Page 19 of Fear the Reapers
“What?” I asked, raising a thick brow with a blank expression. “Were you expecting me to feel sorry for you?”
She said nothing as her hollow eyes stared into space. I continued.
“Did somebody do bad things to the poor pretty girl?” I mocked, slowly circling around her stiff body.
I was pushing her, but I wanted a reaction. Wanted to see the pain marring her beautiful face. Then I spotted it. The slight tremble of her lower lip that was so small, I would’ve missed it had I not been scrutinizing her every move. My words were affecting her after all, and the sadistic bastard in me wanted to see more.
“I’ll bet it was mommy’s boyfriend.” I said with a dark laugh. “Is that it, Angel? Did mommy slice you because you fucked step daddy?”
“Fuck you.” She spat, finally showing some spark behind her haunted eyes.
“No, thanks.” I retorted, looking at her with disdain. “I prefer my pussy pristine.”
Energy crackled between the two of us. Hers, angry and venomous. Mine, lethal and cruel. But if I dug deep down, beneath the emotions I was letting her see, there was something else filling the depths of my chest too. Something unexpected. Something that felt a lot like respect.
She refused to back away, as did I. It was as if our egos had tethered to each other in a game of tug of war with neither side able to gain an inch.
“I bet you still like shouting Daddy when you get fucked.” I taunted, inching my face towards hers.
She closed her eyes as a single tear trickled down her cheek. I stared at it and paused, baffled by my reaction. I’d won. I’d pushed her beyond her breaking point. I succeeded. I should feel satisfied, but all I felt was disappointment.
“Enough.” Cyrus bellowed, pushing me away from her. “Stevie, grab your shit and go back to your room.”
Keeping her eyes firmly locked on the ground, she grabbed her clothes and left. She refused to look at me again, but I could almost see the hate seething off of her shoulders. She hated me. Good. She should hate me. It meant she knew exactly what kind of man she was dealing with. The problem was, after that show, I had no idea who I was dealing with.
Chapter 11
Stevie
The moment I woke up and took in my surroundings, reality hit me. I was still in their home, which meant everything that occurred the day before was real.
I crawled out of bed and slipped in and out of the restroom with little incident. It was a blessing if there ever was one. I couldn’t handle another awkward encounter with the men of this house. Not after what happened the night before.
As I pulled on my usual wardrobe of black denim, a cut-off band tee and leather ankle boots, I thought about what life would be like working for The Reapers. I still didn’t know what kind of work they wanted me to do and it was nerve-wracking to have everything so up in the air.
I could be a maid and spend my days cleaning up after them. The house was spotless as it was, but I could cook or do laundry. I could deal drugs. It wouldn’t be my first choice, of course, but anything was better than the bullshit they pulled last night.
Ezra and Cyrus tried to treat me like I was their personal lapdog. Like they could say ‘jump’ and the only response I was allowed to have was ‘how high’. But I was their fucking pet. That is where I drew the line, and last night was my attempt at making that clear.
I knew they were trying to test me. Trying to see how far they could push me before I broke. But they failed to realize that for me, being pushed around was nothing new. Someone had been pushing me around my entire life. Last night was my breaking point.
The thing between Ezra and I went a little further than I planned. I wanted to scare him off, to show him I wasn’t afraid. I didn’t expect him to like my aggression and to take things even further. How he touched my body and the electric current between us was unlike anything I had ever experienced. If he didn’t push me off, I don’t know if I would’ve stopped him and that terrified me.
Ezra was bad news and even my body could feel it. Whenever he came near me, my heart would thunder in my chest and my adrenaline would surge. But the rush he created was addictive. He was unpredictable and intriguing and completely off limits. All of them were dangerous, but Ezra was fucking suicide.
???
It had reached 6pm before I heard the garage door opening. I had spent the larger part of the day just sitting and waiting for someone to check in on me. What the hell were they thinking leaving a stranger alone in their home?
I tried to be patient, but after raiding their fridge and a few hours of complete silence, my idle hands had enough and I went to explore the rest of the house.
Based on the contents of the bedrooms, there were four men that lived here. I had already met three, which left only one man unaccounted for, the illusive Atlas.
A part of me hoped the car pulling into the garage was him. After their conversation last night, it was clear he was their leader. If I could get into his good graces, maybe he’d keep the other psychos away from me. At the very least, he could be the one to make sure my clothing stayed on for the duration of my stay.
The sound of footsteps approaching from behind pulled me from my thoughts.
“I see you’ve made yourself at home.” Cyrus said, as I heard his footsteps approach the living room.
