodded once. “There. Anything you tell me is now classified data.”
If only, Violet thought. Around here, it seemed like nothing wasclassified, no matter how hard she tried to keep it that way. Trust, however, was a two-way street. “I needed the Plan B, Tabitha. I needed it and it wasn’t available.”
“You?” Blue eyes narrowed suspiciously. “But you don’t have sex. It’s one of the highly debated subjects discussed by the subs when they get drunk. The general consensus is you’re a closet lesbian who likes squashing men’s balls as an act of retribution.”
