“I’m not shocked since your father tried to buy my virginity.” Phoebe’s mouth falls open, and I quickly realize I might have gone too far.
“Gosh, he’s gross. I’m so sorry.” Her whole face softens.
“Why are you sorry? I think it was your husband and brother-in-law that got me out of that mess.”
“Same.” Phoebe shakes her head. “Who knows what my father might have done with me if not for my Boone.” She lets out a dreamy sigh. “So you’re a virgin.” She smirks mischievously.
“I…ahh…” Heat rushes to my face. Why did I blurt that out?
“Angel.” I jerk my head around at the sound of Curt’s voice. I didn’t know it was possible to blush more, but my face is now on fire. He stares at me from across the room. “Are you a virgin?” he asks, and I nod my head yes. “Fuck.” Curt runs his hand down his face, and his frustration is clear.
“That explains why they want her back so badly,” Boone says from beside Curt.
“Wait. Someone is trying to take her?” Phoebe jumps up from her seat to stand beside me protectively. It’s sweet. She barely knows me, but none of them really do.
“No one is taking her,” Curt growls. The sound should be scary, but my body has a whole different kind of response. “I can’t take her home with me.” Curt turns to face his brother, and my heart sinks.
I drop my head, not wanting to stare at Curt while he and Boone talk, but now in hushed angry-sounding whispers.
“Hey, everything is going to be fine,” Phoebe tries to reassure me.
“He doesn’t want me to go back home with him.” I fight back tears.
“They want you safe.” She grabs my hand, giving it a squeeze.
“Angel,” Curt calls, and I bite the inside of my cheek so I don’t snap at him to stop calling me that. I like it entirely too much, and now he’s talking about leaving me behind. “Shit, you’re crying.” He walks across the room to me.
“Please don’t leave me here,” I blurt out when he stops right in front of me. Phoebe releases my hand and eases back a few steps.
“Angel.” I jump up from my seat and launch myself at him before he can tell me a list of reasons why I should stay here.
“Please,” I beg as I cling to him.
“I’m not leaving you anywhere. I was going to stay too. At least for tonight.” I lift my head from his chest.
“Why?”
“You have no idea.” His eyes search my face.
“Maybe we should give you a moment,” Phoebe says as she goes to her husband. He takes her hand and guides her out of the living room.
“Sit.” His hands wrap around my wrists, lifting them off his chest, and I release his shirt that I had a death grip on. “Sit,” he orders again, letting my wrists go. He takes a few steps back and sits across from me. I plop back down, not wanting the space between us. “You can’t jump on me. In fact, I need you to give me space.” He reaches up and undoes the top few buttons on his shirt then pulls at the collar.
“Okay,” I agree, my heart starting to ache.
“Don’t do that, angel. I want your touch more than I should.” He lets out a long sigh.
“Is this because I’m a virgin or something?” Why has everything changed since we got here?
“You’re not eighteen.”
“Ohhh. Right.” I lick my lips. Why do I suddenly want his touch even more? Is it because I know he can’t? “The Shapovals said seventeen was an adult in—”
“Don’t.” He lifts his hand, cutting me off. “I don’t give a fuck what those lowlifes said.”
“Fair point,” I agree, because they are terrible people.
“You being a virgin changes nothing for me, angel. I need you to know that. You’re still the same girl to me.” I nod in understanding. “That said, you being a virgin is why I think the Shapovals want you back so badly. They can put a bid out on your virginity and sell you to whoever pays the most.”
That sounds like an easy enough fix. We only have to take away the thing they want.
“What if I’m not a virgin anymore?”
Eight
CURT
“Demi,” I groan, burying my face in my hands. “Sweet angel.”
Sighing, I look up at her innocent face and try not to lose control. She looks so sweet and earnest that it’s all I can do to keep my hands to myself.
“I’m just saying that if you took it from me, then you’d be saving me, right?”
“Please don’t talk about me taking your virginity.” I have to reach down and adjust my cock because it’s become painful.
“Sorry, I’ve never done anything before, so I’m not exactly experienced, but if you tell me what to do, I’ll try my best.”