Chapter 5 WHAT SHOULD I DO

My body jerked, startled, but the heavy ache between my legs only worsened.

I stumbled to my feet, dragging my nightdress down, but my thighs were sticky, my panties ruined, and I couldn't hide the way my body reacted.

Then I made the mistake of looking down.

My breath caught painfully.

His arousal strained against his pants, thick and hard, resting boldly along his thigh. There was no denying it. He was hard because of me-because of my gasps, my squirming, my exposed body.

And he wanted me to see it.

He moved his hand, deliberately giving me an unobstructed view. My lips trembled, parted in shock, but the fire between my legs only grew worse, my walls clenching around nothing.

When I forced my gaze up to his face, I met eyes darkened with desire, glinting with hunger and raw dominance. His smirk was slow and filthy, dripping with satisfaction.

Then he turned away, leaving me throbbing, breathless, and aching.

I ran to the door, my body still hot, my thighs pressed tight, and my core soaked in a way I didn't understand. I almost bumped into Macheno, but I didn't stop. I couldn't look at anyone. My skin still felt like it burned from his touch, and my body wanted something dirty I could never say out loud.

Almost an hour passed, but my body stayed restless. My skin stayed hot, my thighs stayed squeezed together, and my stomach felt tight with a need that scared me. I laid there in the dark, holding my sheets tight while my mind refused to calm down. My heart raced, my chest moved in quick gasps, and my thoughts kept dragging me back to that office... back to him.

I had never been kissed, never had a boyfriend, never been hugged by a boy. But now, my whole body felt like it had been claimed by something sinful. No man ever dared to come close to me. Everyone saw me as the Devil's daughter. Pure. Untouched. Innocent.

But after tonight, could I still call myself innocent?

I bit my lip, trying to make the heat between my legs go away. I had read dirty books and seen sinful videos. I knew what desire looked like. I had seen it with my own eyes. I had stared straight at his thick, hard cock pressing through his expensive pants, shameless and bold.

I shivered just thinking about it. Out of all the cruel things my stepfather had done, this one stayed in my head the most. He didn't need to say anything. His silence messed me up more than any punishment ever could.

The Devil didn't need to yell. He made you weak by making you think, by making you imagine, by making you want. His cold, silver-blue eyes twisted me up inside, filling my head with dirty, forbidden thoughts. He had always scared me, but tonight... he made me feel something else.

His blood daughters always stayed away from him, always quiet, always hidden in this house. But me? He always looked at me like I belonged to him. I didn't know if I wanted to run away or crawl into his lap and beg him to keep going.

I needed a distraction. I needed someone to talk to before I went crazy.

I grabbed my phone and called the only person who ever made me feel normal-Mayia.

Her beautiful face lit up my screen. "Sevo," I whispered, my voice shaky, but my lips curved into a grin.

"Nessa, you look so cute even this late," Mayia teased, pouting adorably. "Look at me, I look like I fought a tornado."

We had been friends for years, soulmates even, though we had never met. She lived hours away, but she knew me better than anyone else. She was my safe place.

"I... I need to tell you something, and it's bad," I said quickly before fear could hold me back.

Mayia's pretty green eyes widened. "Oh my God... wait, don't tell me... a boy kissed you?"

I shook my head.

"Someone confessed?" she guessed again, but I shook my head harder.

She gasped playfully. "That creepy math teacher finally made a move?"

That one earned a laugh from me, but I knew it wasn't that simple.

"May... I..." My fingers curled around the edge of my nightgown, my voice dropping. "My stepdad... the Devil... he called me to his office tonight because I got caught flirting with a boy and..." My throat went dry, and I almost didn't continue.

May leaned in closer, her grin widening, her brows dancing. "Don't stop now."

I swallowed. "He didn't spank me, May. He-he started rubbing my ass... touching me... like... slow... soft touches, and... he almost pulled my panties off. If someone hadn't knocked, I don't know what would have happened."

May's jaw dropped. Her hand flew to her chest. "Girl... that sounds exactly like that scene from Specific Taste... Domino and Isobel... remember?"

A shiver ran down my spine at the comparison. Specific Taste was one of our filthiest reads-Domino, the dominant older man who introduced young, untouched Isobel to the world of raw, dangerous lust.

My core pulsed just thinking about it.

But this wasn't fiction.

This was real. And it was wrong.

"The Devil and I aren't lovers," I said weakly, my thighs clenching together as my core throbbed with traitorous need. "I would never think of him that way... "

"That's not even the worst part," I admitted, feeling my throat tighten as the memory replayed in my head. "When I heard the knock, I stood up, fixed my nightdress, and looked at him... just to see if he was mad or something... but what I saw-May, you won't believe it."

May leaned forward, eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Girl, spit it out already! You're killing me with suspense."

I took a deep breath, heat flooding my cheeks as I whispered, "I... I saw a bulge. Like, full on... thick and impossible to miss. It was right there, pressing against his pants, bold as ever... like it wanted me to notice. And it wasn't just my imagination... I swear, he was at least half hard. It was... big, May... so big."

May's jaw dropped, but then her expression twisted into a grimace. "Ewwweee!"

That... wasn't the reaction I expected. My brows scrunched together. "Wait... ewweee? Why ewweee?"

May shrugged, waving her hand. "Well... he's your stepdad, so I just pictured an old, balding man with a huge beer belly. You know, the typical gross old creep."

My mouth fell open. I almost laughed in disbelief. She could not have been more wrong.

I shook my head quickly. "No... not even close," I muttered, probably sounding more defensive than I meant to.

May raised a brow, grinning slyly. "Okay... now I need to see this so-called Devil of yours. Send me a picture. I need to know what this scandal looks like."

"Fine... hold on," I said, already pulling out my browser. I didn't have personal pictures of him, but it wasn't hard to find. His photos were plastered all over the internet. I picked a few-one where he wore his signature tailored black suit, another in his crisp grey three-piece, and the last... his old military uniform, looking every bit the brutal, feared General. He didn't serve anymore, but his name still carried weight.

I sent the pictures, and within seconds, May's high-pitched squeals echoed through the phone speaker.

"Oh. My. God... no... no... no! Nessa, are you kidding me?! This man cannot be your stepfather. This... this is the literal definition of sin on legs! This is the man I imagine when I read about Nellie in Tarlia's series!"

My jaw clenched. Nellie... my Nellie. My fictional obsession. My filthy fantasy man.

And now she compared him... to my stepfather.

"No," I whispered, shaking my head in pure denial.

May didn't stop there. She adjusted her posture, pretending to be some CEO giving a corporate verdict. "Alright, here's my conclusion," she said, lips pursed. "Your Devil daddy is one-hundred percent attracted to you. I mean-he got hard while touching your ass, Nessa. That's not even a question."

My heart jumped to my throat. My hands tightened into fists.

"No! That's insane, May!" I cried. "He's my stepfather-he's married to my mother! He's just... always watching... but it's not... it can't be like that."

May just smirked, far too calm for my liking. "You keep telling yourself that, baby girl... but your body saw the truth first."

I shook my head harder, voice cracking, "What do I do, May? What the hell am I supposed to do with this?!"