my expression. While I’ve experienced his horrific behavior, up close and personal, I can’t imagine being used that way by my own father. He didn’t touch her sexually, but he may as well have. I know all too well how painful it is to have your own body used against you.
“His corrective lessons are the reason you’re here, and it’s all my fault,” Farren continues. “If he hadn’t caught me touching myself to girl-on-girl porn and kissing another girl, this would never have happened. I knew he wouldn’t approve, but I didn’t realize he would react so viciously to the knowledge I’m into women. I’d have taken more care to keep it a secret if I’d known.”
“It’s not your fault,” I whisper.
Despite being the victim of her father’s physical cruelty, I mean those words, and for some reason, I’m not surprised by my own sincerity. Almost inexplicably, I don’t blame her for this.
“It is my fault. Don’t try to convince me otherwise when I have to watch how he touches you, knowing he’s using you as a learning tool. I would never dream of violating you the way he does.”
I’m struck with the sudden need to comfort her, and I reach through the bars to touch her hand again. I can’t see in the darkness, and my heart thuds heavily when my fingers brush against soft hair and skin, but I don’t pull back. Curiosity has me stretching forward, and I trace the smooth outline of her face, stroking lightly across her damp cheeks and the curve of her lips that I can feel are pressed lightly together. They part beneath my fingers, and her warm breath blows against them.
“Don’t cry,” I murmur, and I can feel her lips close and quirk up into a tiny smile before slowly puckering against my fingers in a gentle kiss.
My breath catches, and even though I can’t see her, I stare at where I know she is on the other side of the bars. Warmth spreads through me, and I’m suddenly overcome with the strongest urge to see how her lips would feel against mine. Without realizing I’ve unconsciously moved closer to her, I place my palm flat against her damp cheek and turn her face toward me. I hold my breath, and leaning forward, I press my mouth against hers in a light kiss, wishing for the millionth time I wasn’t trapped in this cage. The cold bars against my shoulders make me shiver when I reach through to stroke her hair as our lips move together.
I pull away, suddenly uncertain, but her hand stops me in my tracks, and I sit perfectly still while she touches my face, tracing my features like I did hers. We’re both lost in a darkness that’s choking the light from us, so when a traitorous little spark of hope flickers back to life, I haven’t got it in me to smother it.
Chapter Ten
Farren
Even though she’s pulled away from me, I can still feel where her lips have been; my skin is left tingling in their absence. I reach through the bars, groping in the darkness to find her so I can pull her back to me and feel her again. My fingers brush against the woolen material covering her, and I smile because it’s almost like I’m wrapped around her. I have to stretch to grasp hold of her, and the bars dig into my cheeks and chest, but I manage to get a grip on her and bring her toward me.
“Come here,” I whisper, and when I feel her warm breath on my face, I lift my hands until I’m cupping her jaw.
She doesn’t speak, but her shallow pants match mine, and an urgency takes over me. I press my head against the bars, and bringing her face to mine, I recapture her lips. They’re slightly chapped and the dry skin scrapes against mine when they move, but I don’t care. All that matters is holding and kissing her. It’s tricky with the bars in the way, but I manage to get my arms around her and bring her as near to me as I can.
I’m surprised when she shuffles even closer and wraps her arms around me too. We’ve both been broken in very different ways by the same cruel man, and this may be the only comfort we ever give or receive again. We may never be able to truly touch, and there’s a good chance one of us will be murdered