Page 14 of Lust and Honor

I scoff. “Add delusional to your long list of issues.”

A wicked glint flashes in his eyes, sending a shiver down my spine. “And to the collection of beauties you inherited from your mother, let’s add that sharp tongue. You’d be surprised how popular it’s become lately.”

My eyes dart in panic. He can’t mean what I think he does. He can’t be that sick. My voice comes out weak and shaky. “I’m your daughter.”

He kneels beside me and grips my chin in his hand. “Don’t worry, Ava. I’m not going to sell you.”

My lungs begin to loosen, until his next words hit me like a punch to the chest. “Sometimes, though, I have to settle my debts with you. Just like I did with your mother.”

I recoil in horror, and he mocks me.

“Don’t be such a prude. That’s what living with a nun does to you. Bet she’s got you thinking sex is some mortal sin. But if you open your mind a bit, I promise you’ll enjoy it.”

“You filthy bastard, I’m your daughter.”

“I didn’t say I was going to fuck you. I told you, sometimes I settle my debts with you.”

“You have no right to do this.”

He pulls a face, clearly bored now, and rises to his feet. As he walks out the door, he calls to someone out of sight, “Come in.”

A moment later, a massive frame fills the entire doorway. The man must be at least six-foot-three and easily over two hundred pounds. His skin is dark and sunburned, his head completely bald. His ears are mangled and swollen like a wrestler, and his large nose dominates his sullen face. His dull black eyes, greedy and hungry, rake over my small frame, still clad in my blue-and-white pajamas. I swear, he’s practically drooling, like a dog salivating at the sight of a meal.

Frozen with disbelief, my body paralyzed, I stare at Nico.

He turns to the giant, his voice casual. “So, what do you think? We good to call the debt square?”

The man gives a filthy grin, nodding without taking his lecherous gaze off my body, and lumbers toward me.

It’s like someone’s hooked my body to a live wire, I leap up and dash for the open window. But before I can reach it, his iron grip clamps onto my hair, yanking my head back so hard my scalp stings.

I claw at his face, but he answers with a slap so hard it turns my world black. My ears ring with a piercing whistle that drowns out everything else. When my vision clears, the first thing I see is the giant’s ass in his blue jeans. The bastard has me slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, carrying me out.

My hair hangs past his knees, blinding me, and I shove it out of my face as I scream, “Father, please. Please don’t do this.”

But we’re already outside, and that piece of trash doesn’t move a muscle.

I pound my weak fists against the man’s flesh, but deep down, I know my blows are about as useful as mosquito bites.

I shove my hair aside again and turn to the old men watching this nightmare unfold with terrifying calm. I beg them to help me, to do something, anything, but not one of them lifts a finger, not one of them spares more than a blank stare, as if the rape of an innocent girl is no big deal.

Tears blur my vision as I glance around, and that’s when I see him.

A young man who definitely doesn’t look like a villager. He’s wearing a gray T-shirt and black jeans. His black hair is neatly cropped, and his face is handsome in a rough, dangerous way. He’s about the same size as the monster carrying me, but his build is strong, athletic, like a trained fighter. His eyes are narrowed in focus as he watches me and the giant with silent intensity.

Even though I don’t really believe he’ll help, I reach for him like he’s my last thread of hope. “Please, help me. Please. They kidnapped me. This man’s going to rape me. I’m begging you, help me.”

Before I can see if my pleas have any effect on his face, my attacker storms into a foul-smelling hut and slams the door behind him.

He flings me through the air, and I crash hard onto a sagging, worn-out bed. Its springs are practically bursting through the mattress, and the once-white sheets are so filthy they’ve turned nearly black.

The impact knocks the breath out of me, pain searing through my chest, but before I can gasp for air, the bastard looms over me. He shoves his hand under my pants, yanking them down along with my underwear.

I let out a sharp cry and try to kick him, but another vicious slap lands on my already battered cheek. The side of my face that took the hit burns raw, while the other side feels numb. I can tell my face is swollen, my lip split open and bleeding.

He slams me back onto the filthy sheets, and a split second later, a scream rips from my throat as a sharp pain rips through my chest. I realize the savage is crushing my breasts in his fists. I swing my weak fists at him, but in this lopsided fight, I’m overpowered again. This time, he tears off my shirt and bra.

Now I’m completely naked beneath his massive frame. If it weren’t for the surge of adrenaline, I’d have passed out by now. He straddles me, pinning my legs under his weight. Sobbing in terror, I cover my breasts with my hands, shielding them from his hungry stare.