Deccan (Springfield Sinners #1)

6. Chapter Four

CHAPTER FOUR

ECHO

H er whole body stilled once again. Her skin wasn’t crawling. Was she ever going to get used to that, or would it shock her until the day she died? Echo didn’t know how to feel about it. It was so conflicting.

On one hand, she loved knowing someone could touch her and her skin wouldn’t crawl. But on the other, it was Deccan. Did she really want it to be him?

Yes . her mind told her.

She shook her head. No, she didn’t. She shouldn’t.

“Answer Daddy’s question,” he whispered.

She felt at home in his arms. Safe, comfortable, secure, like nothing could hurt her.

Was she going insane? Should she feel like this? Did she need to go talk to a psychiatrist about everything? Who would she even be able to talk to who wouldn’t blab?

There were so many questions running through her head. Would they ever be answered?

“Little Bit, answer Daddy’s question.” He pulled her out of her thoughts.

“Are you possessing me?” Echo breathed, looking down at the ground.

He had to be somehow to be able to touch her. That was the only logical explanation.

“What do you mean?” Deccan asked.

“My skin isn't crawling,” she mumbled, trying to make sense of it.

But there was no making any sense of it. He had touched her a handful of times now, and each time, her skin didn’t tingle and crawl like normal. She hadn’t needed to take a hot shower to get rid of the sensation.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Now, answer Daddy’s question. Did you eat before you left?”

She didn’t know why he cared so much. It was just food, something she could probably go without for a meal or two.

“Little Bit. I don’t like repeating myself. Did you eat?”

And yet he had repeated himself several times. Was he just saying that?

“Yes,” she sighed.

He was going to continue to ask until she answered. Might as well put him out of his misery.

“Good girl.”

That pulled Echo right out of whatever trance he had her in. Pushing against his arms, she tried to get out.

“Are your arms made of steel?” she screeched. “Let go of me!”

His arms just tightened. “No.”

“No, your arms aren’t made out of steel, or no, you aren’t going to let me go?”

He growled. “I’m not going to let go of what belongs to me.”

“What belongs to you?” Echo was enraged.

“Yes, what belongs to me. I can hold what belongs to me at any point. No one is going to stop me.”

“I’m not your property!” Echo yelled, clawing at his arms.

Deccan just continued to hold her against his chest. Bending, she latched onto his arm with her teeth and bit down hard. Deccan immediately let her go, and she turned, angry.

“I’m not some fucking property! I am a human being who is her own person! I am my own person. My own boss. My own fucking boss. You don’t own me!” Her chest rose rapidly with each breath.

Deccan just smirked.

“Don’t you fucking smirk. You aren’t the boss of me. You don’t give me fucking rules. You don’t get to do fucking anything. I don’t know you!”

His eyes narrowed on her. “Watch your mouth.”

“I don’t fucking think I will,” she emphasized to prove a point. “I am my own boss, my own person.”

She didn’t belong to him.

“Are you sure about that?” he asked.

Was she sure about being her own person? Was he really asking that?

“Of course I’m fucking sure! I’m my own boss. I’ve been my own boss for fourteen years!”

“Watch that mouth, or I’ll put you over my lap right now and spank your bottom,” he growled.

Echo’s eyes went wide. She knew he was serious. If he spanked her at three in the morning on the sidewalk, what was to stop him from spanking her in the middle of the day?

Did she want that? Echo had thought back to the spanking several times, getting turned on each time. Would it be the same for this situation?

“I am sure that I’m my own boss, my own person who isn’t owned by anyone. I’m not some piece of property you can claim. I’ve been my own boss for fourteen years or more!” She raised her voice toward the end.

Deccan smiled. “Good luck. Sooner or later, you’re going to realize that you are mine, that you belong to me.”

She scoffed. “Yeah, right. When pigs fly, that’ll be the day I realize I belong to you.”

“I can arrange that.”

“Newsflash! No. By the time pigs fly, I’ll be dead. I’m never going to be yours. Never . Do I need to spell that out for you?”

He glared at her.

“I’m never going to be yours. Just accept it and stop stalking me.”

“Not stalking, just keeping you safe.”

“Right, I’ve heard that one before.” She rolled her eyes.

His face softened, and hetook a step forward, opening his mouth, but Echo held her hand up.

“I need to go. My shift starts soon; I don’t want to be late,” she sighed.

“Lies. You don’t work the day after you have a shift at the bar,” he pointed out.

“Okay, you caught me. I lied. It’s actually a class I’m taking, a knife-throwing class. So please, I’m leaving now. I’ve paid, and I don’t want to miss out on it. I’ve been looking forward to it for a while.”

“You aren’t doing it,” he growled. “It’s too dangerous; you could get hurt.”

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Watch. Me.”

“Little Bit,” he growled. “I forbid you from going to it.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, like you can forbid me from doing anything. You aren’t the boss of me, remember?”

Before he could do anything, Echo blew him a kiss and walked off. She wasn’t going to let him get in the way of her doing what she wanted to. Taking this class had been on her list for a while, and she was determined to do it.

The further she got away from Deccan, the more she could think about things. Echo couldn’t deny that him demanding she was his turned her on. She had fantasized about a man doing that to her in real life.

Echo wanted to be a puddle in his arms after he said it, but she couldn’t. There were too many red flags right in front of her when it came to Deccan.

Too many to ignore.

But at the same time, she could ignore them and be perfectly happy. He wanted to be her Daddy, protect her, cherish her. What was wrong with that?

Nothing .

There was absolutely nothing wrong with that.

It was something Echo had wanted her whole life. Could she ignore every red flag for the rest of her life? Would he be loyal to her if she got with him?

A headache formed in her head, and she groaned. She needed to stop thinking about this, or it was going to get worse.

Turning to the building, she grabbed onto the handle and turned toward Deccan. She winked at him, and he scowled back, but that didn't stop her. Satisfaction filled her as she turned around and stepped into the building. He wasn’t going to hold her back.

“Welcome to knife-throwing 101!”