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Teal eyes. Sharp features and full lips only seem to make me want to stare at him. He has caught me a few times, and even then, I couldn’t bring myself to look away. If humans were perfect, I’m almost certain that Cassian would be right up there with the best of them. At times, I wonder if he’s even real. Call it infatuation, I don’t care, because he has shown me he’s good. Deep down inside.
By the time I reach the lake, I’m out of breath, my legs ache, and my chest is tight with exertion. Stopping for a moment, I lean against the rough bark of the tree trunk and catch my breath.
It’s silent.
My ears prick when I hear rustling, but it doesn’t seem to be too close, so I don’t panic. But as I calm my erratic breaths, a hand suddenly covers my mouth, and I scream into the soft yet strong palm covering my lips that muffles the sound of my shock.
“Caught you, pretty girl,” the deep, familiar voice of the one boy I wanted to touch me feathers along my ear, and a shiver of nervous energy shoots through me.
I nod slowly, hoping he’ll release me. For a moment, he doesn’t move, and then his hand falls, and he rounds me, stopping right in front of me. Even in the darkness, those teal eyes steal my attention.
The corner of his mouth kicks up into a dark, dangerous smirk. “Seems like you’re coming with me to prom,” he tells me. That’s the rule. Since he’s a senior, he can ask me to any dance throughout the school year. And at his question, my heart thunders in my ear. “Unless you’d like to go with one of my brothers?”
“No!” The word comes out quickly, breathlessly. “I mean, yes, I’d like to go with you.” I finally respond in a whisper, and he grins, which only seems to make him handsomer than I ever imagined.
“Good,” he says, seeming to be happy with my answer as he slips his hand in mine. “I think we’ll have fun.”
“Darling,” Paulo’s voice rings out from behind me, dragging me from a happier time to my current heartache. “Come back to bed,” he coaxes, but I can’t face him.
“I need to freshen up,” I respond, focusing on the carpet instead of him. “We have to go shopping for the party tomorrow night.” Even as I say it, my stomach twists with anxiety because the moment I walk into the Thorne mansion, my life will change.
“You know,” he starts, keeping his voice low, filled with danger, and I know what’s coming—a threat, “Last night, I could’ve told them.” It’s a warning. His intimidation has always worked because Paulo knows I don’t want my family to learn about my transgressions. He has all the power here, and I have nothing but my need to forget.
“I know.” I don’t turn to look at him. I can’t. If I do, I’ll break down, I’ll show emotion, and it will only confirm just how much he can break me if he opens his mouth. The truth will send my family into disarray, and I have no one to blame but myself. My father is ill, and I cannot bear the thought of my mistakes hurting him. I’ve done enough to hurt those I love.
“Then join me in bed,” he whispers; this time, it’s a gentle murmur. It’s always the same. If I try to show strength in the face of his commands, he doesn’t like it. He prefers me to be a docile kitten, obeying every whim he has.
With tears pricking my eyes, I turn toward the bed and return to the sheets where the devil himself waits for me. And as I slip under the covers, into his arms, I shut my eyes and picture the teal eyes that have always given me solace.
It’s no use in holding out hope that he’s thought of me. There isn’t any reason for me to believe he even remembers the girl who almost tarnished his name. But then again, Cassian was never one to forget things, and I wasn’t just a girl to him; I know that.
He cared.
Which means he’ll only hate me more than he did before.
And when he sees me again, I shudder to think what he’s going to do.
As Paulo’s hands roam my frame, I picture the anger in Cassian’s eyes, I imagine the fury in his words. And as my fiancé’s fingers tease me, I find pleasure in the fact that I want it to be another man’s hands on me, hurting me, making me pay the price for what I did.
I crave the pain.
I hunger for the punishment.
And I know there is only one person to offer me solace.
6
Cassian
By the time I arrive back, I’m exhausted because I spent the flight doing my research. When Kalyn walked out of Thorne Haven with lies on her tongue and deceit in her words, I closed my heart and mind to her.
