Swallowing down the bile, I turn to him, my back to my door and the safety it can provide me, “I have nothing to do with it.”
“Of course you don’t,” He sneers, “But dad made a good point.”
“What point?” I grind out.
“Pretty faces have been winning wars for years, Marly,” He tells me, “And if we have to use you to get what we need, then we will.”
“I have nothing to do with it,” I repeat.
He smiles cruelly, “Perhaps it’ll be good for you too.”
My stomach drops, “What do you mean?”
“You can finally lose that v-card for a good cause, and we get what we want. This town is suffering because of the fucking trash on the south side, it’s time we fix it up.”
“They are people,” I snap at him, “You can’t do that!”
“We can and we will,” He sighs impatiently, “Make sure you’re ready by seven P.M. Wear a pretty dress Marly, it’s time you start pulling your weight for this family.”
Chapter Thirty-two
Anger burns through me as I listen through the door, Liam’s voice only adding to the fury building inside of me. His words sink low in my stomach, all of it, the news of the developers, his wanting to demolish the south side, though that shouldn’t be a surprise, not to me at least with what I know, and the fact that he’s going to be using Marly to sweeten whatever deal he’s trying to make.
It fucking sickens me that she has to go through this. That she is pulled and pushed and bent and shaped to fit whatever mold they’ve created for her.
I know it’s not what she wants.
I know she is nothing like any of them.
It doesn’t change who she is related to, but it does change how I feel about her. The conflicting feelings inside me since I met her have been tough enough as it is. But is it enough? It’s a betrayal on my brother’s memory and yet I can’t stop the damn feelings from tightening around my chest.
And those are some fucked up feelings right there.
The handle on the door compresses, and despite the anger, I know I can’t be caught so I press myself to the wall behind the door, praying Liam doesn’t come in here after Marly. It’ll blow this whole shit up if he does and I have yet to decide how to handle it now that I’ve gotten to know Marly.
But it’s only her who enters.
She pushes the door hard, and it slams shut behind her, rattling the pictures she has hanging on the walls.
“No one is fucking touching you, princess,” I growl to her back.
She jumps, throwing her hand over her own mouth to stifle her cry as she spins to face me.
“You’re not supposed to be here!” She whispers angrily. “He’s still here!”
“You’re fucking mine, princess,” I walk toward her, pushing her back against the closed door as I grasp her wrists and pull her arms above her head.
“River,” She whispers, panic setting in, “He’s down the hall, he’ll hear you!”
“Good,” I snap, “Maybe he’ll figure out that no other man gets to touch you.”
“No one is going to touch me,” She wiggles in my hold, trying to break free but I don’t release her and press my body closer to hers, completely trapping her against the door.
“Damn fucking straight no one is going to touch you,” I dip my head and kiss her neck, letting my teeth graze across that fluttering pulse point, “Because this body, it’s mine. Your lips, mine…” I trail kisses down her throat, feeling her shiver beneath me, “Your laughs and smiles and kisses,fuckingmine.”
Her spine arches as I keep moving down her body, my mouth closing around her nipple above the dress she still wears.
My hand trails up her thigh, beneath the skirt of the dress before I cup her pussy through her flimsy panties, the warmth like a brand against my palm, “This cunt is mine.”
