Mia.”
How she dreaded the idea, perhaps even more than the thought of submitting to Shane’s sexual advances without protest. One involved baring her body, but the other was a complete stripping of everything that shielded her soul. Her stomach churned with nausea as she turned to look at the man with whom she had made this dark bargain.
As she faced him, trying to marshal her thoughts and figure out how to begin once Bruno closed the door, she wondered for a brief second if she had made the right decision. Was it better to stay with the devil she barely knew rather than face the one she knew all too well? Only time would tell, and there would be a surplus of that. Now that she had agreed not to resist him, would he ever let her go?
Chapter Seven
Mia’s mouth was dry as she tried to explain the sordid history with Aldo Peretti. “I guess you should know I’d never even met Aldo until the day of the wedding. I’d only met Stefania a couple of times at that point.” Shane sat down in his chair, tugging her down to sit on his lap with his legs pinning hers together. She couldn’t move. “I wasn’t thrilled to have a new stepmother or stepbrother, but Vadim didn’t care about my input.”
“Your father strikes me as a selfish man.”
She had to bite her tongue to resist the urge to point out he shared traits with her aloof father. “It didn’t take me long to warm to Stefania, but I never liked Aldo. He made me…uncomfortable.”
“How old were you?” Shane took her hand, squeezing gently.
To her great surprise, she found the touch comforting. “Twelve. He was nineteen, so he shouldn’t have had any interest in me, but he seemed to go out of his way to try to engage me in conversation or spend time with me.” She swallowed. “At first, I thought he was just trying to be a nice guy and a good stepbrother.”
His eyes narrowed. “When did that change?”
“The first night he came into my room.” She shuddered. “It was my thirteenth birthday, and he came to give me my present. A secret present.” Nausea churned in her stomach, and she tightened her grip on his hand without thought. Mia winced when his hand tightened as well, and she realized he was holding back his reaction. She appreciated that, knowing she needed his calmness, even if it was fake, to get through this.
“What did he give you?”
She closed her eyes, remembering the horror of waking up to the sight of Aldo standing over her with his penis in his hand. “He performed for me, telling me I should be proud of how turned on I made him, now that I was a woman .” She spat the last word, unable to hide the contempt she still felt eight years later. “I was still a little girl and terrified of the sick fuck masturbating in front of me. After he came on my bed, he left.”
The gentle brush of his lips against the top of her head was his only response.
“I didn’t know what to do. I kind of ignored it, hoping it had been a nightmare or something.” She drew in a deep breath. “Denial worked for three days, until he came back and did it again.”
“What did you do?”
“I was scared of him, and I was afraid of my father. I had never liked spending time with Vadim. Perhaps even as a child, I’d realized what he was.” Mia curled her nails into her fist to keep her voice calm. “He didn’t progress beyond that for a few months. It was like he enjoyed scaring me and denying himself. Maybe it gave him a thrill.”
He brushed his thumb across the knuckles of the hand he held. His voice was gentle against her ear. “When did that change?”
“I’m not sure, but maybe six months after it started. That night, he made me touch him, putting my hand under his as he…” Mia took a deep breath, still able to vividly recall the feel of her stepbrother’s cock in her hand for the first time. “I was terrified that he would do something worse, so I tried to talk to my dad the next day.”
“What happened?”
She lifted a
How she dreaded the idea, perhaps even more than the thought of submitting to Shane’s sexual advances without protest. One involved baring her body, but the other was a complete stripping of everything that shielded her soul. Her stomach churned with nausea as she turned to look at the man with whom she had made this dark bargain.
As she faced him, trying to marshal her thoughts and figure out how to begin once Bruno closed the door, she wondered for a brief second if she had made the right decision. Was it better to stay with the devil she barely knew rather than face the one she knew all too well? Only time would tell, and there would be a surplus of that. Now that she had agreed not to resist him, would he ever let her go?
Chapter Seven
Mia’s mouth was dry as she tried to explain the sordid history with Aldo Peretti. “I guess you should know I’d never even met Aldo until the day of the wedding. I’d only met Stefania a couple of times at that point.” Shane sat down in his chair, tugging her down to sit on his lap with his legs pinning hers together. She couldn’t move. “I wasn’t thrilled to have a new stepmother or stepbrother, but Vadim didn’t care about my input.”
“Your father strikes me as a selfish man.”
She had to bite her tongue to resist the urge to point out he shared traits with her aloof father. “It didn’t take me long to warm to Stefania, but I never liked Aldo. He made me…uncomfortable.”
“How old were you?” Shane took her hand, squeezing gently.
To her great surprise, she found the touch comforting. “Twelve. He was nineteen, so he shouldn’t have had any interest in me, but he seemed to go out of his way to try to engage me in conversation or spend time with me.” She swallowed. “At first, I thought he was just trying to be a nice guy and a good stepbrother.”
His eyes narrowed. “When did that change?”
“The first night he came into my room.” She shuddered. “It was my thirteenth birthday, and he came to give me my present. A secret present.” Nausea churned in her stomach, and she tightened her grip on his hand without thought. Mia winced when his hand tightened as well, and she realized he was holding back his reaction. She appreciated that, knowing she needed his calmness, even if it was fake, to get through this.
“What did he give you?”
She closed her eyes, remembering the horror of waking up to the sight of Aldo standing over her with his penis in his hand. “He performed for me, telling me I should be proud of how turned on I made him, now that I was a woman .” She spat the last word, unable to hide the contempt she still felt eight years later. “I was still a little girl and terrified of the sick fuck masturbating in front of me. After he came on my bed, he left.”
The gentle brush of his lips against the top of her head was his only response.
“I didn’t know what to do. I kind of ignored it, hoping it had been a nightmare or something.” She drew in a deep breath. “Denial worked for three days, until he came back and did it again.”
“What did you do?”
“I was scared of him, and I was afraid of my father. I had never liked spending time with Vadim. Perhaps even as a child, I’d realized what he was.” Mia curled her nails into her fist to keep her voice calm. “He didn’t progress beyond that for a few months. It was like he enjoyed scaring me and denying himself. Maybe it gave him a thrill.”
He brushed his thumb across the knuckles of the hand he held. His voice was gentle against her ear. “When did that change?”
“I’m not sure, but maybe six months after it started. That night, he made me touch him, putting my hand under his as he…” Mia took a deep breath, still able to vividly recall the feel of her stepbrother’s cock in her hand for the first time. “I was terrified that he would do something worse, so I tried to talk to my dad the next day.”
“What happened?”
She lifted a
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