FaCade (Deception #1) by Ker Dukey, D.H. Sidebottom Read Free Book Online Page A

guess at something like that?”
    “I dunno. Do you feel married?” she repeated, ignoring my bewilderment.
    I sighed and searched deep inside. I pulled at my heart, asking it if it was full or empty. It felt stupid but she was right, something was there, something that felt like someone owned it, someone filled it. “Well, I’m not sure if I’m married but…”
    “But?”
    “But it feels like my heart is happy. Does that make sense?”
    Her face darkened slightly as her eyes narrowed. However, she smiled and nodded. “Yes, that makes perfect sense.”
    I smiled at her, feeling lighter. Someone out there cared for me, made me happy. And through all the darkness that suffocated me, that little bit of knowledge made it almost more bearable in there.
    “What’s… your favorite color?”
    I closed my eyes, blowing out a puff of air. I ran the colors through my mind and smiled. “Yellow.”
    Excitement bubbled through me. They were only small things but they were still parts of me I now knew. “And I like savory more than I like sweet.”
    Maria tilted her head in question. “Yeah?”
    “Yes! I can tell from how my mouth waters when I think of certain foods. Oh my God, thank you…”
    She stiffened, her face tightening when the door opened and the man who seemed to lead everyone else stormed in. “I’m sorry, Mr Troy. I didn’t mean to…”
    I stared at his angry face, his teeth sheathed behind his taut lips as I shuffled backwards on the bed until my back thudded against the wall. I couldn’t understand why he was angry. But he was – very. She called him Mr Troy. How did she know his name?
    “We were just talking,” I said, worry for Maria causing me to be open and quite rude.
    He nodded and smirked at me but then turned back to Maria. “Get out!”
    She gawped at him, her head shaking from side to side. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
    “GET OUT!”
    She scrambled off the bed, her ankles twisting beneath her as she attempted to remove herself from the room as quickly as possible.
    He turned to me, his stare hard and cold, his narrow eyes dark and haunting. “Care to indulge?”
    I frowned. “I’m sorry? Indulge what?”
    He stood still, watching me with a callous expression. “Get up!”
    “Make your damn mind up,” I spat out. Fuck him and his frequent demands.
    I squealed, bringing my hands up to my head when he seized a section of my hair and yanked me upright. My face flung to the side when the back of his hand connected with my cheekbone. I fell sideways when he hit me again, my head banging on the side of the bed. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” I shouted as I wiped the blood from my lip.
    “You think remembering will help you out of here?”
    I shook my head. “No, I was… God, I don’t know what I was doing but it was good to… to feel again.”
    “You need to feel, Belle? Huh?”
    What the hell was his problem?
    His fingers circled my throat, his grip tight but not choking. Lifting me upright, I gasped when my back slammed against the wall. He was an inch from me, his breath hot on my face. I shivered, my body locking up when he reached further and ran his tongue down the side of my face. Pushing his hips against me, his hard erection told me this scene was turning him on.
    Everything was confusing. How could hitting a woman be a turn on? How could drawing blood from someone be an aphrodisiac?
    “Who are you? Why are you doing this?” I whispered as fear rendered me frozen between him and the wall.
    He slid the tip of his nose along my jaw, his deep inhalations causing a ripple effect through my body, a deep throb heating my lower belly. His teeth flanked my bottom lip, his eyes securing mine as he bit gently, stunning me as the effect triggered a reaction in my body I didn’t like. “You feel me now, Star?”
    I nodded, unable to form words as my body blazed in a heat I struggled to douse. Tears formed in my eyes as mortification ran deep.
    His fists grabbed at my gown,