Violet’s P.O.V.I found the answer to Hael’s question easily enough.Alpha Xavier was taking in an extra eight hundred thousand a month, which totaled to almost ten million dollars yearly. The sheer number of zeros on the screen had made my mouth go dry and my vision blur.That was life changing amounts of money, and it was all going to one person.Why?As much as I wanted to know the answer, I couldn’t stop myself from avoiding Hael the following day. Tuesday came and went without one sighting of his dark hair and eyes that seemed to track my every breath.What he said in the empty classroom on Monday still rang in my head.You’ve ruined me. The hunger in his voice made it sound like he almost liked me. Like this thing between us wasn’t just so he could get his rocks off and torment me at the same time. It was a dangerous line to tread on, and I couldn’t allow myself to become swept away in his allure.No, I needed to protect myself.Hael hunted me down on Wednesday when I left my a
Hael’s P.O.V.The break I took to get Violet out of my system clearly hadn’t fucking worked.Since this game between us started, I’d been waiting for the moment where her memories snapped into place and she remembered what she had done. I had the scene mapped out in my head, and not a single thing had gone according to plan.She had been oozing guilt, her pain clear in her big blue eyes. I smothered that down easily enough, blocking out the pain with lust. What I hadn’t been prepared for was what she said after I brought her to orgasm again and again.She had wanted to touch me.With her hand on my chest, on the imprint of herself that she’d left on my skin, she whispered words that could’ve easily changed everything.I never wanted to hurt you.Even after twenty-four hours, I could still taste her on my tongue. Her sweet pussy and the sounds she’d made. Fuck, I never experienced anything like it.I knew how to invoke pain. How to wield it the way an artist wields a paintbrush, but ne
Violet’s P.O.V.“Oh, girl you have some explaining to do.” Delaney squealed, plopping down in the seat across from Olive and me.Olive had just bitten into her apple and her mouth was full as her eyes darted between the two of us. A crude blush had already formed on my face, and the chargrilled burger I’d been eager to bite into now looked unappetizing.“Yeah, I don’t think that’s—” I began.Olive coughed, having swallowed her bite of apple whole. “Wait, wait, wait. What the hell happened? Violet, why do you look like you were caught doing the dirty?”“Because she was!” Delaney said much too loudly. Several heads turned in our direction and I just about shot up out of my seat to clasp a hand over her mouth. Her tongue darted out to swipe my hand, and I reeled back with a look of disgust.Delaney smirked and Olive let out a laugh that bordered on utter disbelief.Thank the Goddess Holden hadn’t come to sit at our table yet. I could only imagine how this conversation would blow over wit
Violet’s P.O.V.I blinked several times, and even sucked in a sharp gust of air, but nothing changed what I was seeing with my own two eyes.Hael wouldn’t tell her to do something like that. No, I was sure of it. He’d punish me himself if he were that pissed off.He would. Wouldn’t he?Pain wracked my chest in ice-cold waves, the scar above my heart throbbing from its impact. Betrayal stole the air from my lungs, but Mykelle’s words made them seize and prevented me from taking any more.“Like I said, mutt. You’re a pet, and you know what happens to pets with behavioral issues?”The dark spots that hovered along the edges of my vision were a clear warning that I needed to get out of here and fast. I couldn’t have a repeat of what happened with Blaze, especially not with these three.If I murdered Mykelle Vanderbilt, I’d unleash hell on myself.Mykelle leaned in, her nose inches from mine. She was so close that I could smell the sugary sweet undertones of her lip gloss.“They get put do
Violet’s P.O.V.“How did you get that bruise?” He demanded, turning my head so that I was looking up at him once more. His eyes scanned my body, freezing when they reached my knuckles.The busted and bruised skin was already on the mend, but it still had a long way to go.“Who did you get into a fight with?”I scoffed, both at his anger and at his cluelessness.“It wasn’t a fight so much as it was me getting jumped in the hallway after classes.” I hissed, smacking his hand away from my face. “And you should know who I fought considering you gave the okay on the whole thing!”Hael’s head fell to the side a second time, his brows furrowing. “What are you talking about? I didn’t give permission for you to get jumped, Violet.”“Really? Then explain this!” I slapped the phone against his bare chest, clenching my hands into fists as I waited for him to read through the messages.He looked down at the screen, tapped it a couple of times and stiffly shook his head. “This isn’t my phone number
Violet’s P.O.V.I can’t believe I’m actually doing this. The second Hael stepped into the room, kicking the door shut behind him with an audible bang, I felt my confidence waver.Mykelle popped into my head, the sight of her flooding my veins with enough anger to force me to my feet. She was part of the reason why I was doing this. I’d promised myself I wouldn’t give into Hael, yet the moment he set those dark eyes of his on me and showed me a smidgen of care, I melted in his hands.It was time to channel my inner bad bitch and show Hael just how addicting touch could be—and how relinquishing your control for even a few fleeting moments could be the drug you never knew you needed.All of the steamy romance novel’s I’d read should’ve prepared me for the real thing, but they hadn’t.My mind was blank, a slate wiped clean as I slid off the bed and approached Hael with slow, cautious steps. Like the predator he was, he watched my every move. Slowly, his eyebrow lifted.“Something funny?”
Violet’s P.O.V. I scurried back to my room like the coward I was, locking myself away until late into the afternoon when Olive came over for a girl’s night. Hael had left the house, speeding off in one of his many flashy cars to goddess knows where. I’d just so happened to be looking out the window when he emerged. It wasn’t like I’d heard the front door slam and ran to peek out. No, not at all. That would be creepy—borderline obsessive. I committed myself to spending the weekend with Olive and focusing only on what girly activities we had planned and not the dark-eyed, temperamental, Alpha-to-be who’s taste I still couldn’t get out of my mouth. Which is exactly why when my phone rang in the middle of Olive and I painting our nails, I didn’t get up and sprint over to it the way I wanted to. I jogged. Lightly. A sting of disappointment pierced my chest when it wasn’t Hael’s name that flashed on the screen, but an unknown number. I’d almost hit ignore but decided otherwise at th
Hael’s P.O.V.I slipped out of the house before Olive arrived, dead set on breaking into my father’s private office. With him out of town for a few days, I wouldn’t get a better opportunity than this.As I headed to my car, I could feel a set of curious eyes on my back. Awareness prickled over my skin along with the ghost of sparks, and I knew if I were to turn around I’d see a certain doe-eyed blonde watching me from the window.Before the emotional and physical maelstrom that was Violet could form in my head, I pushed those thoughts aside and buried them deep down.Now was not the time for this. The drive to Cole’s place was spent clearing my head. I went inside for just a few minutes, long enough for him to hand me a flash drive and explain the process of copying and transferring all of my father’s files onto it.Easy enough.I left my car parked out front of Cole’s, slipping out the back door and into the forest where I made the trek to my father’s estate on foot. Remaining in my