I snap my eyes with his, begging for connection.
“Yours,” I whisper. Zain’s eyes widen at my unholy unveiling. He increases his thrusts inside me with renewed fervor. As if he would wait for permission.No, Zain takes what he wants. We’ve always felt connected, and now I understand why. The darkness inside of him runs within me too. I just needed his help to uncover who I truly was and where I belong.
My father is too stunned to speak. He only can watch helplessly in horror as his son defiles his daughter. I arch against my restraints, dying for him to reach that place inside of me that makes my toes curl. The place only he can satisfy. His piercings ripple along my G-spot. He digs his fingertips into my hips and maneuvers me to his liking. After a minute, he unties my ankle restraints to get a better angle. He drags deep, lazy strokes in and out of me, making me keen like only he can.
I pull at my wrists that are bound together. The rope cuts into my delicate skin, forming harsh red ligature marks. Fire burns in his irises. He scrapes his teeth along the nylon rope, undoing it effortlessly. My body melts into the mattress. Into him. I’m angry, I’m hurt, but the only thing I want to do is drown out the pain.
His face is fitted with so many emotions. He’s about to break again. It’s up to me to keep him grounded. I’m the only family he has anymore. I reach for his neck and force his forehead against mine. This is as intimate as he’s ever allowed. Slowly, he concedes. I slowly chip away at his hard exterior.
“I can destroy your demons, but you don’t want that,” I moan onto his lips. ”What you need is for me to join you in your insanity.”
My words light a destructive, unruly fire within him, and he roars out his release, filling my insides with his seed. I follow suit, my body convulsing around him. I know he craves blood. Something I can willingly offer to satiate his needs.
“Cut me,” I breathe. His ragged breath and sweat-soaked tendrils make him look wild, disheveled like the beast he is. He snaps his gaze to mine. His dead eyes light up with predatory need at my sacrifice.
“You’re scared you’ve fallen for the monster. It’s okay, I’ll protect you from the world.
Seek asylum within me…sister.” His voice is low and dangerous. The words on his lips make it real. I should feel disgust, but the only thing swirling inside of me is a deep hunger and desire to please. The anger and hatred I should feel for Zain melts away. He dips his hand into the pocket of his slacks and flicks open his blade. He runs it along my thigh before clipping it next to his brand, just enough that crimson goodness seeps from my milky skin. A satisfied glint flows through his features at his handiwork. He lowers himself to my thighs and laps at my wound like a starved animal. His tongue does a long, lavish lick, coating my skin in velvet. When he looks up at me, his lips, tongue, and chin are soaked in my sanguine fluid. He embodies the epitome of deranged.
“We. Are. One,” I whisper.
My father begins sobbing uncontrollably. “I wanted to protect you, Vesper. To protect you from the Void. I wanted to protect you fromhim." He hones in on Zain.
And Zain stills as if he’s been caught.
Void? What does he mean?
He gets to his feet and, deceptively slowly, pulls my dress back down into place very calmly. He tucks his cock away and wipes the blood from his lips on his forearm like a savage.
“You knew when you adopted her that she was the youngest of this generation of Elites. You knew it was a possibility! Thought you were doin’ the right thing? Couldn’t fix me, so you fuck with my sister?” he seethes.
“What is the Void?” I ask, getting to my feet, but no one says a word to me. “What the fuck is the Void?” I shout louder, finding the voice I’ve been missing my whole life. Not anymore. Anger radiates from my skin.
Zain’s mouth is buttoned tight. He stares down Pearson as if waiting for him to offer an explanation.
Pearson cranks his neck up to meet my gaze with a contrite expression. Sadness and despondency radiate from him.
Zain forces him back in the chair. His lip is busted and blood runs down the side of his bruised face. He’s hardly recognizable; looks nothing like the man who raised me.
“Void is an acronym. The wealthy families of Grimshaw are in on it…” Pearson tries to skirt around it.
“What does it stand for, and what does it have to do with me?” I demand.
“It is an underground pleasure ring for the Elites. I did not want you involved in any part of it.”
Then he explains it. How the school was founded by the Elites. The Void is a front that allows them to funnel money into the school while enjoying themselves in the process. My stomach churns.
“Where do the girls come from?” I ask with a shaky breath. Do they auction us Elite women off?
He licks his bloody, chapped lips. “The scholarship students. The ones with broken backgrounds. Who would say no at a chance to be an offering? If the offering refuses, she loses her scholarship. They rarely decline, but if they do, it is the youngest female Elite’s responsibility to provide for her school to keep the legacy alive.”
Clara…
I feel sick to my stomach.
Realization dawns on me. She’s on scholarship. “Does she know?” I ask in a broken whisper. My father shakes his head slowly. “Not yet.”
The firelight snuffs out to a low, dull glow. Zain stays quiet, allowing me to uncover the details. Like him, I too have been a victim of endless lies and deceit. My heart shatters, and I want to retch. It’s disgusting. It’s vile. How could he lie to me? He stole my entire life. What’s worse is he stole Zain from me for nearly two decades. He made me think I was someone I wasn’t.
