“What happened?”
“Nothing, for a couple of years, like I said. Daniel was a scary figure always over my shoulder. There was some touching and harassing, but Rory always managed to help and keep me away from him. I thought it would be okay when Daniel had to move out because of his age. You know? That should have been the end of it.”
“It wasn’t?” I ask.
“I think my Ms. Rhodes used Daniel for more than a check, because even after he moved out, she would let him come back. I admit I was young and na?ve, but even I caught on to what they were doing upstairs while her husband was at work.” I let my fingers wrap in her hair and continued listening. “One night, the foster-fucks had put Daniel in charge of us while they attended some party. I was upstairs doing homework and didn’t realize what was going on. Daniel locked everyone out of the house and came to find me.” My body coils at her words and I wish I could go back in time and protect her. Tess should have had someone to keep her safe. “I was fourteen, almost fifteen. Except for a few kisses with Rory, I was pretty naive. Daniel scared me, but I tried to act like I knew what he was talking about. Like I knew the score and just didn’t want him. I had this mistaken impression that if I appeared to be the hardened, street kid, people wouldn’t fuck with me.”
“And?”
“In hindsight that might not have been the brightest approach. I don’t know if you know this about me yet or not Max, but I tend to make dicey choices, when under pressure.”
“I don’t know; I think I like some of your choices,” I tell her, capturing her hand in mine and letting my fingers massage the pulse points, for some reason needing this contact with her.
“Pig,” she laughs, but it’s a laugh that’s almost as tight as her body at the moment. She doesn’t want to finish the story. I should change the subject and let her off the hook. I can’t bring myself to do that. I need to know.
“Finish it, Kitten,” I prompt and she grows completely still and then sits up in bed, staring at the wall. My eyes follow the way the sheet clings to her body and drapes around her soft curves, hiding a body I’ve come to know better than my own.
“Daniel came into my room. I had my headphones on, so I didn’t notice him until he already had me cornered. When I told him to leave, he laughed,” she whispers like it was a dirty little secret. “I screamed at him to leave. I told him if he didn’t the others would find him, and he’d be in trouble. I stupidly threatened him with the law, anything and anyone I could think of.”
“He wasn’t impressed?” I ask, already knowing the answer.
“If the smack across the cheek was anything to go by, then I’d say no,” she jokes. I shift so I’m behind her and lift her body over so she lies between my legs and against my chest. Her back to my front, her head tucked under my chin, and I hold her close. Her body eases against me, and she sighs. “He threw me down on the bed and ripped my sweater off of me. I can still taste his skin, even after all these years, Max. The clammy, salty, horrible taste of his hand as he clamped it down on my mouth to stop my screaming.”
“Did he…”
“No, Max. He didn’t rape me. I managed to bite down on his hand hard enough he jerked back. I was kind of proud that I drew blood. He punched me in the face then. I tried to scratch and claw, but he was bigger, stronger, and definitely meaner.”
“How’d you get away?”
“Long story short, Rory heard my screams, broke through a downstairs window with a baseball bat,” she tilts her head to the side and looks up me with this slight laugh. “You should have seen Rory. He was barely a hundred and ten pounds soaking wet, but he came running in my room like a conquering hero. He took the baseball bat and used it to slam Daniel on the side of the head. Daniel fell off of me and was unconscious on the floor.”
Tessa shifts again, this time to snuggle back into me and curl on her side. I try to ignore the way my dick semi-hardens as her ass brushes it. I clear my throat and try to concentrate on the story and not just how bad I want Tess, again, so soon. “What happened next?”
“I think Rory and I were both in shock for a minute at how easily Daniel went down. We threw what few clothes we had into a plastic Walmart bag. Rory grabbed some food and drinks in another one. It took us all of ten minutes, and we were terrified the whole time, afraid Daniel would wake up.”
“He didn’t?”
“Nope, not a peep. Not even when Rory and I cleaned out his wallet. Now that was scary. I was sure he’d catch us. Rory insisted we needed the money to get us away from there though.”
“He was smart,” I say grudgingly—torn between liking this unknown kid and resenting him.
“The smartest,” she sighs. “We pocketed the money and Rory grabbed my hand, and we took off running. We never stopped running. From that moment on, it was him and me against the world.”