A desire to hold her overcomes me. I've never held a girl. I've never even taken a girl's hand in mine. The strange feeling overtakes me, and I scoot closer to Lily Anna, putting my hand over hers and stopping her from fraying the fabric further. She sighs, her eyes still on the dress. I smooth my thumb over her skin, gently touching my fingertips to her hand.
"Lily Anna," I whisper, and she tries to pull her hand away at the sound of my voice, but I don't let her.
I keep her caged under my hand. Her own is shaking now, trembling lightly beneath my touch.
"Look at me," I say, and her eyes flutter to mine, then away again, like a butterfly trying to decide which flower to land on. "Please, Lily Anna."
She shuts her eyes tightly, as if she's trying to force me out of her thoughts, away from her. It doesn't work though, because I'm not going anywhere.
"Who gave you those bruises?" I ask, and she shakes her head wordlessly. "Please tell me. I want to help you."
She doesn't.
Instead, she scoots closer, and suddenly, her lips are pressed against mine and she's kissing me.
Her lips are the softest thing I've ever felt, the skin on her hand cold as ice. I'm terrified, my heart pounding in my chest as she deepens the no-longer innocent kiss, greedily demanding more from my mouth. I try to give her what she so desperately needs. Her body shivers against mine as I pull her on my lap. The silk is soft, cold against my skin, and I want her to give me so much more than she's offering.
Her teeth dig into my bottom lip and I groan, my hands going to her hips and trying to pull her off. She's not letting go, though. She clings to me like I'm her lifeline. I feel blood trickling down my chin as she bites down, but I let her. I allow her to give me the pain she must feel deep down, and she doesn't pull down until moments later, her lips smeared with my blood.
"You're crazy," I mutter.
"Maybe."
She grins, wiping her lips with her hand. It's bloody when she stops, traces of what she did to me staining the porcelain skin into a dark red.
"You need to tell me who gave you those bruises," I demand. "I'm going to kill them."
"You're not serious," she laughs easily. "And you're just a kid, like me. What the hell are you going to do?"
"Nothing right now," I reply. "But I don't forget the bad things people do, and I'm going to punish whoever did this to you. Even if it isn't right now... it's going to happen."
She remains stubbornly quiet, but she does lock her eyes with mine, staring me down with a wicked little grin playing on her lips.
"You like me, don't you, Dexter?" she asks, and I find myself nodding before she's even finished the sentence. "Good, that's good. I like you too. You know what that means?"
"What?" I whisper.
"You're mine," she grins. "All mine. Forever."
"Forever," I repeat, enchanted by the girl. "Forever and a day."
She sticks her palm out, grabbing a letter opener from the coffee table in front of us.
"Lily Anna, no!" I demand, but it's too late.
She's already dug the knife into her skin, drawing blood. She makes me hold out my hand next and does the same to me. I wince at the pain and watch our blood mix on our hands as she gives me a firm handshake.
"Now we're bound together," she says, sounding pleased with herself. "And you can never run away from me, Dexter Booth..."
Two
Pandora
Present time
"...pop it."
He pushes through me and I howl at the sudden pain between my legs.