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What is happening right now?
MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT-LOVELESS
My mind spins as I try to piece everything together, but no one is speaking or explaining things and I find that my already minimal tolerance for deception has hit its absolute limits today.
“Speak!” I bark, the sound of it much harsher than I’d intended. Violet’s eyes go wide and her body jerks back as if I’d physically struck her.
A wave of dizziness has me turning my back on all three of them and stomping across the hideous living room and into the kitchen. I need a fucking drink. No, I need a vacation or a new job. Looking around the empty and sterile space, a shiver runs down my spine. I need a new house. This place is cold and uninviting. I hate it.
I fight the urge to glance at Violet as I wonder what she thinks of this God-awful penthouse that we’ve had no choice but to hide out in. Ignoring my need to do just that, I line up three tumblers on the counter before deciding to pull out a fourth. I fill each of them up with my favorite scotch, pouring far more than usual but needing every fucking drop. I take a few drinks, savoring the burn and allowing it to ground me. I drop my hands on the kitchen island and close my eyes, breathing through the emotions wreaking havoc inside my gut.
Today has been an absolute shit show. I’ve regretted waking up from the moment my eyes opened this morning. It’s been one thing after another for months, but these past few days have been exhausting, to say the least. However, nothing has hit quite as hard as seeing her. It feels like a sucker punch to my gut. Last night at the club was one thing, but this? Seeing her here, in our home—it’s too much.
“I was run off the road on my way back from Violets,” Eli says simply, his voice closer, clearly having joined me in the kitchen. One of the barstools glides across the marble floor, and then a second, but it’s the feminine squeak that has my eyes springing open. Looking up, I find Violet perched on one of the stools, glowering at Eli who clearly must have deposited her in the chair against her will.
My lip twitches. She’s always fighting.
Brat.
My cock throbs in response to the unsolicited thought. I scowl at the both of them in irritation and take another deep swallow of my scotch before shooting an expectant look at Eli. At some point, Zac has collected his drink but is distancing himself by leaning against the counters on the opposite side of the kitchen, as far away as he can possibly be while still in speaking range. He and I lock eyes and a quick, silent conversation passes between us.
Why is she here? We can’t speak about this in front of her. She needs to leave. Eli fucked up.
I know for a fact that we’re on the same page, at least where Eli is concerned, and judging by the pulsating of Zac’s jaw and the way his fists are flexing repeatedly, he’s planning all sorts of ways to punish him.
Turning back to Eli, I take him in, looking for any sign of injury. I may be mad as hell at the idiot, but I don’t want him to drop dead in my kitchen. The blood might spruce the place up, though. I nearly scoff at the thought. Nothing short of burning the place down will make it any better. A quick inspection of Eli tells me that beyond some likely bruising and the injury to his face, he’s unharmed. The blood spatter on his shirt is obviously from Joe and the amount tells me that our long-time driver likely won’t make it beyond tonight.
My stomach sours at that. Joe is a good man. He lacks the expertise that Leo has, especially in regard to weapons, but his evasive driving skills are far superior to most which brings me back to the situation at hand. Allowing me a brief moment to enjoy the sight of the beautiful woman sitting in my kitchen, I glance at Violet only to find her already staring at me.
Fuck.
Our eyes lock, her’s bright blue and vibrant next to her purple hair. It’s lighter than it had been before, more on the side of lavender than violet. Next to her pale skin and blue eyes, it makes her look ethereal, like some sort of Fae goddess or elf. Her mascara is smeared, her clothes disheveled. There are blood stains on the arms and front of her white hoodie. She’s a mess, but even covered in blood and clearly exhausted, she’s stunning.
Violet blinks, and then blinks again, before shaking her head like she’s being released from a spell. One I must have also been under because as soon as she looks away, I feel my breath woosh out of me. Christ, I need to get my shit together. She drags her eyes from me and quickly traps Zac in her orbit. He’s stronger than I am where she’s concerned because, after just one lingering glance, he looks away, dismissing her completely.
Good. Maybe she’ll get the memo and leave.
But of course, things wouldn’t be that simple. It’s Violet we’re talking about here.
“Nice to see you boys,” she drawls as she reaches her perfect body across the white and grey marble countertop and picks up the unclaimed glass of liquor.
I watch her every move, once again trapped in a Violet-induced trance. Even drowning in the shapeless fabric of her sweatshirt, I can still see the obvious curve of her breasts. I have to stifle a groan as the memory of exactly what those perfect tits look like naked. How they felt in my hands or my mouth as I sucked her sweet nipple between my teeth and bit down.
My eyes trail down her body as it splays across the island in front of me. She’s wearing hot pink workout pants that hug every single inch of her lower body, putting her phenomenal ass and shapely thighs on display. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth and my already hard cock throbs in my jeans.
Dragging my eyes from her ass, I look up and find both Eli and Zac staring at the same thing I’d just been. Eli grins at me when he finds he’s been caught. Zac surprisingly doesn’t look away, just brings his glass up to his lips and continues to stare while leisurely sipping on the liquid.
A loud screech pulls my attention back to Violet. Her outstretched arm yanks back from where she’d been picking up her glass. The tumbler tips over, spilling top-shelf scotch all over the ugly counters, improving them marginally. My brows furrow in confusion. One look at my best friends and I find them both equally puzzled.
“Oh my god! Oh my god!” She repeats the words frantically over and over as she flies from her chair and rips her sweatshirt off. Her heaving breaths distract me as she throws the offending item across the kitchen, leaving her in a tiny sports bra that barely contains her tits. Her sweatshirt lands at Zac’s feet but Violet ignores everyone else in the room, clearly having just discovered the blood.
Her screech turns into a scream when she notices that the blood also covers her forearms and hands. She shoves past Eli and runs full speed to the kitchen sink where she proceeds to scrub her body roughly, all the while muttering something beneath her breath. I leave her to her panic, knowing I’m not in the mental space to help anyone, including her, through a damn thing right now. Instead, I pick up the now cracked glass and toss it in the trash before replacing it with a new one and filling it up for her. Eli wordlessly wipes up the spilled drink, but I don’t miss the guilt that’s etched across his face.
“Violet, stop,” I hear Zac murmur. Looking over my shoulder, I find him trying to pull her hands from where she’s now moved on to scrubbing her stomach. Her skin is raw and bright red and even from where I stand, I can see the steam wafting up from the sink. When she ignores him, whether intentionally or because she’s too panicked to be aware, he barks, “Princess, enough!”
His words penetrate through her anxiety, and she freezes, allowing him to take control. Stepping forward, I lean against the island next to them and cross my arms, watching their interaction.
Earlier, when we couldn’t get in touch with Eli after I’d been attacked, Zac let it slip that he thought he’d gone after Violet today. He then proceeded to tell me that both he and Eli think about her often. Zac tried to play it off, but I’m not stupid and I know my cousin well. Whether he is aware or not, he’s more than thought of Violet.He’s missed her.I knew Eli was basically obsessed with the girl, but I was unsure about Zac, until today. The way he spoke of her, recounting his brief conversation with Eli last night. The way his eyes got a faraway look of longing with just the mention of her name.
