Frankie just nods, perhaps intuiting that I’m in a mood. When I’m finished, I turn sharply towards the stairs and start towards them. “You gonna eat that in bed, Iris?” he calls. “No,” I call back over my shoulder, moving swiftly before I lose my nerve. “I’m not hungry.” If Frankie has anythin

I stay still, still looking hard at him, waiting for this to get better. “Lucy is well aware,” Christian continues, “that when she lost Tony, she lost her tie to this family. If she wants to stay under our protection she…needs a new one. Her offer to me – to become…a woman whose company I…enjoy…”

“I did,” he says, leaning against the counter, still watching me. “What, do you have a problem with it?” “I just prefer a darker roast is all,” I murmur, stepping a little closer and standing up on my toes as I pull open the cabinet where I located the coffee yesterday, wondering if I can just…acc

“That’s right, little slut,” he murmurs, groping me with abandon while he holds me tight. “This is how you should be anyway – not some jumped up little donna who caught my little brother in some kind of sexual haze – just a pretty face, here to do whatever I want her to do –“ I moan in fear and mo

I grab for the handle, twisting, pulling the door open – But it hits on something. A deadlock. I twist again, pulling hard, but it doesn’t budge. And I cry out, bending down, trying to fiddle with the lock but it doesn’t give – doesn’t move. I’m still wondering what happened to it when the rea