Page 33 of Twisted Desire

“Sebastian,” I hissed, glancing around only to see the onlookers had disappeared.

He laughed, gripping my hips tighter, digging his fingers into my skin to the point of pain. “Oh, come on, Skylar. I know you like it rough and dirty.” He lifted his hand and wrapped his fingers around my neck. “You know you want me to take you right here,” he purred, and my stomach dropped as my pulse spiked with fear.

No. No, I didn’t want that.

I shook my head, unable to voice my objection.

“No?” he murmured, grinning like a cat.

“Sebastian, please,” I whispered, too scared to move an inch.

His dark eyes flicked between mine. “Now that’s what I like to hear.” His lips sealed over mine forcefully as he reached around me to unzip my dress.

Panic flooded through me, and I tried to push him away, but it only encouraged him to work faster, rougher.

He shoved me back against the building, and I cried out when my head smacked the brick exterior. “Quiet,” he snapped, slapping me across the face.

My eyes burned with unshed tears as he pushed his leg between my thighs. “Stop,” I ground out, gripping his arms as tight as I could.

“That’s a new one,” he muttered but didn’t oblige. He hiked up my dress and shoved his hand where his thigh had been.

That’s when I yelped.

His eyes widened a moment before he grabbed my shoulders and threw me to the ground. My knees broke the fall, the pavement cutting into my skin. Sebastian was quick to flip me over and crawl on top of me. He had his belt buckle undone in record time, but before I could scream, he clamped his hand over my mouth, hitting my head against the ground.

I was torn between trying to fight him off and squeezing my eyes shut to wait for it to be over. I tried bucking my hips to move him away, but he was too strong. I cried loudly, but the sound was muffled by his hand; no one would hear me.

I felt the exact moment the fight faded out of me.

I lay there, staring at the stars winking at me from the sky, and wished I was dead.

“Skylar.” Nikolai’s voice brings me back to the present. My shoulders are shaking with sobs, and my cheeks are wet with tears. “Skylar, you’re safe.” He takes my face in his hands. “Look at me.”

I blink until his face comes into focus. “Nikolai...”

“It’s me,” he confirms, his thumbs stroking my cheeks. He drops his hands to my waist as I wrap my arms around his neck, clinging to him in hopes of pushing the memory of Sebastian away. “Shh,” he murmurs, stroking my hair. “It’s okay.” He continues to soothe me with soft words and gentle touches until my body stops shaking and the tears stop flowing.

I lean back enough to look at him. “That answer your questions?” I whisper, my voice thick with tears.

His face falls. “I never wanted to hurt you.”

“You didn’t. He did.”

“And you just relived the darkest moment of your life.”

“You needed to know. It was never about you not being good enough for me. There was never a doubt in my mind. I was the problem.”

“No,” he says firmly. “You were never the problem. Don’t think that for a second. That bastard—”

“I was a different person back then. Circumstances of those moments shaped who I am today.” I shrug. “He got what he had coming to him in the end.”

Nikolai frowns. “What happened?”

“You want to know? I’ll show you how that evening ended.”

His expression hardens. “No. Forget it. You don’t need to go back into that nightmare.”

A ghost of a smile touches my lips. “But the ending is my favorite part.”

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