But I think she’s telling the truth. And that’s so much worse for her than if she had been lying. Because I think she’s gone. I think she’s fucked up beyond all repair. FUBAR, we call it in the army. Sydney Channing has been a big surprise from beginning to end. But never in a million years did I see this coming.

“Syd,” I say, getting ready to explain what’s gonna happen now.

“Why do you call me that?” she interrupts. “No one calls me that. I hate it.”

I think back. Is that true? Didn’t Garrett call her that? Never mind. I wave a hand in front of me, trying to clear the air.

I place my hand on her head again. Smoothing her hair. It’s starting to dry and it will be just as FUBAR as her once it does.

Get a grip, Merc. This bitch is over as soon as you get her to talk.

Right.

I drop my hand to her throat and flatten my palm against her throbbing artery. She’s not tied—not her hands and not her feet—so I expect her to fight a little. But she doesn’t, once again showing me that she is unreliable as far as reactions go. I even squeeze it a little, just to test this theory out. Again, no reaction until a few seconds pass and she begins to choke.

I ease off and press my body against hers. My chest is bare, so we are skin to skin. She is warm and so am I. Together we heat everything up. I lean into her ear and give her a kiss. She shudders, but her hands remain grasping onto the chains, just like I told her to.

“Did he tell you you were pretty?” I don’t know why I ask that, but I feel the need to know.

“No,” she says. “He told me I was expendable.”

“Channing said that?” I just can’t see it, to be honest. I mean, yeah, the girl was illegitimate and that’s a pretty big deal in his world. But… expendable? He hired me to save her ass. So maybe he was setting all of us up? I dunno. I never pegged him as a Sydney hater. Sure, the kid was inconvenient, but why raise her up to age sixteen and then—

“Garrett,” she clarifies.

“Oh.” Jesus fucking Christ, Merc. Back on track!

I trace a finger down each side of her body, feeling her ribs. They are prominent when she’s got her hands above her head like this. And she might be ticklish, because it makes her squirm. I adjust my position and then cup her breasts. It makes me feel dirty for some reason. This whole thing makes me feel dirty. I’m tired of playing with her. But I have to know.

She moans a little and this gives me what I need to continue. “Do you know what the hard fuck is, Syd?”

“I’m a virgin.”

I laugh. Like hard. It startles her and she drops her hands and covers herself. It startles me too, because I actually take a step back instead of correcting her.

“Please, I’m a virgin.”

“You cannot be serious.” My tone has changed. It’s harsh. And this makes her reach up and grab the chains again to try to placate me. “Why are you lying? I already fucked you in the ass once. I’ve seen him fuck you dozens of times.”

She doesn’t react. Not to any of that. Not to the fact that I fucked her or the fact that I watched Garrett fuck her.

“That bullshit might’ve worked on Brett—” I stop talking and stare at her. “That’s why you never let Brett fuck you?”

She lifts her head and her eyes, but only for a moment. Only to nod.

She’s telling the truth. Well, no, she’s lying her ass off. But she thinks she’s telling the truth.

I step forward again and reach down to find her pussy. When I hit her clit with the tip of my thumb, she moans. I insert one finger and she thrusts her hips to force me to go deeper. “Let me ask you this question again, Sydney.” I grab her hair with my other hand and yank her head back so she has to look at me. “Do you know what the hard fuck is?”

“No,” she says, emotionless.

I lean into her ear and whisper, “You’re about to find out.” She just stares straight ahead. “Do you understand me?”

“Yes,” she says, still no emotion.

“That yes is permission.”

I wait to see if she will object, and in truth, a part of me wants her to. I want her to knee me in the balls. Scratch my eyes out. Spit in my face. I want her to fight.

Because if she did all those things, I might stop. It might be enough to stop me.

But again, she’s compliant when I want resistance.

And then she takes it one step further. She covers the distance between us with a kiss.

My hand leaves her hair and I find her throat again. Because we’re on. “Let me explain what the hard fuck is, Sydney. OK?” I growl it into her mouth, because she’s still kissing me. “It means I will push you beyond all your limits. I will make you cry tears and writhe in pain and pleasure at the same time. I’m gonna make that fuck so hard you’ll weep. But you will beg me to keep going. I will make your body sore, your muscles shudder, and your mind exhausted. I’m gonna take you, Sydney Channing. I’m gonna take you and once I do, I’m never gonna give you back.”

“Take me,” she whispers back. Her warm breath intertwines with mine, making us intimate for a moment.

But only for a moment. Because I push her to her knees, fist her hair, and drag her face towards my cock.

“They walk that line between angel and demon, and they use it against me too.”

– Case

She looks up at me, her warm breath already heating up the denim of my jeans. Her eyes are watery, like she wants to cry.

I want her to cry. I want to make her sob. I want to stuff my dick down her throat and watch the tears run down her face.

I kneel down, pushing her off balance and making her tip back a little. She reaches out, grasping the fabric of my jeans to steady herself. I grab her face and grip it firmly, squeezing her cheeks. “There’s something wrong with you.”

“It’s your fault.”

“What?” I look from one eye to the other, trying to see what’s right in front of me, but failing utterly. “How do you figure that?”

“You left me there. My father hired you to—”

I push hard and she careens backwards onto the floor. She lets off a grunt and then turns over on her side, pulling her knees up to her chest. “Just do whatever you’re going to do. I don’t care anymore.”

“Do you have any idea what’s going on?” I walk across the room and then pace back, stopping with the tip of my boot so close to her lips, it might be touching. “Any idea who you are? What you are?”

She says nothing. Her eyes are open, but she’s checked out.

“What happens when he says that word—”

“Just fuck me.”

“You’re a virgin,” I sneer. “Remember?”

She pushes herself up with one hand, straining her neck to look me in the eye. “I am. But you don’t deserve to know the story, Case. You don’t deserve to know what that word does. You don’t deserve to know anything. But if you want to be the first to fuck my pussy, then whatever. Take it. Take whatever you want. You’re gonna anyway.”

My mind whirls with the only important detail in that statement. “You really expect me to believe that he only ever fucked you in the ass?”

“You said you were watching me. You should know.” She’s on her feet in an instant, her fist coming at me. She connects with my cheek. Hard.

But not hard enough. I grab her arm and drag her back over to the wall. And this time, I don’t ask her to hold on. I tie the bitch up. I clamp the cuffs on her wrists and tighten the chain until her arms are above her head. Her feet are still kicking and she’s calling me every name in the book. I take a few blows and a knee to my chest as I grab an ankle and attach the shackle. She’s still got one foot free when she stops the fight.