Despised And Devoured By My Step Father

The Predator's Shadow

Danny's POV

"Give me my book, Erica! And how the hell are you even in here?"

I didn't wait for an answer. I scrambled off the bed, my face burning with a mix of shame and pure, unadulterated rage. I moved fast, clicking the lock on my bedroom door with a sharp thud that felt way too loud in the midnight silence. I needed a barrier between us and the rest of the house, especially him.

Erica didn't flinch. She was sitting at my desk, casually flipping through the pages of my soul. She stopped at the drawing of Chadwick, her eyes tracking the charcoal lines of Chadwick’s hand on the silencer.

"Were you jerking off to our Professor, Danny?" she asked, her voice dripping with a casual, nasty curiosity. She looked up, her eyes glinting. "And why did you make him hold a gun? That’s some dark fan-fiction, even for you."

"Give it!" I hissed, lunging forward. I snatched the sketchbook out of her hands so hard the paper groaned. I clutched it to my chest, my skin crawling.

"Relax," she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I came here because I heard you left campus early. I called you like ten times, Danny. Did you seriously forget you promised to draw that biology diagram for me? I suck at drawing, and that assignment is due tomorrow morning. I am not failing because you’re having a mid-life crisis at twenty or whatever."

She stood up, her movements fluid and predatory. She walked closer, her heels clicking softly on the hardwood until she was inches away. She smelled like expensive perfume and trouble. She reached out, one sexy manicured finger pressing into my chest, pushing me backward until the back of my knees hit the mattress.

I fell back, and before I could scramble away, she climbed onto the bed, hovering over me.

"I have always wondered," she whispered, her eyes scanning my body with a clinical sort of hunger. "What a feminine boy with a lean chest like yours would actually feel like. Don't worry, Danny... your stepdad and your mum are tucked away in their rooms. They won't hear a thing."

She leaned forward, her lips inches from mine. I felt the heat of her breath, but all I could taste was the copper of my own bitten lip from the study earlier. I flinched, turning my head sharply to the side.

Erica froze. She pulled back, a sharp, mocking laugh escaping her throat. "Wow. You really are not into girls, are you?"

She got up, smoothing out her skirt as if she hadn't just tried to force a moment. "Your mum says I can spend the night since it’s so late. Show me to the guest room."

"You're crazy," I snapped, standing up and trying to stop my hands from shaking. "Get out."

"Me? Crazy?" She scoffed, her eyes landing on the sketchbook again. "You’re the one stroking your d**k for your mum’s husband. That’s some next-level taboo, Danny. You’re literally obsessed. You need professional help." She paused, her expression shifting into something more calculated. "But before then... if you don’t want me telling your stepfather about your little hobby, you are going to hook us up."

I stared at her, horrified. "What?"

"I fancy Mr. Chadwick," she said, her voice breathy. "He’s so sexy, in that I might kill you kind of way. Hook us up, or the sketchbook goes to him tonight."

I felt the bile rise in my throat. The thought of her near him, or him touching her, made my chest tighten in a way I couldn't explain. "No."

"I'll tell him, Danny. I mean it."

The walls were closing in. I looked at the door, then back at her. "Fine. Just... fine."

We walked out into the hallway, the air cool and silent. We were halfway to the guest room when a door opened.

Chadwick.

He was leaning against the frame of his doorway, his shirt completely open, exposing the hard, ridged lines of his abs and the dark hair trailing down into his slacks. He looked like he had just stepped out of a fever dream. Erica’s jaw literally dropped. She stood there, frozen, her mouth wide open like she had forgotten how to breathe.

Chadwick didn't even stop. He walked past us, his shoulder brushing mine, the scent of sandalwood hitting me like a physical blow. He glanced at Erica for a split second, a dark, arrogant smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Don't make it that obvious," he murmured, his voice a low, lethal purr. "Keep your mouth shut."

He disappeared down the stairs, leaving us in the heavy silence of the hall. Erica turned to me, her eyes blown wide with lust. "You better hook us up, Danny. Seriously. He is sooo my type."

I didn't answer. I shoved her into the guest room and retreated to my own, locking the door and leaning against it until my heart slowed down.

But it didn't stay quiet for long.

An hour later, a sound pulled me from the edge of sleep. Thud. Thud. Thud. Fast, heavy footsteps outside.

I crept to the window, pulling the curtain back just a fraction. My blood turned to ice. Down in the compound, four men dressed in solid black, like armed robbers, were rummaging through the shadows. They weren't hiding. They were holding tactical rifles, their movements synchronized and professional.

They were heading straight to our compound. With a predatory look on their faces like they were here to murder someone.