Prologue “Don’t hurt me,” the girl sobbed, mascara-stained tears striping her cheeks. “Shhh,” he whispered in her ear, liking the sound of her heart beating against him. It had all been so easy. She had come with him just like that. Girls like her always did. The ones with the low self-esteem, the girls who sat alone in the corner of the nightclub while their friends danced in the centre of the dance floor. Men hovering around them like flies around shit. They were all shit. However, the girls in the corners were different. They would giggle as he complimented them. They weren’t used to that – it embarrassed them – but boy did they enjoy hearing what he had to say. Of course they did – no one paid them compliments – no one noticed them, they were hidden in the corner. He noticed them though, he had noticed her. She trembled before him, wishing now that she hadn’t had so much to drink. Her knees didn’t knock together because of the Smirnoff Ice the guy had plied her with. They knocked together out of fear. She had never been naked in front of anyone before – she’d never had reason to. No one had asked her to take off her clothes like he had. His voice had been soft – coaxing – as her dress fell to the floor. At first she had giggled