“Yes, Alina, abuse,” Vance replies with a snarl. “The way he chokes her until her face turns red and she’s about to pass out, but he thinks it’s sexy to tell her to play with herself while he does it. That’s abusive. A few chapters later, he ties a belt around her neck and holds the end of it while he fucks her hard and rough, using the other end of the belt like it’s a freaking leash. The poor girl is about to be strangled to death, but he thinks it’s hot, so whatever. How do you even read this shit? I read a scene where he slaps her across the face over and over, making her face red and her cheek swollen, but the girl somehow manages to have an orgasm while being slapped. I mean, come on! This stuff isn’t even based in reality. No one would actually come that way. It’s like it was written by a violent, perverted man who likes to hurt women for his own sick and twisted pleasure. It’s gross, and I’m very alarmed that you would even want to read this. Nathan Booker seems like he should be locked up very far away from women if this is what he thinks is sexy. This is mommy porn with a dark and abusive twist. It’s sexual violence, and I demand to know why you think it’s okay to read this. Do you actually enjoy this shit?”

“First of all, spoilers! Secondly, yes I do,” I shout, surprising myself. “You are unbelievable, you know that? You’re so fucking close-minded and judgmental, and I can’t believe I didn’t see it before. It’s just a fucking book, Vance. It’s fiction. None of that stuff actually happened, but you know what—it does happen to some people, and it sounds fucking amazing!”

Vance lets outs an exaggerated gasp that makes me frown. “It sounds amazing? You want me to do this type of stuff to you. That’s why you asked me to slap and choke you last night. You like this.”

My heart is about to explode from how fast it’s pumping, but keeping everything bottled up is making me feel like a stick of dynamite with a lit fuse. I have to let it out, and if I can’t do it with the man I’ve been dating for seven months, then I can’t do it with anyone. Fuck it. I squeeze my eyes shut, and when they open, it’s the darkness who’s calling the shots.