“Just come back to me, Drake,” he finally mutters.
Those five words are what he’s always uttered to me. Each meeting I’ve been on, he’d always tell me to come back, and I’ve always returned. Nothing can ever take me away from him. Our past is riddled with excruciating pain, vile acts, and images that would haunt even the darkest souls, but it’s ours. Something we share, and nobody can take that away.
I lean in, giving him some of the affection I know he craves. Our lips touch, his mold to mine, and I grip his hair, holding him steady as I dip my tongue into his mouth. He groans when I suck his tongue hard, biting down on the flesh, which causes another soft grunt to rumble through his chest.
The kiss heats when his hand finds my thigh. His touch isn’t gentle, not like a woman’s. It’s rough, needy, and it matches my own desire. Our tongues duel for control, the taste of him overwhelming me, and I know I need to stop it. I need to put an end to this, or I’ll never leave. And we’ll end up on the floor with my cock inside his ass.
Pulling away, I stare at him for a moment. “This . . . We need to stop this, River,” I tell him breathlessly. He nods. He knows I’m lying. Every day, without fail, I tell him the same thing. I don’t want him waiting for me if I don’t come back. It doesn’t matter who was sitting in the seat beside me, I could never ask someone to pray for my return, not when I didn’t want to return anyway.
“See you later,” he concedes, knowing there’s no way I will admit my feelings.
I head out the door with my phone and keys. Ensuring my smokes are in the inner pocket of my jacket, along with the holster holding my Glock. My sweet baby I never leave home without.
It’s an hour’s drive to the estate on the outskirts of town. A place where men do as they please. And I know one of those men used to be my father. All the truths that spilled from the pages of his dossiers sickened me. Granted, I’m an asshole, but the things I did were by force. I never had a choice. Except for the moment I first sunk my dick into Caia’s mouth. The moment I felt heaven for the first time.
There’s a limit to the damage you incite on someone, and I know the only people I would ever find pleasure in killing are the ones on my list.
My father didn’t stop at nameless girls. He tortured his own sons. He did it to River, the boy who became more like family. I recall the moment he entered our home with his mother. The woman who left him there.
“Hey,” the boy with the green eyes says to me. There’s confidence radiating off him, but there’s also something I’ve come to learn is happiness. I don’t often allow kids in my space, but he doesn’t ask permission when he leaps onto my bed. He shuffles himself against the headboard, then watches me.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m new here. My mom says I’m going to stay with you while she goes to work,” his innocent voice offers as he smiles at me, and I find myself staring in shock and awe at him. He’s pretty. Can you call a boy pretty? Maybe not, but he is.
“I don’t want you in my room.” I sound so angry. I hate being like this, but I can’t help it. Not even Dante, my brother, comes in here. He knows my rules. Nobody is allowed in my space. But this boy . . . “What’s your name?”
“River.” He smiles.
“What kind of fucking name is that?”
His eyes widen at my curse word. We’re only ten, but that doesn’t matter. I can say anything I want. My dad doesn’t care what happens to me as long as I do what he says when he sends me to the dungeon.
“It’s the best fucking name. What’s yours?” He lifts his chin, folding his hands behind his head as if he’s never been more comfortable, and it bothers me. I don’t want him here, but I can’t tell him to leave.
“Drake,” I tell him, shrugging off his chuckle.
“I like it,” he tells me with a grin so wide I can’t stop the one that curls my lips. This boy is bad news. “My mom said your dad is helping her with work.”
My body stills. An icy chill makes me shiver at his words, and I realize that this isn’t "work." This is something else. I don’t know what his mother told him, but I have a feeling River will be spending a lot more time here than he thinks.