“Dove.” His eyes lock with mine. They are haunted in a way that sends a shiver over my arms. “I just want you.”
“I don’t believe you,” I whisper, the sad look in his eyes getting the better of me. I used to care about him once. So much that it tore me to shreds to think he was going to discard me and send me away, like our friendship meant nothing. Like I was nothing.
His hand moves to my face, his thumb tracing the line of my jaw, then running over my lips like he’s trying to memorize every little detail of my face. I don’t pull away from him, fascinated by the tender way he’s caressing me. I wish I knew what he was thinking. It seems important and deep. But this is what he does, keeps the real shit locked up tight. Trapped in his head. If I’m being honest, it’s why nothing ever happened between us, even though everyone expected it to. His hand runs up my thigh, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake.
His face lowers, and he inhales, his lips hovering over my ear. “You know I always liked the challenge. And right now, you don’t have to believe anything I say, but I can promise you this, birdie, you will be mine in every way.”
My breath hitches, my body alight from his proximity. But I can’t let myself get swept up in his false promises, his family is pure evil. They stole mine. I have to remember the truth. Remember how easily he was going to send me away. Remember every little thing I have been through because of the Thrones.
I shove at his chest, needing space. Our eyes lock, his filled with a challenge, a tension that tells me he’s ready to make good on his promise right here in his garage. “I’m not her, Kasen,” I say softly, no malice or anger in my voice anymore. It’s simply the truth. The sweet girl he wants is long gone.
One of his hands grips at my waist, the other around the back of my neck, holding me firmly. “Who?”
“The girl you expected to come back. She’s long gone, and you’re not that boy I once knew. Stop holding on to shit from the past. Me included.”
His breathing is rapid, his body language tense, as his fingers bite into my flesh, and I know there is nothing I can say to save myself, he will do whatever he wants. And that means I’m fucked, because he thinks he owns me. “Why would I hold on to shit from the past when the version sitting in front of me now is even better?” He tilts his head. “You’re fucking crazy for everything you did tonight, no one in this town would dare defy me the way you do. But it only makes me want you more.”
My breath catches in my throat. I’m not sure if he’s going to kiss me or drag me inside and lock me up for good, but the way his eyes eat me up is criminal. “I’m not the crazy one,” I whisper, too scared to move a muscle in case he pulls away from me and the stupid tension disappears for good. I hate him for everything he’s done, but I can’t deny how deeply attracted to him I am.
His lips hover above mine, making my heart race and my insides turn to liquid. I shouldn’t want him. But with everything I have inside of me, I want him to claim me right here and now. To fuck me like I know only he could. To bring me back to life. Even if I go right back to hating him after, it would be worth it to know what it felt like to have his body controlling mine. To taste him. I can’t wait a second longer. I lean forward, closing the gap between us just enough that our lips meet.
He wastes no time in devouring me, pinning me under his solid frame as his tongue invades my mouth hungrily. As quickly as we get wrapped up in the moment, he’s pulling back from me, his hands still holding me firmly in place at his disposal.
I pant, staring up at him wondering what he’s doing.
“You think you’re smart, don’t you, Dove? Escaping me.” His lips twist cruelly.
“What?” I murmur, trying to clear the Kasen fog that’s now descended over my needy body.
His fingers wrap around my throat. “Tonight was a test to see what you’re capable of. Guess now we both know. Try and escape me again, I will tighten my leash.” His eyes are impossibly dark; his fingers press firmer.
I try to suck in a full breath, but I can’t, he holds all the control over my body. I’m at his mercy. “Kasen you’re scaring me.” I get out, but my words are strangled.
“Good. Now you know where we stand. There is no running away. You’re mine, birdie.”
I can’t breathe, and it’s not from the way he’s holding me. It’s the intensity in his eyes because I know he’s deadly serious about this. There is no escape from him. And the worst part is, deep down inside, I know I don’t want to.
Chapter 8
Dove
When Kasen’s said his piece, he releases his hold on me and marches me back into his mansion and up the hall to the room I slept in last night, his fingers gripping tightly around my wrist. I don’t fight him on it or even come back with some smartass remark like I would have earlier. Truth is my head is spinning. First that kiss, then the threat. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little scared of him now. He’s such a contradiction, doing something sweet for me like keeping my family home safe all these years then turning around and telling me the events of tonight were all some trap set by him. What kind of psycho does that shit? A Throne, that’s who.
I’m surprised to see the French doors are fixed already, and the curtains are hung back in place. It’s like I never escaped at all. I’m trembling from the kiss, and more than that, from the way he spoke to me. My plans for a quick visit to this town for answers are slipping through my fingers at a stupidly fast rate. “K…” I start, but he cuts me off.
“Take a shower, birdie,” he snips, the look of disappointment in his eyes jarring. Then he releases me, turning and striding away before I can say anything else. The door slams with a bang and the deafening sound of the lock sliding firmly into place.
I stare at the closed door. Fuck him, I don’t have to do what he says. I know the rest of this town is scared of him, but I don’t have to be. Even so, my fingers tremble with anger, with the awful sensation of being trapped when I need to get shit done. I’m desperate to know what’s in that box I found at my parents’ place. Why did I have to go see River? Stupid, so damn stupid. I had a plan, I should have stuck to it, but I saw one of his coasters on the dining table this morning and curiosity got the better of me. Fifteen-year-old me needed to know if he had changed as much as the other two.
My head spins, some from pain, some from my own damn stupidity. I head for the bathroom cupboard, pulling the drawers open and rummaging through all the expensive shit in there, searching. It’s insane, the sheer number of products that are in here, and it’s all stuff for chicks. As far as I know, these guys don’t have any girls living in this place. Yet this bathroom has been set up for one. Make-up, face creams, body lotions, fake tan, I could go on all day. Razor, that’s what I’m looking for.
With it firmly in my grasp, I lean my back into the cabinet, sliding down to the cold tile floor. I unbuckle my shorts and strip them off. The tremble in my hands is getting worse. I’m out of control. I promised myself I wouldn’t do this anymore, promised my therapist. And when I said it, I meant it. But that was before, that was when I had a plan to take control back.
My heart races like mad, my breathing short, sharp, painful. I slip the blade out and press the sharp edge into my flesh. Calm coming over me. One line, then two, then three, and the shaking stops. The spinning stops and everything becomes clear again.
I’m okay.
Blood trickles down my thigh, real but not painful. I drop the blade and lie down, staring up at the dark ceiling.
