He frowns. “Not true.”
I snort. “You calling me a liar?”
He nods. “I am.”
I huff, looking away from him, unable to meet his stare as I lie. “No one has been there in a long time.”
“How much do you know about Isabella?” he questions.
“I don’t?—”
“I did meet you at her party.” He’s referring to the night on her and her husband’s mega yacht. When I let this monster touch me. “The man I killed was paying you?—”
“He was going to rape me,” I correct him through gritted teeth.
He tilts his head to the side. “Someone was getting paid for it. So he was either your job or you were his whore. Which was it?”
My pulse races. “My life is none of your business, Kash.” I will not let him know about my past. That will open too many doors for him.
“Were you one of herdolls?”
My knees threaten to buckle at his question, and it makes me want to vomit.“You’re going to be such a pretty dolly.”
He goes on, stepping closer to me. “Maybe you were a prisoner of Dollhouse, and she was pimping you out that night?” He reaches out and runs his hand through my ponytail. “A beautiful whore, wrapped in silk. Who wouldn’t want to fuck you, Eve?”
“You don’t know anything about me,” I say through gritted teeth.Breathe, Eve.Get your shit together.
“I know that the moment I saved you, you threw yourself at me like a drunk woman on a Saturday night.” He smirks. “You wanted to repay me…and like a good whore, you spread your legs for me?—”
I slap him across the face so hard my hand instantly stings. “How dare you.”
He grips my throat again and tosses me onto the couch. Straddling my hips, he pins me down, giving him the advantage. I slap at his face, but he stretches his arm out, and I’m unable to make contact with his reach. I yank on his hoodie, but it doesn’t do any good.
“Let me tell you something, angel.” His eyes are soft, but his words are as hard as the muscular body he’s holding me down with. “A room full of Lords think you’re part of the problem. And if I don’t bring them answers, they’ll come after you for them. Do you understand that?”
My lungs burn, and I squirm in his grip, trying to get a breath. Where are my drugs when I need them? I try and buck my hips, but it does no good. All of his weight is pinning me to the leather cushions.
Panic grips my chest, and my face throbs from the lack of oxygen. I kick my legs, the heels of my boots digging into the couch, and try to twist and turn to get a breath, but it does no good.
His hand tightens more on my throat while he lifts his hips off my waist, and his free hand shoves my miniskirt up before gripping my fishnets and ripping them. His eyes scan my exposed thigh before he does the same to the other. Once he’s done looking at them, he places his weight back on them and his eyes find mine. My vision is fading in and out as my eyes grow heavy.
“These Lords have wives, babies on the way. And I promise, they won’t think twice about dangling you as bait to make sure that their families go untouched.” Letting go of my neck, he gets off me, and I roll off the edge of the couch, landing on my side, coughing and sputtering.
As I get to my hands and knees, he crouches in front of me and cups my chin, forcing my watery eyes up to his. His free hand gently pushes away the loose strands of hair that fell from my ponytail during our fight. “I’m the only ally you have right now, Eve. I can protect you.”
I give a rough laugh, still trying to breathe. “I…don’t need your protection.”
His eyes roam my face and linger on my parted lips. I’m gasping, sucking in deep breaths, my chest burning. “You’re not untouchable, Everett. All Ihad to do was get you alone in a room and wrap my hand around your pretty neck.” He gently runs his tatted knuckles down my burning throat, and I lift my chin higher at the touch. “And within seconds, you were on your back with ripped stockings. Imagine what a room full of Lords could do to you. It won’t take much for them to strip you naked, tie you down, and make you the offering they need.”
If only he knew how close he is to my past. I’ve been there, and I refuse to go back. “Are you going to protect me or lead them to me?” I arch a brow.Don’t trust anyoneis what I’ve learned along the way.
“They already know where you are, angel. It’s a matter of time before they show up at your door.” With that, he gets to his feet, grabs his backpack, and exits the office, leaving me on all fours.
KASHTON
Junior year at Barrington University
I enter my father’s office to find him and his brothers all at their desks. I walk over to my father’s. “I know who I want for my chosen.”
