Free My Russian Nightmare by Danielle Sibarium Page B

you,” he says, brushing his thumb across my bottom lip, his voice little more than a whisper, “I might not be able to stop.”
    I take a deep breath, filling my chest with air so he feels my breasts against him. “Who says I’ll want you to?”
    One hand snakes around my waist and pulls me hard, holds me tight, crushes me against him. I suck in a breath, afraid, excited, buzzing from the thrill of what’s going to come next.
    This time, I don’t try to break away. Instead, I stand on my tiptoes, interlock my fingers at the back of his neck, and press against him harder, closer.
    “I want you so bad, Kiera, but it would be wrong,” his words are soft, his voice low.
    I shake my head, barely able to speak. “It’s not wrong. It’s what I want.”
    He doesn’t say anything. He continues to stare at me. The tension between us is thick and heavy and full of sexual need.
    “Think about it.” I don’t know if my being so forward will turn him off. I’ve never asked a man for his attention. If anything, I’ve become a pro at deflecting and ignoring them. “If you can’t get me out of here in time, what happens?”
    His whole body tenses up. He’s stiff and rigid. He turns his head so he doesn’t have to look at me. I move my trembling hand up to his cheek and force him to look in my eyes again. Once he does, I’m lost, falling deeper and deeper into the abyss that’s Dante.
    “I don’t want to think about it.”
    “Tell me. I need to hear it.”
    “They’re going to force you to have sex with them.”
    “You mean rape me?” I can’t believe we’re discussing this calmly, as if it’s something that happens all the time and not a fucked-up, life-altering event. Like they’ll just take turns fucking me while I scream and cry, and then we’ll all go out for ice cream.
    “It’s what they do, sort of like an initiation ceremony.” A chill runs up my spine, and he holds me closer if it’s at all possible. “And then they’ll drug you, keep you high so you don’t try to escape. They’ll hook you on all sorts of shit — heroine, coke, Oxycodone. They’ll make you so dependent on them you’ll be willing to do anything for your next fix. And that’s when they’ll start pimping you out.”
    I take a moment to let his words sink in and contemplate the future these animals have laid out for me. I swallow hard, unsure I can get the words to leave my mouth.
    “Please, Dante. I need you to help me.”
    He cups my cheek and pulls his bottom lip between his teeth before speaking.  “I’m trying.” He closes his eyes. “I have something in the works.”
    “That’s not what I mean. I don’t want my first time to be like that. I want it to be with you.”
    “First time?” he whispers as a look of horror settles on his face. “It can’t be your first time.” His hungry eyes look me over. “Look at you. You’re so beautiful.”
    I shrug. “One thing has nothing to do with the other. They’re mutually exclusive.”
    “That’s not what I mean. It’s just, don’t you have a boyfriend? What a stupid question. I expect you have lots of boyfriends.”
    “No. I don’t date much.” I force a smile to lighten the oppressive air surrounding us, but I’m sure it looks as phony as it feels. “It’s a side effect of having a very overbearing brother. Besides, I’ve never met anyone I wanted to be with like that.” I pause for a beat. “Until now.”
    “Shit!”
    Most definitely not the reaction I had hoped for. My heart sinks. I wish I could stomp on it until it stops beating and end the sting and humiliation of rejection. He closes his eyes and moves his hand to the back of my neck. His lips are mere centimeters from mine.
    Kiss me! Kiss me! I scream in my mind. He doesn’t. He pulls back a little.
    “Fuck, Kiera!” His whole body sags. “If they find out you’re a virgin, it’ll speed things up, and I need to delay everything as long as possible. We need to give Sammy a chance to