But what if that's just another one of his tricks?
I have every reason to question his motives. In fact, I should call out for Rogue to save me.
Except there’s a soft whisper in the back of my head, coercing me to take his hand and let him prove he’s capable of making me feel anything other than agony when he's not between my legs.
Tightening my lips, I regard him with caution as I take a few steps toward him and grab his hand.
My muscles are strung tight, and any second, I’m prepared for the switch. Instead, he closes his fingers around mine, practically swallowing my hand in his, before gently pulling me to the stairs into the pool.
My feet are cinder blocks as we approach, and when we pause before the steps, it might as well lead down into the pits of hell.
Adrenaline releases into my system immediately. Before he arrived, I planned to just go full throttle and jump into the water—albeit, still in the shallow end—so I’m a little confused when he steps onto the first step in the water then sits on the cement with his knees spread wide.
He points to the top step, where several inches of water cover his feet. “Come stand here, between my legs.”
He stares up at me expectantly, so after amoment of hesitation, I slowly inch toward the edge until I'm standing beside him. Except, when I go to step down, my feet don’t move. My muscles have solidified, anchoring me to the floor.
My heart beats heavily against my rib cage, and a cold sweat blooms across my nape and palms.
Just take a step.
That’s it. Just a step.
But I still can’t move.
“Rev,” he whispers, grabbing my hand again. “I’m right here.”
I nod, the movement choppy as I audibly swallow. For reasons I don’t care to consider, his hand over mine feels safe, enough to lift my foot over his leg and step into the cool water. It sends ice shooting through my veins, and every one of my muscles freezes solid.
Dread urges me to sidestep, centering me between his knees. My ass is directly in his face, but that’s the last thing on my mind.
It took me years not to panic in a bathtub, even longer to stand beneath a shower. A pool was something I never dared to even contemplate.
I might as well be standing in a pit of fire. Everything in me is screaming for me to get out. I’m in danger, on the cusp of death, and if I don’t turn back now, I’ll meet an agonizing, slow demise.
“This was stupid,” I squeak, going to turn to get out, but his hands fly to either side of my thighs, stopping me.
“Why quit when you’re already winning?” he asks.
I’m shaking my head before he’s finished. My entire body trembles, and a pressure forms on the back of my head, right where my mother gripped me, holding me beneath the water.
I feel her now. Each finger tangled in my hair. The sharp pricks from her nails digging into my scalp. The weight of her palm pushing and pushing.
My lungs fill with fire, and I can’t breathe. Each inhale invites more and more water into my lungs. I’m drowning, and I can’t fucking brea?—
A sharp sting ignites on the swell of my ass cheek, jolting me out of the panic consuming me. I gasp and twist at the waist, finding Dread staring up at me with an intense look on his face.
Rattled and confused, I glance down at my butt to find a perfect set of teeth imprinted into my skin, saliva dotted around it.
“Did… did you just bite my ass?” I ask, the words coming out in a breathless rush.
“You left me,” he says in place of a proper response.
I gape at him, at a loss for how to respond. However, he doesn’t bother waiting for one. He scoots back a few inches, creating space between him and the edge of the pool, then nods toward the gap between his legs.
“Sit.”
My body obeys before my brain can command it, likely because my legs feel like gelatin, and if I don’t, I’ll end up falling instead.
