Patrick sneered at her. “I’ll enjoy taking your virginity, and Madison’s, too, and leaving the mess for your mother to clean up. You can ask her how it feels; she knows firsthand. It’s your destiny. A whore, just like her.”

“Kill. Him,” Ashlynn ground out, never looking away from Patrick. “Or let me do it.”

One shot.

That was all it took.

At Max’s request, Leyton had grabbed some of Ashlynn’s clothes from her closet and carried them to the guest bedroom down the hall. It had taken a little more effort to get Ashlynn to come with him, but eventually Leyton convinced her and then herded her into the bathroom, telling her to take a shower. She hadn’t relented until he’d promised he wouldn’t leave.

So he’d stayed, standing in the far corner, staring out the window at the seemingly ignorant people down by the pool. They were smiling and laughing, some playing in the water, others chatting it up near the elaborate outdoor kitchen, where hot dogs were being grilled.

No one seemed to realize that the stench of death was permeating the walls of the house.

Patrick was dead and Max was dealing with that. Undoubtedly there would be fallout that came along with the cleanup, but Leyton couldn’t say he was disappointed. He still couldn’t believe what they’d walked in on. He’d known something was wrong when Samuel had returned to the living room but his attention had continued to stray to the stairs. When Max had asked where Ashlynn was, Samuel had insisted Max stay out of it.

When Max had taken off, Leyton had been right behind him, bounding up the stairs when Ashlynn’s tormented scream echoed down the hall. And that was when the world had come to a jarring halt—the instant they’d stepped into Ashlynn’s bedroom to find her being held down by her fucking uncle.

The sick fucker had been planning to rape his own niece. What kind of person did that?

The thought made him want to throw up.

He heard the bathroom door open and he turned. Ashlynn appeared, wearing a long-sleeve shirt and pajama pants, her dark hair wet, her eyes red and puffy from crying.

“You okay?” He knew it was a stupid question, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say.

She shook her head.

“Can I get you something?” he asked.

Another head shake.

Leyton was at a loss. He had no idea what to do next, but he knew he couldn’t leave her. She looked so lost, so confused, and he didn’t have to guess why. Not only had her own family member been planning to do something so unthinkable, so horrific, but she’d watched as her brother had shot and killed him. It reminded Leyton of the day Max had killed Carl at Leyton’s insistence. Strange how it hadn’t affected him any differently. Watching a person die, a person as vile as those two… Leyton didn’t harbor an ounce of remorse for either of them.

“Will you hold me?” Ashlynn asked, and Leyton realized she’d come to stand in front of him.

“Uhh…” He didn’t know how to answer that. He still vividly remembered the day Ashlynn had kissed him, right there in this very room. He’d been sixteen at the time, her thirteen. It had seemed so wrong yet so right at the same time. Somehow, Leyton had managed to push her away. That hadn’t stopped him from thinking about that sweet, perfect kiss.

Ashlynn must’ve taken his confusion as a yes, because she took his hand, pulling him until he got with the program. He followed her as she moved to the bed, and he hoped like hell she didn’t feel his hand shaking. Her touch… Just that little bit did something strange to him, something that he wasn’t willing to acknowledge.

She was fifteen fucking years old, for chrissakes. He was eighteen.

He might not have many morals, but that … being with someone so young, so inexperienced… Leyton couldn’t fathom it.

When Ashlynn crawled onto the bed and looked at him expectantly, Leyton simply stared back at her. Not sure what to do, he finally sat down, putting his back to the headboard. Ashlynn then pressed up against his side, her head on his chest, and he wrapped one arm around her.

It was then that she let go, sobbing uncontrollably while he held her.

He had no idea how long they remained like that, but Leyton wouldn’t have complained if he’d had to sit right there for the rest of his life. The room eventually grew dark, but no one came in to bother them, and Leyton couldn’t bring himself to get up although he knew she was asleep.

It was then that he suspected his affections for Ashlynn—though she was far too young for him—weren’t entirely unselfish. But he vowed to keep that to himself.

After all, what other choice did he have?

Chapter Fourteen

There’s no harm in watching. Right?

Present day

Thursday, November 5 th

Leyton swallowed hard, forcing back the lump that had formed in his throat when he’d gotten an eyeful of Ashlynn’s delectable bare pussy. He’d always known the woman had a centerfold body. Big, beautiful tits, a ripe, round ass, and legs that went on for fucking miles… Curvy in all the right places. Although he’d seen her in various states of dress (and undress) over the years, even watched her fuck Jase in the VIP room, he’d never had an unobstructed view of that sweet spot until now. And he couldn’t fucking look away.

And there definitely wasn’t a damn thing in his way at the moment. As she sat on Jase’s lap, Ashlynn had placed her heels on the edge of the cushions, spreading her legs wide. He couldn’t look away from the glistening pink folds of her pussy. He had to rest his drink on the arm of the sofa or risk dropping the damn thing.

“Do you like me in this position?” she asked.

It was obvious that Ashlynn was drunk, but he knew her well enough to know she would’ve done the same thing had she been sober. It seemed to be her mission in life to drive him fucking crazy with lust. He wasn’t sure she could do much more than she was now, her legs spread, Jase’s tanned hands cupping her gorgeous tits, squeezing them while he pinched her small pinkish-brown nipples.

“Would you prefer I touch myself?” Ashlynn asked, apparently not needing him to participate in the conversation. Which was a good thing, because he didn’t think he’d be able to find his voice.

When her fingers slid between her legs, separating her labia and giving him an even better view of her, he thought he would swallow his tongue. He damn near did when she began circling her clit with her middle finger.

“You haven’t stopped me yet,” Ashlynn said, “so I’ll take that to mean you want me to continue.”

He should’ve told her to stop. Hell, he should’ve gotten up and left the room, but he fucking couldn’t move, couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe for wanting her.

The only question that came to mind was whether or not Max would kill him if he found out Leyton had a front-row seat to her masturbating. Max had said he couldn’t touch her, which he wasn’t. He’d said he couldn’t fuck her, which he wasn’t. But Max had never once said Leyton couldn’t watch her.

His dick throbbed painfully, but he didn’t give it the attention it craved. Instead, he continued to observe as she slipped one red-tipped finger into her pussy, her eyes locked on him.

“It’s so much better when Jase uses his fingers,” Ashlynn said as she fucked herself a few times. “But maybe you should be the judge of that.”

Ashlynn retrieved Jase’s hand from her tit and pushed it between her legs. Leyton watched as Jase’s thick finger grazed her wet lips a few times, then disappeared inside her body. Okay, so he was on the fence on which was better. They were both hot.