Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 14994 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 75(@200wpm)___ 60(@250wpm)___ 50(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 14994 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 75(@200wpm)___ 60(@250wpm)___ 50(@300wpm)
He’d said I’ll see you around, darlin’.
And I knew he would.
Because Damien?
Despite how dangerous he was, despite how bad for me he was, when he said something, he did it.
I was fucked.
5
I was sitting in class the next day when my phone vibrated in my lap. Damien’s name popped up on the screen. I frowned down at it. Gritting my teeth, deciding for once to listen to my head, I silenced it, focusing my eyes back on the professor.
It vibrated a moment later with a text, but I didn’t look down at it. I was determined to get through this lecture, go grab another coffee, and bury my head in textbooks for the rest of the day so I wouldn’t have the time or the energy to think about this dark, dangerous world of Damien’s I’d somehow gotten thrown in.
Because I wasn’t stupid. There was no way out for me. I had already seen too much—knew too much. Damien wouldn’t let me slip from his grip.
And I hated so much that it was as exciting as it was terrifying.
I was fucked up.
And fucked over.
When class ended, I shoved my phone in my pocket, determined not to look at it just in case it was Damien. I shoved my things into my bag and headed across campus toward Starbucks so I could get a coffee.
I was waiting on the barista to make my drink when warm, large, calloused hands slid around my upper arms, and warm, minty breath fanned the skin of my neck and my ear. I shuddered, swallowing nervously.
“Ignoring me, darlin’?”
I licked my suddenly dry lips. How did he always affect me like this? “Possibly,” I bravely answered.
He laughed huskily. “I’m a man of my word. I told you I would see you around.”
He had said that, but I was hoping it wouldn’t be true. Hoping had proved to be futile though because he had found me. I had a feeling this man would always find me.
“Aren’t you too old to be on campus?” I asked him.
He snorted. “Got business here every day, darlin’.”
Lacie’s words rang through my head about how he was a distributor of drugs throughout campus. I smiled at the barista when she handed me my drink. Damien reluctantly let me go, but he followed me out of the coffee shop. We didn’t exchange any words again until we were standing outside in the sunlight.
It was like the sky was mocking me. It was bright and clear while my world suddenly seemed dark and gray.
I sighed as I looked up at him, reaching up to push my hair out of my eyesight. “What do you want, Damien?” I asked him. “I’m not stupid. I know too much—saw too much.”
He studied me for a moment before he answered. “I want your time,” he finally uttered.
This time, I frowned. “My . . . time?” I questioned. That was an odd as fuck request.
He nodded. “Your time,” he repeated. “I say when this thing between us is over.” Dread curled in the pit of my stomach along with a thrill of being his. “You become my girl.”
I swallowed a sip of my coffee, mulling over his words. “And if I don’t agree?” I questioned.
He stepped forward, invading my personal space, his heat soaking into me as he grabbed my chin in his hand, locking our eyes together. “I always get what I want, darlin’, and I want you. Don’t test me, Hayley.”
So, in other words, I had no choice. Damien was determined to make me his. He was asking me out of courtesy, but if I denied him, he’d just take what he wanted anyway.
“You don’t even know me,” I reminded him.
A smirk tilted his lips. “I know you’re full of spark and fire. I know you don’t take shit lying down. I know you’re strong and addicted to coffee. You’re also a hard worker and filled with determination.”
My lips parted. “You don’t even know my last name—”
“Jones,” Damien said, surprising me. “Your last name is Jones. You’re eighteen.”
My lips parted in surprise. I didn’t even want to ask how he’d found all of that out. I was terrified to know. “How old are you?” I questioned.
He flashed me a wicked grin. “Twenty-three,” he informed me. “And you already know my last name.” He cupped the side of my neck and used his thumb to tilt my head back so I was looking up at him, his massive body blocking the sun from reaching my upturned face. “So, what’s your answer, Hayley?” He rubbed his thumb along my jawline. “You going to give me what I want, or do I have to chase you?”
My lips trembled at the thought of him chasing me. “If I make you chase me?”
His eyes darkened. Danger lurked in those depths once again. “I might not be so nice, darlin’.”