Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 97557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Elyse Silver was never mine to keep.
The day I saved her life, I ensured we would forever be enemies.
Hating her was easy.
Bullying her, as simple as breathing.
Stopping myself from falling for her… I had no idea how impossible that would become.
The harder I fought, the deeper I fell.
Love and happiness have never been part of my plan, but letting Elyse go isn’t an option, either.
Unfortunately, the truth always finds a way of revealing itself, and by the time she realizes who the real predator is, it’ll be too late for her to escape the trap I’ve put her in.
** This is NOT a standalone and must be read AFTER The Prey. This is a dark romance novel that contains numerous triggers. **
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
CHAPTER 1
SEBASTIAN
It’s never been a matter of if I’ll kill Tanya, but when. Every person has a limit to the amount of bullshit they can take before they snap, and I’m teetering on the edge, looking down into the abyss.
If I jump, will I ever be the same again?
It’s been pure luck and discipline that’s gotten me to this very point. I was barely sixteen the night she took my virginity, and from then on every disgusting word and touch has been fuel to keep me going, to focus on the future and forget the past. But trying to erase the past without healing from it first is pointless; it’s like trying to heal an open wound while continuing to fuel the infection inside it. Unfortunately not all wounds can be healed. Sometimes you have to physically cut the infection out, lose a piece of yourself to get rid of it.
If I looked at killing Tanya like ridding my body of infection then I could do it. I could end her pathetic life and move on with my own.
It’s tempting, very tempting.
And yet, I shove the thought away. It doesn’t help, not when I can mentally feel her blood on my hands. Warm, wet, soaking my skin.
It's not about the sheer joy I'd feel ripping Tanya to shreds—and believe me, there would be joy—but it's the principal, the fact that no matter what happens she’ll never understand how fucked up she is.
Her bare thighs are pressed against my flannel pajama pants, hugging against them, and the sensation makes me almost gag. Memories swim to the surface of my mind, threatening to drag me down deep into their depths.
I fought too hard to give up this easily.
I rise, shoving my bare feet into the carpet to get the grip I need to shift out from underneath her, and the sudden relief I feel once her body weight disappears is almost frightening. She pops over onto the leather coach and releases a huff of frustration.
She should be grateful she’s still breathing right now.
I stalk across the room to grab a bottle of liquor off the mantle and take a long draw. The pungent smell of bourbon replaces the scent of her perfume, and I know if I drink enough the memory of her will disappear from my mind, too.
I grit my teeth against the raging emotions ripping through me. I hate her. I hate her so fucking much, and it’s crazy because she has no idea. Or maybe she does, and she doesn’t give a shit…that seems more likely.
Now would be the perfect opportunity to tell her how disgusting, cruel, and fucking vicious I think she is. How she’s ruined me from the inside out. It’s because of her I’ll never find happiness, love, or any kind of solace for my shame. I let my eyes fall closed and try to calm my erratic breathing.
No. No. I’m not that boy anymore. The one she used up and then discarded like trash once she had her fill. I don’t need her love or approval to survive.
She approaches again, the soft click of her heels sounding on the hardwood behind me, and presses against my back, pushing her breasts against me while I stare down into the fireplace, the flames casting an eerie shadow on the wall. My stomach rolls with the memories of a past that refuses to let go. "Tanya, you have one second to get off me before I throw you off."
She huffs again, her cherry scented breath hot against my neck. "Sebby, baby, you know you want me. Everyone wants me. Men and women would die to get me into their beds."
I’m not sure how I do it without tossing her out the window, but I grip her around her waist and shove her back. She stumbles on her towering heels and falls back onto the hardwood floor, her expression stunned.
I stand above her, and for one brief second I consider pressing my foot to her neck, holding her down until the final gasp of air escapes her, but I don’t. That’s too easy a way for her to go, and after all she’s done to me she deserves to feel pain.
To be torn apart, piece by terrible fucking piece.
I want the proof of her destruction staining my hands.
"Good, then you don't need me.” All I can do is shake my head, the rage festering deep in my veins eating away at my resolve. I’m going to snap. I’m going to lose control.
It wouldn’t be a shock at all if Tanya was the reason I went to jail.
In fact, it might be worth it if it makes her disappear from existence.
No, I can't think like that. Bel needs me. Elyse needs me. My friends need me.
I peer down at her, a bubble of fucked up laughter threatening to escape at the way she cowers. Are you fucking kidding me? She blinks up at me through her long lashes, innocence bleeding into her features while she curls her body into herself. When I was young and far more naive, I probably would’ve fallen for the tactic but now, there’s no fucking way she can fool me.