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She rises, and I use the opportunity to pull her where she belongs.

I cradle her in my arms, gripping the outline of the belt beneath her trousers. Damn, why is the chastity belt so damn hot? I shouldn’t be so attracted to it, but it makes her more enticing.

“You’re right.” She sighs. “I am trying to avoid you.”

Double damn.

I lower my eyes to the floor and tilt my head. “Wanna get out of here, firefly?”

She turns to face me, keeping her body and lips close. “Tommy, I can’t. Mrs. Holly got a new shipment in. I’ll be here all night.”

I move my lips to graze her neck. “Don’t worry about Mrs. Holly; she’s taken care of.” I grab her hip before she can resist. “Come on. We’re gonna be late.”

“Tommy…what’s going on?”

I move my hands down her arms and intertwine my fingers with hers. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ll get you home in time. Mama won’t know you’re with me.”

The puzzled expression on her face is adorable as she glances at Mrs. Holly, who is pretending she’s not paying attention. “Hold on. I need to grab some food. I can’t show up at home without it; Mama will get suspicious.”

I wait a few minutes while Didi grabs a jar of honey and a few other items, keeping it low key so Mrs. Holly doesn’t notice, even though that nosey bitch is watching everything. Once Didi’s done, we sneak out the back and hop into my car.

“Where are we going?” she asks, sizing up my outfit, and finally noticing that I dressed up for her.

I put on a pair of bell-bottoms and a plaid shirt instead of my usual Zeppelin or Pink Floyd band tee I collect and my sport shorts. I even did my hair—well, kind of. I brushed it, and that counts.

“I’m going to take you on a date. A proper date. Have you ever been to a movie?”

Her eyes widen. “No.”

I lean my arm around the back of her seat. “A bunch of us are gonna meet at the drive-in. We’re gonna see Amityville Horror. It’s supposed to be epic.”

She squints at me. “I’ve never heard of it.”

Of course she hasn’t.

Her face drops. “Is it scary? It sounds scary.”

I give her my best lopsided smirk. “If it is, don’t worry, Didi. I’ll take care of you.”

“Tommy, I don’t have anything to wear. And your friends…people will see us together. I can’t deal with someone trying to drown me again.”

I swear under my breath. Part of me wants to prance her around like a trophy, the other wants to hide her forever, so she doesn’t get sucked in deeper than she already is.

“No one is going to touch you again, Didi. I’m not going to let that happen to you. I’ll kill whoever touches you.”

Truth…

Her lips part as she stares at me, her eyes narrowing like she’s trying to figure out if I’m telling the truth. That I would kill for her. We hold each other’s gaze for a second.

Something’s different, and I still can’t put my finger on it.

Remy must have sunk his claws into her. I can sense it in my gut.

I reach into the back of the car and grab my bag. “Don’t worry about clothes. I stole some from my sister. You seem like you are the same size.”

I pull out a tight top with a jean skirt. The skirt is large enough around the hips that it should hide what Didi doesn’t want anyone to see; plus, it gives me easy access to her when I need it later.

I hand them to her. “Try them on for me.”