Page 1 of The Devil's Heir
PROLOGUE
Jarek
I can smell her as she walks by me in the hallways. Lavender and vanilla—the cheap stuff—but that doesn't matter to me: the scent is priceless. I want her—I want her more than I've ever wanted anything in my life—but I can never have her. I don't know if I'll ever be allowed to know how she feels beneath me, to know what she sounds like when I have her crying out my name, all because of her circumstances.
Maybe in another world, we would be perfect for one another, but not this one. Liliana Sumner was born on the wrong side of the tracks, and unlike me, when she lost her parents, she was put into the foster system; I was sent to live with my uncle and his wife. Sometimes, I wonder if I would have been better off going into the system, but I'm a Falcon, and Falcons always rise above everything and everyone.
My life has been anything but rainbows and roses. Being from such an influential family keeps me from anyone or anything less than what we are. My uncle's lectures have been ingrained inside every cell in my body, and I'm forced to live a life in the darkness of my family's legacy. A legacy that includes crime families, particularly the Mafia, where secrets are aplenty unless you want an early exit from this world.
Liliana being poor saves her from me. As much as I want nothing more than to have her as my own, my tastes are dark, just like my family's past. I doubt she can handle the things that I would do to her. Others keep trying to talk to her, and she smiles at them; she gives them the smile that is supposed to be mine, so now, I'm going to take her tears because if I can't have Liliana, nobody can have her.
The bell rings, pulling me from my thoughts and I watch the halls fill up with students hurrying to leave for the day. My girl takes her time; she's never in a hurry to get back to her foster home, so I lie in wait until the halls are almost empty again. I make my way over and stand behind her as she goes through her locker. When my patience wears thin, I slam my hand on the locker beside hers, making her jump.
"Hello, pauper."
"Jarek," she gasps, slapping her chest.
The fear in her eyes, along with the way she says my name, has me hardening instantly. That's the look I love seeing—if only she was on her knees.
"Why do you linger every day? Do you meet someone after everybody else goes home?" I run my finger down her arm, but she jerks away from my touch, which only angers me. I crowd her in and glare down at her. "How about you show me what you do with the others. I'm sure I can do it better."
"How dare you!" she says shakily. "Y-you are disgusting if you think I would do anything with anybody, let aloneyou, Jarek Falcon!" She slams her locker door, and I am so shocked that she would dare talk to me so disrespectfully that she gets by me and runs out of the school.
My anger turns into amusement, and a grin appears on my face because, unbeknownst to her, I've now decided that I'm going to make Liliana Sumner my prey. She's perfect in every way. Passing the time until graduation while making her my little toy and bending her to my will has got to be my best idea yet. These next few months are going to be much more enjoyable.
ONE
Liliana
"Walk much, Sumner?"
Jarek Falcon, the most popular guy in school and my bully, stares down at me, smirking.
I'm walking through the hall on my way to fifth-period study hall when he trips me in front of a group of kids. He laughs as I lay face down on the linoleum floor, my books and supplies scattered all around. But Jarek doesn't care; it only makes him laugh harder.
"I-I'm sorry…."
"I-I'm sorry," he mimics me in a funny voice intended to make fun of me even more, "You are so pathetic, pauper. Maybe you should do online schooling, so you don't have to take up so much space here for the rest of us."
Being a foster child and about to age out of the system, the only thing I wanted was to get through my last two years of high school. I was doing reasonably well until Jarek appeared and decided to become my shadow. Only he doesn't disappear on rainy days; heismy rainy day.
"Please, stop, Jarek…." I sit here with my eyes closed. Whenever I try picking up my books, another person knocks them out of my hand.
The late bell rings for class, and the crowd begins to scatter, but not Jarek. No, he walks over and squats beside me. I can't look at him, so I keep my head down. This doesn't go over too well for him, and he grabs my hair, pulling my head up.
"Aw, didI embarrass my little pauper today?" He pulls a little harder when I don't answer and gets right in my face, "Answer me, pauper; I want the truth."
With eyes brimming with unshed tears, I answer, "Yes, Jarek."
"Good. This will be what happens from this day forward if you don't obey me, understand, pauper?"
"Yes, Jarek."
His devious smirk doesn't bode well for me, and what he says next only proves it, "You, my little pauper, will be my own personal assistant. I expect you to check in with me every day and do as I command, then just maybe, I won't have to repeat what was done today." He releases my hair only to caress my cheek, "One more thing, pauper, you are not allowed to talk to anyone here at school but me. Do you understand everything that I'm saying?"
I look into his dark, soulless eyes, and nod.
"Words, little pauper, I need words."
