“How are we supposed to call you if we have questions?”
“Uh…” My hope begins to dwindle. I decide to be honest and pray that she isn’t as cold as I presume her to be. “Maddison, I need this job. I’ve been cut off and have no money. I don’t have a phone or a laptop, I have no way to buy myself a pack of tampons. Please,” I beg.
She eyes me for a long moment and I fight not to fidget under the pressure of her gaze. When she exhales and rolls her eyes, disappointment surges inside me. “You start tomorrow at nine. Don’t be late.” My jaw slackens.
“Seriously?”
“No, I’m fucking with you,” she snaps.
“Oh,” I breathe out and drop my gaze.
“Jesus, I was kidding. Be here at nine and don’t be late or I’ll fire your ass before you even complete your trial period.” I beam at her and squeal, which just earns me a glare.
“You won’t regret this, I promise,” I vow.
“Would you just get the hell out of here?” I shoot her a broad grin and rush out of the library with a new sense of accomplishment. The second I step outside and see Xaden against the large tree outside the library, all the excitement I felt seconds ago evaporates as guilt takes hold of me. It tightens its clutches on me, reminding me that I have no right to feel any ounce of happiness or accomplishment after what I did. His gaze is laser focused on me and I have no doubt that he is here for me. He looks like a beautiful nightmare, his dark wash jeans paired with a pair of plain black Converse sneakers and the black hoodie he wears only adds to his allure of darkness. Add the fact that he is wearing a hat on his head, with the brim low on his face, oozes bad boy vibes. I don’t miss the Stormsend Ravens Emblem on the front of his hoodie or his hat.
I take a steadying breath and force my legs to move. I'm shaky and the urge to flee and run the opposite direction is strong, but I refuse to allow him the satisfaction of knowing his presence alone puts me on edge. He never outright said it, but he did allude to the fact that his family is worse than the rumors we’ve all heard about theDevlin Mafia.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
XADEN
I can feel the apprehension wafting off her like a pungent odor but there’s a hint of fear in the mix and that sends my heart rate skyrocketing. I feed off her terror and wariness of me, she’s spent the past two days holed up in her room. Cas has been delivering her food and playing his part perfectly. Me on the other hand, I have spent my time formulating my plan. I want a flawless victory against her and her family and I plan to set that plan into action right fucking now.
I smirk when she stops at least ten feet away from me. “The kiss wasn’t that bad, was it?” I taunt. Her jaw locks and her eyes narrow.
“No other boy has ever touched me—” I’m pushing off the tree and stalking toward her in an instant. She clamps her mouth closed and stares up at me, fear in her eyes when I don’t stop until there is a sliver of space between our bodies.
“Your first mistake was thinking I'm a boy. Believe me, Tink, I’m all man and the size of my cock can validate that.” Her eyes widen at the same time her jaw unhinges, as a tinge of red begins to spring to life on her cheeks. Jesus, I knew she was untouched but I didn’t think the Virgin Mary wannabe was that innocent. If hearing me say cock has that reaction, I dare to think what shewould do if I pulled it out. “You’re coming with me,” I say, then turn to leave. I make it two steps before her question has me pausing and peering over my shoulder at her.
“Why would I go anywhere with you?”
I answer without missing a beat. “Because there’s a darkness inside you and you need someone likemeto help you feed it. Move your ass, Tink, I won’t tell you again.” This time I don’t stop when she calls after me, knowing she’ll follow. When I slide behind the wheel of my Audi, the passenger door opens a second later. She hesitantly slides in and places her backpack on the floor between her legs. She’s stiff as she buckles her seatbelt and sits ramrod straight. I start the ignition and relish in the roar of the engine. “If I was going to kill you, I would have done it already. Relax.” She gasps in horror. I don’t wait for a reply as I plant my foot on the gas and peel out of the parking lot. She’s silent beside me as she gazes out the window. Anger courses through me just from the sight of her. I want nothing more than to slam her side of the car into a tree and watch as she pleads with me to save her worthless life.
“Thank you.” The sound of her voice snaps me out of my thoughts.
“What?”
I see her out of the corner of my eye, turning to face me. Loathing is reflected in her eyes but the shocking part is, that look isn’t directed at me it’s for herself.
“Thank you for… helping me out that night at my dorm and for letting me… stay with you and Cas. I just got a job, so I’ll be able to start paying my share of things until I can save enough to get a place of my own.”
I snort. “I own the place and believe me, Tink, you wouldn’t be able to afford the rent on a place like that, so just enjoy the charity while it lasts.” She flinches and turns away from me. I grind my teeth, pissed at myself. Biting her head off and makingher suffer is easy, I love the way the light dims in her eyes with every insult, but in order to get the bitch under me, I need her to at least like me a little or maybe get her drunk enough to think she does.
I push that thought away. I may be a piece of shit, but not even I'm that low, to take advantage of her to get what I want. I hate the cunt and wouldn’t piss on her if she was on fire, but rape, that is a different ball game and I don’t play for that team. I punish them.
“Don’t worry about paying for anything. Just save your money,” I add as I white knuckle the steering wheel, trying to keep a lid on my anger. It’s a go-to reaction whenever I think about her or her family.
“I don’t expectcharity,” she hisses.
I shrug. “I don’t care what you expect. Your money's no good to me so you may as well keep it.”
“Must be nice to not have to worry about money,” she mutters quietly, but I still hear it.
“Since when has the Kellar Princess ever had to worry about money?” I keep the bite out of my tone.
“Since I was dumped in the Stormsend side of school to fend for myself.” She doesn’t sound bitter like I would have expected. I say nothing and continue driving. Being alone with her in a confined space has my skin crawling. “Where are you taking me?” she asks after a few minutes.
