She blinked in surprise and that coil of dread tightened.
“Did you think perhaps that I would give you more money?”He tilted his head to the side, and if she hadn’t gotten to know him better she might have thought he was genuinely just curious.
But she saw a tick in his jaw.She felt his anger.
She swallowed hard.“No, of course not.”
“Then why?”he demanded.
“I…I wanted to,” she said.
Admitting the truth had never been so difficult.Her cheeks burned with humiliation, but it was the truth.
“Mmm.”His gaze raked her over, as if he could see all of her secrets.“Out of gratitude, was that it?You thought you owed it to me for—”
“No!”Her voice was louder than she’d anticipated, but she couldn’t help it.She hadn’t felt cheap standing there with those men saying awful things about her—she’d known why she was doing it.
And she hadn’t felt ashamed giving herself to King.She hadn’t felt guilty or dirty even though she’d shocked herself with how much she’d liked to be spanked and spoken to like that.
But somehow these accusations…
These made her feel low and dirty.“That wasn’t what it was about.”
He eyed her for a long moment, his expression unreadable, his gaze unwavering.He was waiting for her to explain, but the words wouldn’t come.
He tired of waiting, it seemed.“Doesn’t matter.It’s done now.”
It’s done now.Like it was some meaningless deed.
Maybe for him it was.
She wrapped her arms around herself tighter.
“Who do you owe money to?”
“I, uh…” The sudden change in topic made her head spin.“Maloney.He thinks we owe him—”
“And you don’t?”He whirled around to face her, and whether he meant it or not, the question sounded like an accusation.
She felt like a woman on trial as she tried to explain.“Shortly after our mother died, Maloney took a liking to my sister.She was older than me.Prettier than me—”
“Impossible.”He gave a derisive snort.
It didn’t sound like a compliment.More like a flaw.She felt heat creep into her cheeks as she dipped her head.“Yes, well, he wanted her, and so…” She swallowed hard.“He had her.”
She kept her gaze on the fire as she thought about that first night when he’d come to their door, drunk and demanding.“We never had a father.At least, not one we remember.Jeremiah tried to protect her but…” Her voice gave out.
“He was a child,” King finished for her.
“Yes.All he got was beaten for his trouble,” she said.“And I…”
Her tongue felt too thick and heavy.She’d never had to tell anyone their story before.He was before her so suddenly all she could do was blink in surprise.The rage on his face made her heart stop.“What did he do to you?”
She started to tremble even though she knew it wasn’t meant for her.“H-he struck me.And when I was down, he kicked me—” She stopped short at his hiss, his fingers digging into her arms.
She didn’t protest because his strong grip was oddly comforting as she finished.“But then Daphne intervened.She saved us.”Her stomach dropped, her heart falling as if she were there again.Reliving the day they’d lost their sister.
Oh she didn’t actually die until one year ago, but she’d lost herself long before then.She’d given up and given in…to save them.