Page 82 of Coveted

She’s like a drug. The more I’m around her, the more I want.

Cradling her head in my hands while she sucked my cock tipped me over the edge from fascination to obsession. I need her to acknowledge how perfect we are for each other. To admit it to herself.

This past week, she’s been hiding from me as well as she can, which isn’t very well. I watch her like an addict.

She’s coming to the gala tonight, so I’ve avoided looking at the camera feeds from her bedroom or on campus. I don’t want to cheat myself out of seeing her in a gown in the flesh for the first time.

The museum hall is packed with people for the Heritage Gala. Tuxedos, silk dresses, and glittering tiaras surround me. A string quartet plays elegant strains from a platform.

But the space feels empty because she’s not here yet.

I know exactly when she’ll arrive, thanks to the tracking app on her phone. She’s currently midway between Darkbloom and Ember Falls.

Swigging my whiskey, I attempt to define what I’m feeling for her, but I can’t.

I’ve been interested in Sadie for some time, but there’s a new layer now. A deeper, uncharted one.

The new layer troubles me because I’m troubled by anything outside of my control.

I think having sex with her is the answer. It’s a way for me to take ownership of the huge, primal thing developing between us.

Or it’ll drive my fixation to new depths, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take, because I need to do it. I’m going insane watching her on screens, unable to touch her.

Keeping cool has never been a problem for me. Ever. What is Sadie doing to me? She wields some seductive, unfathomable magic.

I glance at my phone screen to find she’s nine minutes from arrival. I take another draw of whiskey, annoyed at everyone and everything due to my impatience to see her.

My father heads for me when he sees me, smiling and nodding through the crowd. He sponsors the event as a longstanding member of the Heritage Foundation.

The gala is allegedly in service of historical preservation, but every conversation around me is a transaction. People attend for political, financial, or personal gain. The only preservation they care about is that of their own legacies.

“Annabeth Dubois is here,” he says when he reaches me. “Go and say hello. She’s the heiress to Gunner Holdings and is making a name for herself as an actress. Quite the stunner.”

I trade my empty glass for another whiskey from a waiter’s tray. “I know who Annabeth is.”

She’s a paper-fucking-doll, like every woman who isn’t Sadie Marlowe.

“You’re the future of the company and the Hale name,” says Dad. “Hurry up and choose a wife or I’ll choose one for you. You’ve had long enough.”

“Not quite,” I say, half to myself.

I check my phone screen.

Seven minutes.

“I’m too soft on you.” Dad adjusts his cufflink. “Reeve Lauder’s parents are aggressively stepping up their efforts to find him a match.”

“Reeve agreed to that?”

“It’s not up to him. That’s my point.” Dad scans the ocean of faces. “Your uncle’s here somewhere with Teenie and the twins.”

I nod. “The twins are at Royce, right?”

Royce University is Darkbloom’s rival school across the valley, known for new money and ethically questionable STEM research.

“That’s right.” Dad grunts. “I confirmed with the board that the twins are Gareth’s new heirs, as we suspected.”

I give a low whistle. “Do you really think they could’ve had something to do with Hannah and Parker being killed?”