Page 199 of Poison Aches

Anyone who is anyone knows exactly who George is, and they all try to stop him to talk, but just like his father, George doesn’t pay any of them an ounce of attention.

As soon as Angel spots George, the smile on her face brightens up tenfold, stopping my damn heart.

She goes straight for an affectionate hug.

She looks genuinely happy and pleasantly surprised to see George, but the asshole goes too far when he kisses her cheek.

They get to talking, and then the idiot gestures to me, with a huge smirk on his damn mug.

Ivy slowly follows George’s gaze until her eyes track to me on the balcony, watching her.

I see it on her face before I feel it slam into my chest.

The premonition…

We stare at each other.

She tries to smile at me, but it doesn’t quite happen.

That’s when her fucking date says something and then she actually smiles and looks away from me.

Like hell!

I go down the stairs, round the hall, and then I’m striding across the room, evading the people that try to grab my attention as swiftly as I can. Intensely aware of my heart stuttering in my damn chest, I’m right there in front of her.

I can feel interested parties looking my way…including Governor Hughes, but I ignore him and his family.

“Angel.”

Her name sounds like a command on my lips, a curse of sorts… or exactly what it is.Poison.

She whips her head to look at me, the curls of her hair bouncing around her shoulders.

In this setting, in this fucking moment, she steals my damn breath away.

I’m already a man who feels pain each time the thing in my chest beats, but when this girl looks at me with all those emotions swirling in her eyes, I almost surrender.

To what exactly? I’m not sure but she weakens me.

It’s fucking annoying.

Her shoulders straighten and her facial features school into forced politeness.

One thing about Ivy Marie Irving, she’s a fucking phony.

“Hello, Emmett.”

Her sweet voice sounds stilted. Hmm, let’s apply some pressure.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” I ask calmly when I’m feeling anything but.

I can feel Vaughn watching, quietly observing, but I don’t give a damn. This isn’t about him.

“Oh yes, we were just about to get an introduction,” George says with a smirk, then he turns to look directly at the asshat Vaughn was blocking. “Who are you?”

George, Vaughn, and I turn to look at the boy standing beside Ivy.

He looks… ridiculous.

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