LOGIN••MADDISON••I walked into the house with my chest feeling like someone had cracked it open and left it bleeding, and the first thing I saw made everything worse.Chad was sitting on my couch like he belonged there, like he had any right to be in my space after everything, and next to him was my mom with a glass of wine in her hand and a smile on her face that made my stomach turn."Hey, my darling, come have a sit." My mom waved her hand toward the empty spot on the couch like this was all perfectly normal. "Guess who is here to see you."I stopped in the doorway and felt my whole body go rigid."Chad, what the hell are you doing here?"Chad stood up slowly with his hands in his pockets and that smile on his face that so so long ago used to make me feel safe but now just made me feel sick."I had to see you, Maddie." His voice was soft and gentle like he was talking to something fragile."Look at all the things he bought for you." My mom gestured to the coffe
••MADDISON••"I know." His grip on my wrist loosened slightly but didn't let go. "I know and I'm sorry. I just needed you to stay. I needed you to not leave while I figured out how to fix this.""You can't fix anything by trapping me, Corian." Tears burned at my eyes again. "That's not how this works.""Then tell me how it works." His voice rose slightly with desperation pushing through. "Tell me what I'm supposed to do because I don't know. I don't know how to do this without fucking it up.""You could start by not beating people half to death and leaving them naked in the street." I almost shouted."He tried to rape you." He dead panned and I could feel the pure rage in his words. "He put his hands on you. He was going to…” His jaw clenched so hard I could see the muscle jumping. "I would do it again. I would do worse. I would kill him if you asked me to.""That's exactly the problem." I pulled my wrist free from his grip and stepped back. "You don't see anyth
••CORIAN••I heard a sound like a gasp and turned to see Shawny staggering back slightly with her hand pressed to her chest."You mean like a real relationship?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I thought the magazines were just peddling rumors.""They're not." I met her eyes steadily. "I claimed her in front of everyone that means anything and I meant it."Shawny's face went pale and she sat down slowly in her chair like her legs wouldn't hold her anymore."Corian, you have never done something like this before." She shook her head in disbelief. "Not even with your wife.""I know.""I don't know if you're ready for that kind of commitment." Her voice took on that professional tone, the therapist coming back. "In fact, I recommend that you are not. The complex cannot handle the pressure that will come from being the man she expects you to be."The complex. She meant the armor, the walls, the darkness that had kept me functioning all these years."I don'
••CORIAN••I pushed through the glass doors of Shawny's office building. My chest was chaos and my hands were still shaking from the rage that hadn't left me since Maddison screamed those words at me.I'm not yours.The words kept playing over and over in my head like a song I couldn't turn off, and each time they cut deeper and made me want to put my fist through something.I reached Shawny's floor and walked down the hall way. Her receptionist looked up when I came in and her eyes went wide like she was seeing a ghost."Mr. Van Halen, you don't have an appointment today and I...""Is she in?" My voice came out as damaged as I felt."Yes, but she's with a client and..."I didn't wait for her to finish and just pushed past her desk toward Shawny's office door."Mr Van Halen..."I opened the door and walked in.Shawny was sitting in her usual chair with her legs crossed and a notebook in her lap, looking calm and professional like she always did. A middle-a
••MADDISON••Hell no."You left him battered and naked in the streets and stripped him of his dignity.""I did the exact same thing he was about to do to you," he stated it matter-of-factly, like he was stating an undeniable truth. "And I'll do it again and again and again, because when you touch what's mine, it's two things: you either don't live long enough to remember it or you live long enough to never forget it." He grabbed me suddenly and pulled me flush against him, crowding me with his fullness and that overwhelming scent. "So you understand, Tiger, the extent I'm willing to go to protect what's mine?"Don't live long enough? What was he actually saying?"I'm not yours." I pushed away from his grasp with all my strength. "I will never belong to someone who treats another person like that without a shred of remorse or guilt, then justifies it like it's nothing. No." I stepped back and put more distance between us. "I am not yours, Corian Van Halen!"The
••MADDISON••I didn't say two words to Ausley but somehow he understood exactly what I needed. We drove straight to Halen Inc with my mind replaying the video over and over again.Ausley parked and I got out immediately, rushing inside without waiting for him. The lobby was busy with people walking fast and talking on phones. The receptionist looked up when she saw me coming."Ms. Summers." She smiled like I was her favorite person.” No questions. No appointment but I couldn’t think too much into it right now. “Go right ahead."I headed straight for the elevator and pushed the button hard, probably harder than necessary.The doors opened and Betty stood there with a warm smile that faded the moment she saw my face.I definitely had pissed written all over my expression.She placed a call immediately. "I'm sorry, Mr. Van Halen. Ms. Summers is here.""Sure." Corian's voice came through the intercom in that smooth and unbothered tone.Betty gestured me forward and
••~~MADDISON ~~••We stepped into the club, flashing lights bouncing off every wall, music thumping like a hundred heartbeats racing through my chest.“Uh-oh. Who’s the shadow?” Sydney tilted her head, squinting behind us.I turned.Yep.Ausley.Already on our tail li
••~~CORIAN~~••Maddison Summers is like a sweet little thing that acts like she doesn't know her teeth are sharp. She’ll blink up at me like a puppy in one moment and snap like a damn Tiger the next.She’ll break down in my arms at night and at dawn she’s trying to s
••~~CORIAN~~••She was weightless in my arms; head pressed against my chest while I carried her into my room.Her lips brushed my shirt. “I hate you, Corian.”I smirked. “Nah, Tiger. You said you thought you hated me.”“No. I’m sure I hate you now,” she breathed.
••~~MADDISON~~••His body went still on top of me.One second ago, he was moving inside me, growling filthy words against my skin like he was about to ruin me all over again.Then his eyes froze on something above my head.I followed his gaze. My wrist. The pale, thin







