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around her. “We need some preliminaries. Come on, little one, relax, there’s nothing to worry about. Uncle Vince is going to take care of you. You need that; you need a lot of taking care of. Remember what I told you last night? Relatives should try to make each other happy. That’s what we’re going to do. You just be a good girland we’ll have lots of fun and be very happy. And you’ll learn all about love.”
    He drew the word out until it was like a long sigh, and he smiled so sweetly that Anne swayed toward him, drawn to him, wanting to be held, wanting to be loved. Vince tightened his arms, and slowly, she let her rigid body rest against his warm, solid chest. He was not much taller than she was, in fact he was the shortest man in the family and she had always thought it bothered him, but maybe not: maybe nothing bothered Vince. He was so strong; he dominated everyone. His presence filled her room. Nobody was as strong as Vince, Anne thought. She snuggled against him and closed her eyes. She wanted to sleep there, safe and warm.
    â€œWake up,” Vince said cheerfully. He held her chin and brought her face to his and kissed her, the way he had the night before, opening her mouth wide and pushing his tongue inside. But this time, while he kissed her, he was moving his hand up and down her body. He pulled up her cotton pajama top and rolled his palms over her small breasts; he slid his hand inside her pajama pants to grasp her buttocks and probe the raw, burning flesh between her legs. Anne cried out and he took his mouth from hers.
    â€œAre you hurting there?”
    She nodded, tears in her eyes.
    â€œWell, don’t give it a thought; we’ll let it rest tonight. There’s plenty of other things we can do. Take off your pajamas, I want to see you.”
    Her hands came up and wavered.
    â€œDamn it, do what I tell you!”
    It was the voice of authority. It was the voice of all the men in her family. It was the voice of Uncle Vince, and her father always said that Vince was the strongest of all of them. Anne stopped thinking. She took off her robe and unbuttoned her pajama top, letting it fall to the bed behind her, and then pulled off her pants. They lay in a pile at her feet. She sat absolutely still, looking at her bare thighs.
    Vince took her chin again and made her look at him while he surveyed her. He brushed her tangled black hair from herforehead and ran a delicate finger from her forehead down the side of her face, down the long line of her neck, over the nipples on her tiny, hard breasts, and across her flat stomach. “Such a little girl,” he said with his sweet smile. “My amazing little girl.” He parted her legs and gazed at the swollen redness. “Poor little one, I’m too big for you. But we’re going to change that; you’ll be so proud of yourself when you see how open you’ll be for me. God, we’re going to have a hell of a time.”
    He crushed her thin body to him, then held her at arm’s length. “I have too many clothes on.”
    Anne stared at him blankly.
    â€œFor Christ’s sake,” he said, “take off my clothes.”
    Her hands came up and fumbled with the buttons on his white shirt. “Now,” he snapped. Quickly, she unbuttoned his shirt, and when he made no move to help, she pulled off one sleeve and then the other. She noticed fleetingly that his chest was as bare as hers and that he had no hair on his arms or the backs of his hands. The thought drifted through her mind that that was odd: her father’s and grandfather’s arms were covered with dark brown hair. But the thought was no more than a wispy thread and then it was gone. “Anne,” Vince said, and she realized her hands were still. She undid his belt and put her fingers on his zipper. Her heart was pounding.
    â€œGo on,” he ordered, and closing her eyes, she pulled down the zipper. He raised