marks on her arm and glares at me.
"Now look what you did! You hurt me..."
"You hurt yourself," I reply firmly. "And you keep doing it, Pandora, because you aren't fucking listening to me."
"I don't want to listen to anyone!" Her voice is getting louder and louder. I can tell she's scared, upset and angry, and I'm just waiting for her to break down now so I can pick up the pieces. "I want my son back! I want Reign here with me!"
"We're doing everything we can," I growl.
"Not enough!" She starts slamming her little fists against my chest, over and over again. "It's not enough, Dexter, it's not enough..."
"It will have to be." I grab her by the wrists, preventing her from hitting me again. "Look at yourself, Pandora. You're a goddamn mess."
"How do you expect anything else?" She's blubbering now, not even fighting back the tears anymore. "You can't imagine the pain of this, of losing a child."
"How can you say that?" I pull her against me, her body crashing into mine fiercely. "How can you say I don't understand? I lost something too."
"You don't know if he's your son."
"He is," I insist. "Do you want to stay with me?"
She stares into my eyes stubbornly before giving a barely perceptible nod.
"Then he's my son. And this hurts me, too, Pandora. But what hurts more is losing you. Watching you drift away. I need you back here with me so we can fight this together, do you understand? Your calling isn't over yet. You're the only one that can change Eden Falls. Don't you want Reign growing up in a better place?"
By her bottom lip wobbling I can tell she's about to fight me again, so I press a finger against her lips before she can speak up.
"Think about it, Pandora. You can change this place. You can change everything."
"But the pain is t-too much," she finally stutters. "It hurts too much, Dex, I can't focus on anything else. It's like there's a hole and I can never fill it. It hurts so bad..."
"Then we'll give you something else to occupy your mind," I insist firmly. "A new hobby? A new job?"
She shakes her head and I pull her closer again.
"You want to forget the pain?" I ask. Her eyes meet mine and she nods. "You want it gone? Replaced? You want to forget about Reign, just for a moment?"
She nods again.
"You understand what you're signing up for?"
"Anything," she breathes.
"Anything?"
"Anything to take the pain away," Pandora whispers. "Even if it's just for a little while."
"Good." I turn her over in my arms so she's got her back pressed up against my front, and she gasps. "My office. Go."
I push her forward and she stumbles, glaring at me. But her gaze soon fills with interest, and without saying another word, she walks down the hallway into my office. I pull out my chair and order her to strip naked.
"Now?"
"Now," I demand. "And do it slowly, put on a show for me. I want to enjoy this."
I'd thought she'd be more against doing sexual stuff, but from the way her eyes burn with silent fire, I know she needs this just as much as I do. Pandora looks right into my eyes as she pulls her dress off. Her body is frail and tiny. She has barely been eating since we got back, and her ribcage is showing through the skin. It's worrying.
I force myself to ignore it, deal with it later. Instead, I tap my knee, telling her to come closer.
Next, she takes her underwear off. I notice she's shaved her pussy, but I don't comment on it. I keep my eyes focused on her as she moves toward me.
She approaches me slowly, but from the breath she's holding I know she's excited. She wants this. For once, I don't have an unwilling toy on my hands.
"Crawl," I demand.
She flushes furiously but doesn't object. Pandora drops to her knees and crawls to me.
"Lay down," I order. She positions herself over my lap, just like I wanted. Her ass is in front of me, smaller than it used to be but just as juicy. The urge to hurt her spikes my heartbeat and I smirk to myself. I'm going to make her forget. I'm going to make her mine again. "That's right. Let me see that pretty little body."
I inspect her, knowing she's blushing as my fingertips gently glide over every inch of her sensitive skin. She's beautiful. Painfully thin but beautiful