"Yes." I nod. "I haven't had it in a very long time, but Hawaiian is my favorite. My mom always got it for me."
He looks at me blankly for a long moment.
"I'll see what I can do."
Then he's gone.
The door clicks shut. The lock slides into place.
I sit back down on the floor beside the bed, my knees pulled up to my chest.
I replay the interaction in my head.
I want to feel ashamed, but I can't shake the fact that it was my duty to offer myself to him.
And a small, pathetic thought slips into my mind, uninvited and unwelcome.
I hope him seeing me naked was enough to get a pizza.
14
CALLUM
Ilock her door and my hand lingers on the handle.
I force myself to turn away and walk down the hall toward my office.
The image will not leave.
Her standing there, naked. Arms at her sides, eyes on the floor, like she was waiting for inspection.
I walk into my office and shut the door behind me.
I rub my forehead, fingers pressing firmly against my skin.
What the fuck was that?
I pace between the window and the desk, every jaw muscle twitching.
I can still see her.
The M burned into her forearm. The thin scars along her ribs, too precise to be accidental. Ritual cuts, probably. Small circular burns on her shoulder and stomach that I am pretty sure are cigarette burns.
And her frame is so thin I could count her ribs.
I stop mid-step and brace my hands on the edge of my desk, head hanging.
My stomach churns.
What kind of father does that to his own blood?
Cormac Donoghue does. That is the answer. The same man who orchestrated my father's murder. The same man who branded Keira and built a cult in the ashes of his burned childhood home.
Every time I blink I see Zaria standing there offering herself like a commodity. Women I have been with strip from desire or from confidence. Sometimes from fear, sure. It is the life we live, and women know what they are getting into with me. I do not pretend otherwise.
But she did not strip like that.
She stripped like she expected to be used and discarded. Like she had a script in her head. Kindness goes in. Body comes out. End of equation.
