Folsom (End of Men, #1)(47)
THE AGE OF WOMEN
When I look to see who wrote the article, I tell Sera to drive faster. I left Gwen for just a few hours and she’s managed to trend online.
I quickly scan the words, my heart galloping faster the longer I read. The last paragraph, in particular, makes me afraid for Gwen’s safety:
We are, in essence, nothing more than pimps whoring these men out to fulfill our cravings. It’s one thing to ask adult men to sacrifice their lives…if it were really their choice…but is it? No. They have no say in who they see or when and where they will go next. And if we allow Laticus to start his “career” as an End Man, we will become a society who not only encourages but celebrates child prostitution. Would we do this to our daughters if the situation were reversed? Who are we? And what have we become?
Holy shit.
Robin is waiting inside with a pale-faced Gwen when I walk through the door. They’re sitting on opposite sides of the room, facing each other. The air between them is tight, filled with the things just said. Gwen won’t meet my eyes, but Robin stands up straight away when she sees me.
“You have to talk sense into her,” Robin says, motioning to Gwen. “If you care about her at all, Folsom. I can’t seem to get through to her.”
“And I don’t know how you can stand idly by and watch him suffer,” Gwen responds.
Robin stands up in a flash, while Gwen jumps up and stares back with her hands on her hips. I put my hands on her waist and look back at Robin.
“Do you mind giving us a few minutes?”
Robin nods and leaves the room. I wait until I hear the front door open and close before turning back to Gwen.
“Sit down,” I say. “I need you to hear me this time.”
Gwen flushes and backs away from me, standing defiantly. I step forward and pull her against me. My fingers trace her upper lip and I bend down and lick it.
“I’ve wanted to do that ever since I left you,” I whisper in her ear.
She shivers and I spend a moment kissing her neck just to see what she’ll do.
“I’ve never had anyone defend me the way you have, and I’m begging you to stop. Another first—me begging.” I pull her by the hand and we sit on the couch facing each other. “I learned the hard way to not go against the Society. There was only one time I refused to comply with a scheduled appointment. It was a girl I grew up with, one of those cruel girls who mistreats everyone around her. I couldn’t stand her. I’d started my career as an End Man and her parents paid for my services. When I walked in her house and realized it was her I walked right back out and refused. I was forced to do eight appointments a day for three weeks as punishment.” I shake my head and grimace. “My dick was ready to fall off…”
I check to make sure she’s listening. “There was a time in my early years of being an End Man that I wanted to see one of the children. I don’t know if it was curiosity, or if I needed to feel good about what I was doing, but I broke an appointment and went to her mother’s house. Her mother’s name was Ella, and she was kind, probably too kind. She should have said no, but she didn’t. She let me see Tessa, who was three by then. I gave her a doll and she loved it. I felt really good about going—Tessa was happy and Ella was a good mother. But the Society found out about it, and within a week, they’d taken Tessa from Ella and had her relocated to another Region…and another mother. They just took her child, handed her over to some stranger to raise. They have ways of making me pay, Gwen, even if it’s through someone else. It’s only a matter of time before they figure out that I care about you. And I’m afraid of what they’ll do.”
“You think they’ll take my son?” Her eyes are big…watery.
“I think they’ll do whatever they need to do to maintain control.”
She swallows…nods…looks away.
I think the case is closed and I’ve sufficiently scared her enough to move on from this, when she clears her throat softly and says: “They’ll take him anyway, just like they did to Laticus. And I’m not going to stand by and watch that happen.”
“Focus on having a healthy baby. Finding a cure for this…this thing that’s happened to us. That’s what you can do to help.”
Her face is hard when she says, “I’ll focus on whatever I want to focus on.”
She stands up with an air of finality and moves to a different room. I feel dismissed, a chastised child. My anger flares and I want to follow after her and shake her, make her see sense. Instead, I sit calmly and pull in a breath. Gwen will have to be dealt with in another way.
I move past her and go to the bedroom, taking off my clothes and lying on the bed. I have a couple of hours before I need to be ready for tonight’s party and I feel like shit.
She comes in a few minutes later and I hear the sound of her zipper and material falling to the ground. She climbs on the bed beside me and lays her head on my chest, her leg wrapping around mine.
“Are we fighting?” she asks.
“I think maybe so.” My voice comes out gruff.
“Time out for a little while, okay?”
She slides down my body and my cock stands to attention, the way it seems to now every time she’s near. I groan when she puts her mouth on me…lose my mind. My hands find her hair and I let her win this battle.