All Chapters of TABOO (A DEAL WITH THE SHADOW ALPHA): Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

ADDISONWhen Jules came over for the sleepover last night, I spilled everything about the sketch and the trip to Greece. She shrieked so loud I had to make sure the entire building weren’t disturbed by it.“You’re going to Greece with a human god who you just drew shirtless? ADDISON! This is not a business trip, this is like the plot of a fucking movie!” She’d shown up at my door twenty minutes later with a suitcase of her own, declaring she was staying over to “help you pack and provide moral support.”So now, my apartment looked like a boutique had exploded. Jules was holding up two dresses, a critical frown on her face. “Too resort,” she declared, tossing one on the ‘no’ pile on my bed. “And this one is trying too hard. You want ‘effortlessly chic billionaire’s companion,’ not ‘desperate to impress.’”“I’m not trying to impress him,” I lied, holding up a simple silk top. “It’s a business trip. I just want to be comfortable.”Jules gave me a look that said she knew better. After an

ADDISON The estate wasn't just a series of buildings . It was like a kingdom, a kingdom where no one else loved but him. It had a lot of space but no one stay there except him and he comes there only when he attends meetings in Greece. The car had been on the road for what felt like forever, through groves of olive trees, before the main building came into view. It was all grey stone and ancient type wood, traveling along the cliff edge with views of a sea so blue and bright it hurt to look at. It was magnificent, and it made the luxurious Castino building look like a toy. It was so epic! Like from fantasy movies. "Axel, this is... unbelievable," I breathed as we stepped into a cool, marble-floored entrance hall. "Why do you stay in the building when you have this?"He paused, and briefly turned to look at me. "You'll know soon," he said, his voice quiet.Then he walked off, showing me to a guest suite that was bigger than my whole apartment, leaving me with more questions than bef

ADDISON Watching Addison in that kitchen, her smile so bright and unguarded for a moment, had felt like a physical ache. And then her question—where is your injury?—it was a knife twist. She saw too much. She noticed things a human shouldn’t, or at least, things I couldn't afford her to notice. I would keep my true self a secret if it meant keeping it from her forever. If she saw me for who I was she would hate me, I could handle anything the hate for everyone else even my so called family but from her, it would break me a thousand times. I needed to get out of that house, away from her scent that was already starting to seep into the stones of the place, making it feel less like a building and more like a… home. I couldn’t afford that thought, her scent made me want to do things to her that I could only imagine... For now. The way she bit her lip, when she wants to ask a question or the way she sat on the kitchen counter top swinging her legs was so fucking adorable. I always arra

Addison The ride over was quiet, the kind of quiet that feels loud. It gave me too much time to think. Looking at Axel in that perfect black tuxedo, I knew I had to do something. He looked good, too good. The suit wasn’t just clothes on him; it was like a part of who he was—powerful, a little dangerous, completely in control. I loved him in just plain tshirts and pants, but him in tuxedos and suit was just so much better. It made my stomach do that silly flip-flop thing, and that was the problem.I couldn’t let myself feel that flip-flop. This was a business deal. A favor. I needed to remember that, or I was going to get my heart broken into a million pieces. I had to focus, sooner or later mum would ask I get married and this thing with Axel was only temporary, I had to keep that in mind. I also needed to find someone that could find me lovable, some that could give me love. I knew I would get married someday and I would hate for it to be loveless. So, I decided to be cool. Distan

ADDISON Walking back into the party felt like I'd forgotten what I was supposed to do and everyone was watching. People were still talking and drinking, but everything felt different now. The British guy, Henry or whatever his name was, was gone. Honestly, I was glad. I didn't have the energy to make more boring small talk. But there was another part of me that felt relieved for him too. I kept thinking about the way Axel looked at me in the bathroom, the way his voice sounded when he said those words. Let another man touch you and he dies. He was way more dangerous than I'd thought. The weird thing was, I wasn't scared of him. Something inside me just knew he would never hurt me. His anger was like a wall around me, keeping me safe, not something pointed at me. But I was suddenly really scared for anyone else who might get too close to me. Someone who worked there walked me over to the main dining area, where they had this long table set up under all these pretty hanging lights. Th