Just to pour salt on the wound, my cheeks start to blush as I make my way up to my room. First me makes me come, and then he makes me blush. What is wrong with me? Obviously Baron knows something about me that I don’t, but how could he? How could anyone know me better than I know myself?
Maybe he is just that good with people, and that’s why he’s so successful. Maybe he was right about Harry, and Baron is just the lesser of two evils. That still doesn’t explain why he thought he could do what he did to me.
But he was trying to teach me some kind of lesson. Not to prance around in front of him with skimpy clothes on? Or not to hang out with guys? Sure, maybe I was doing the first one on purpose to annoy him, but not to…”get his dick hard” as he said. And why can’t I hang out with a guy my own age who’s interested in me?
God. I feel so emotionally manipulated. It’s like I’m standing on a tightrope over a stormy ocean and one wrong step will send me tumbling into the sea, never to be seen again.
I climb into bed, take several deep breaths, and tell myself to forget about him. He may have owned my body, but I won’t let him own my mind. But try as I might, Baron invades my mind like a virus. Every thought is of him. Last night’s incident replays in my mind, over and over and over, and with terrible betrayal, my body responds.
I twist my legs and feel the wetness beginning to spread across my thighs. Maybe under different circumstances, what Baron did to me could be considered hot. Maybe.
The heat grows and becomes impossible to ignore. Minutes ago I was shivering from the cold, and now I have to toss my comforter aside to let my body cool down.
Is this how he wants me to feel? Conflicted? Tortured? Angry at myself for having a physical response to him? That would be so twisted that even after he did I can’t believe that would be his intent. Only a movie villain would be so Machiavellian.
No, there has to be more to him than that. He’s done all this for a reason. He could have taken me last night and had his way with me completely, but he didn’t. Surely that says something about his character? He wanted to protect me from Harry and clearly resented me for turning him on while being his stepdaughter. And he came out and brought me home. Maybe there is good in him…Luke saw good in his father, even after he served the Empire for years, right? Maybe that’s the same sort of thing here.
God, I’m such a nerd. This is real life, not Star Wars, and my stepfather isn’t Darth Vader. He’s just a guy who took advantage of me, and I need to remember that.
7
Pixie
I hate myself for acknowledging Baron’s absence when I wake up and go downstairs. His office is empty, and his car’s gone. I should be overjoyed, but for some reason I feel like something is missing, as I’d prepared myself for dealing with him today.
As I’m pouring myself some cereal, my mom comes downstairs, her cheeks practically glowing and a ridiculous smile on her face. There’s no question what she’s excited about.
“What a wonderful morning!” she exclaims. I glance outside at sky, still cloudy, and the rain, still pouring.
“Yeah, in Florida maybe.”
“What’s a little rain?” She shrugs, taking the box from my hand and pouring herself a bowl. “It makes the flowers grow!”
“Could you be any more obvious, Mom?”
“What do you mean, dear?”
The boundaries in this house are starting to collapse quickly. I need to do something to restore them, or I’m going to go insane.
“Mom, if you want to step out on your marriage, that’s fine. But don’t come down here glowing and wanting to share. I’m your daughter, not your best friend.”
“Well, it’s not like I can share with my husband!” she laughs.
“Or me,” I reply firmly as I get up and head for my room.
“Speaking of which, I heard you got yourself into a bit of trouble.”
Her comment stops me in my tracks. A bit of trouble. That could mean two entirely different things, neither of which I want to talk about.
“What are you talking about?” I ask.
“Oh, don’t act so coy,” my mom laughs. “Baron told me all about your little date.”
Whose date? Mine and Harry’s or mine and Baron’s?
Ugh. What am I talking about? Baron and I didn’t have a date. More like an assault.
“And what did he say?”
“He said he found you in the car of one very popular hockey star from your school,” she replies, sounding pleased with me. “But that he intervened because…reasons?”
Is my mom seriously upset that I didn’t hook up with Harry in his car just down the road from the house?
“Yeah…he said Harry’s like a sexual predator or something,” I reply. “So he like, pulled me out of the car and…”
My voice trails off. I can’t possibly go into what happened next. Baron told me if I tell, he’ll divorce my mom and throw us both out of the house. But why am I protecting an obviously loveless marriage that my mom herself isn’t being faithful to?
A pang of resentment catches me in my chest as I look at her, so smug about her little hidden relationship. Baron may be a monster, but at least he’s up front about it. Mom’s cheating on him and doesn’t seem to even feel remotely bad. In fact, she seems filled with glee, and I feel bad for him.
I shouldn’t. No one should feel bad for a monster. But I can’t help it. Nobody should be betrayed like that. But what am I saying? Baron forced me to strip for him, then forced me to climax, marked
