CHAPTER 5: HIS TOUCH

​I didn't sleep at all.

​By the time morning came, the fear from last night had completely burned away, leaving nothing but pure, destructive hatred.

​My mom was asleep upstairs. Vance was in his home office at the end of the hall. The door was cracked open.

​I didn't knock. I pushed the door wide and marched straight in.

​He was sitting at his desk, typing on his laptop. He didn't even look up. "Knock, Harper."

​"No." I walked right around his desk.

​My blood was practically boiling. I was done hiding in my room. I was done letting him hold all the cards. If he wanted to use threats to control me, I was going to call his bluff. I wanted to see him panic when he realized I wasn't scared of his twisted games.

​I grabbed the screen of his laptop and slammed it shut.

​That finally got his attention. Vance leaned back in his chair, his dark eyes locking onto mine. He didn't look angry. He just looked like he was waiting.

​"You want to threaten me?" I hissed, stepping right between his knees. I hated him so much my hands were shaking. "You want to act like you're in control of what happens to me?"

​"I am in control," he stated flatly.

​"Prove it."

​I didn't think. I just acted on pure spite. I grabbed the front of his shirt and crashed my mouth against his.

​I expected him to push me away. I expected him to flinch, to remember that my mother was asleep in the room directly above us. I wanted to prove he was all talk and humiliate him.

​I was dead wrong.

​Vance didn't freeze. The second my lips touched his, his hands shot up, grabbing my hips in a vice grip. He pulled me hard against him.

​My gasp was swallowed by his mouth. The kiss wasn't careful or hesitant. It was brutal. It was absolute, unapologetic dominance. He took total control in a fraction of a second, completely overpowering my angry assault.

​I tried to pull back, sudden panic flaring in my chest, but his hand moved to the back of my neck, holding me perfectly still. His mouth parted mine, demanding and rough.

​And my body instantly betrayed me.

​The hatred was still there, burning in my chest, but it suddenly mixed with a violent, overwhelming heat. My knees went weak. I hated him, but the way he touched me was completely paralyzing. He didn't ask. He just took.

​I grabbed his shoulders, intending to shove him away, but my fingers curled into his shirt instead. I kissed him back. I couldn't stop myself. It was exactly the kind of intensity I had been desperate for last night, multiplied by a thousand.

​Vance suddenly broke the kiss.

​I stumbled back a step, gasping for air, my chest heaving. My lips felt bruised. My skin was on fire. I stared at him in pure shock, completely horrified by my own reaction.

​Vance was breathing a little heavier, but his eyes were sharp and totally victorious. He looked at my flushed face, my trembling hands, and the absolute defeat in my eyes.

​"Don't start games you don't know how to finish, Harper," he whispered roughly.