I am caught between a rock and a hard place. Torn over what to do until Julia emerges from her house, and my decision is made. I don’t see her car anywhere, which means she must be riding to campus with Jase. I’d rather take my chances with my loathsome stepbrother than hitch a ride with those two. Wrenching my arm from Jase’s grip, I level him with a scathing look as I climb on behind Ares.
“Baby, no.” He claws a hand through his hair, looking like he wants to hit something.
“I’m not your baby, and you don’t tell me what to do.”
Ares fixes my helmet on my head, tucking my hair up while I stare at my ex.
“Forget about the whore,” Julia says, latching on to Jase’s arm. He instantly shoves her hand away. “Perhaps Ares will do us all a favor and crash.”
Before I can retaliate, Ares grabs my hands and locks them securely around his waist. Then he revs the engine and takes off, leaving the others in the dust.
ChapterThirteen
Jase
“What the hell are you doing?” I snap at Julia, enraged she ruined my plan. “I didn’t think you were home.” She wasn’t home when I went to bed, and her car is missing, so I assumed she stayed somewhere else last night. I purposely planned it for a time when Julia wasn’t here, and I knew Chad was occupied, so I could get Ash alone. She won’t talk to me, and I’m getting desperate. So desperate I lied to Coach, feigning illness so I could be excused from the early-morning fitness session and sneak out to let the air out of Ash’s front tire.
“Aw, were you worried about me?” Julia bats her eyelashes as she presses her big tits up against me.
“Nope. You could fall off a cliff, plunge to a violent death, and I’d throw a celebratory party,” I say because I owe her payback for that nasty comment she just made to Ash.
She scowls before folding her arms across her chest, pushing her tits up with the motion. I’m betting that’s on purpose. She seems to be hellbent on seducing me, which is fucking hysterical when you think about which Luminary family I come from. And the fact I’m in love with the woman she seems determined to make her enemy.
“You appear to be laboring under an illusion, my love.” Her tone drips with condescension. “I’m an heir, and you’re just a second son. You don’t get to speak to me like this. My father expects you to treat me like a queen, and I won’t accept anything less. Continue to push me, and you won’t like what I do next.”
Circling my hands around her neck, I push her up against my Range Rover, letting her see the darkness I work hard to hide. I hold nothing back, letting years of frustration and pent-up rage shine through. “I don’t take well to threats, especially veiled ones. Be very careful how much you push me, Julia. I will push back three times as hard and not give a fuck who you are.”
I figure at this point I have nothing more to lose. It’s not like her dad or mine can kill me for disobedience. Sure, they can torture me and make my life miserable, but I fail to see how that would be any worse. If I can’t force my dad or my brother into doing something to negate this marriage contract, maybe I can piss Julia off enough that she’ll request it.
I know it’s not that simple. The Board of Luminaries is ultimately who decides who marries who. They are careful to keep the power balance between all four families.
While many men applied to marry the Sloth heir, she was chosen for me. Not because my father sealed the deal, but he would like to believe that. No, it was the most fortuitous match, one that would keep their system of checks and balances in place. There are other male members in our extended family who could step up to marry Julia Manford. But no one else is a second son, and therein lies the problem.
Even if I cause trouble. Even if I succeed in angering Julia enough, there is no guarantee it will change anything.
But I have to try because I can’t live without Ashley Shaw. In my heart, I know she is the only woman for me, and I am going to fight for her.
It’s a delicate juggling act though. Piss Julia off too much, and I could show my hand. She won’t give in if she thinks I still want Ash, so I’ve got to convince her I don’t. Otherwise, she will dig her heels in purely to deny my temptress.
My PDA with Ash yesterday was ill thought out and stupid. I hope Julia doesn’t hear about it.
I need my intended to believe my abhorrence of this marriage is because I cannot stand her and refuse to bow to her command. Which is the truth. Even if Ash didn’t exist for me, I still wouldn’t want to marry the Sloth heir.
Julia needs to know I won’t be pushed around. To understand if I become the rightful heir by marriage, I will make her life a living hell. She has to want to not marry me enough to convince her dad to extract her from the deal.
I have less than six weeks to make it happen, so it’s a tall order, but I’m determined to give it my all.
“Get your hands off me.” She seethes, showing more tenacity than I expect. I am beginning to realize Julia has been playing her own long game, and she is not the sum of how she comes across. Not by a long shot.
Digging my fingers into her neck, I squeeze harder, pleased to see a glimmer of fear rise in her eyes. “Don’t give me orders and expect me to obey. I want to make one thing perfectly clear.” I tighten my grip on her throat, and her eyes pop wide. Grabbing my wrists, she tries to pry my hands away. Panic is etched across her face, and I’m a prick because I like it. “This isn’t about Ash. That time has passed. This is about you and I.”
Her translucent skin is turning a delicate shade of blue, and it works quite well with her midnight-black hair and pale coloring. “I will never love you. I hate you and barely tolerate you. I will never treat you with anything but disdain. I am marrying you for what this contract gives me. When I am Luminary, your role will be diminished to the lowest level, and I will be in control.”
Reluctantly, I let her go. As much as I’d love to throttle her and solve the problem that way, killing a Luminary, his heir, or any member of his extended family is punishable by death, and this bitch isn’t worth dying over. “I will own you,” I add in a cold tone, matching it to my expression. “You will be mine to do with as I please, and there is nothing you or your father can do to stop me.” Interfering in the relationships between a Luminary and his wife or children is another no-no.
As much as The Luminaries love their checks and balances and their rules and traditions, they don’t personally abide by many of them. All of them have regular extramarital affairs though it’s frowned upon for others. They are discreet, in an attempt to at least look respectful to their wives, but everyone knows. Including the women they are married to. I have seen what it’s done to my mother, and it’s another reason I hate my father. The phrase “a law unto themselves” was coined after The Luminaries.
Julia sucks in huge lungsful of air, panting as she glares at me. She rubs her neck as she straightens up, collecting herself. “You can try to break me,” she rasps in a hoarse voice. “But you won’t succeed.” Grabbing her bag, she brushes past me, rounding the hood of my car. “You’re not the only one hiding things.” She yanks the passenger door open. “Underestimate me at your peril.”
