This place is dangerous.
I don't know what he plans to do to that woman, what he plans to do to me.
But the rational part of my brain died eight years ago in my parents' blood.
"I'm staying."
Another flash of something in his eyes.
He nods to the man, who forces the woman to her knees.
What happens next should horrify me.
The man uses her roughly while she cries, while the Boss—Wolfe—watches with detached interest.
But he's not watching her.
He's watching me.
Watching as my breathing quickens.
As my pupils dilate.
As I press my thighs together.
He's cataloging every reaction, filing it away.
"Come here." His voice cuts through the woman's sobbing.
I move toward him on unsteady legs.
When I'm close enough, he pulls me onto his lap, my back to his chest, forcing me to watch the scene in front of us.
"This arouses you." It's not a question.
His breath is hot against my ear. "Watching her fear. Her pain. Her humiliation."
I should deny it. Should be horrified at myself.
"Yes."
His hand slides around my throat, not squeezing, just resting there.
A warning. A promise.
"Tell me why you really came down here, little lamb. What are you looking for?"
The truth spills out before I can stop it. "I want to feel something. I want to stop being numb. I want someone to see the darkness in me and not try to fix me."
His fingers tighten slightly on my throat. "I don't fix broken things, Selene. I break them further."
"Good."
The woman's punishment ends.
She's dragged away, still crying.
The Boss—Wolfe—doesn't even look at her.
