Page 115 of Please Hate Me

“You promised you’d get my violin down for me to play,” I whispered.

“Mmm, I don’t recall doing that.” Lucian gripped the top of the door frame as he leaned down, bringing his nose dangerously close to mine. “You’ll have to jog my memory.”

He rejected a kiss from me last night; I had to respect his boundaries. But a tingly feeling washed over my face as I recalled the distant memory of his lips on mine. Somehow, he inched even closer. Heat rushed to my face—I must’ve looked like one of those old-timey cartoon thermometers. If I got any hotter, I’d surely burst.

I stepped back with a squeal of a breath.

“Your piano needs tuning!”

Surprise overcame his face briefly before he blinked away the expression. His lips puckered, then he nodded and straightened his posture.

“... I remember now.”

“So, can I come in?”

“Just for the violin?” His question came off as more of a challenge, like he was daring me to tell him the whole truth.

I nodded, hoping my deceit wouldn’t show through. Lucian chuckled as he stepped back, gesturing for me to come in. Every time I entered his room, I discovered something new. As I looked around this time, a few things caught my interest. First, it was the record player in the corner, so dusty I wondered if he may have forgotten about it. The second was my violin on the wall. And finally, the stack of books under his nightstand. The black cat I had met on Saturday was asleep beside them.

“What are those?” I asked, pointing to the stack.

Lucian glanced at them, but quickly turned his attention back to the violin as he retrieved it from its wall mount.

“That’s Pepper. You know what a cat is.”

My chest tightened, and even though I knew he’d misinterpreted me, I felt a little silly. Fortunately, it was easy to regain my composure when Lucian wasn’t looking at me.

“Not the kitty… the books behind Pepper.”

“Hey, I got your violin,” Lucian said plainly, turning to extend the instrument to me.

I eyed it for a moment before cautiously taking it from his hands. I put it in place on my shoulder and under my chin before plucking one string. It was supposed to be tuned to D, but it was so flat it’d dropped to a C. My nose scrunched.

“Areallyour instruments out of tune?”

Lucian’s shoulders rose as he inhaled deeply.

“Only the ones you touch.”

My gaze narrowed, and my lips pursed. I sat the violin on his desk so I could put my hands on my hips. My lips parted, a sharp lashing for Lucian at the tip of my tongue, but he beat me to the punch.

“If you’re going to be a brat, I’m going to wash your mouth out with soap,” he warned, holding up a finger.

But I wasn’t going to be deterred.

“Fine, I’m sorry.” I crossed my arms.

“Thank you—”

“I won’t do it again,Daddy.” If he was going to threaten me like a child, it was only fitting for me to address him accordingly.

Lucian closed his eyes, grumbling something under his breath as he rubbed his temple. Clearly, I’d pissed him off. A slight electric current pulsed through me as I eagerly awaited his retribution.

Would he make me kneel on uncooked rice like Sophia said? Or would he leave my ass black and blue before making me cum so hard I couldn’t breathe? When Lucian’s earthy eyes opened again, I was practically bouncing with anticipation.

His lips curled into a wry smile as he shook his head and murmured, “Fucking brat.”

He approached me with slow, menacing steps, circling me like a wolf hunting his prey. Before I could begin to guess what his next move might be, he lunged forward and tangled his fingers in my hair, tugging my head back to force me to look into his eyes. Shivers ran down my spine as I basked in the delicious mixture of pleasure and pain.

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