Page 10 of Bad Wolf

“No, fuckin’ Miami. Why are you here?”

“I live here. This is where my dad and I relocated.”

He finds the light switch, and the room floods with stark, fluorescent light. My eyes blink at the blunt contrast and even in the harsh artificial glare, he’s striking. A carbon copy of his father, no family has ever looked so physically similar as the Maddens.

Sunkissed blond hair, piercing blue eyes, and the most kissable mouth in existence are all but a few feet away. His broad shoulders fill out the sharp white button down and his ropey forearms flex as his fists draw tight and then loosen again.

“So, this is what becomes of the class Valedictorian. This is where a 1580 on the SATs gets you. Tell me,Raven. Was it worth it? Throwing it all away to dance for drunken assholes? Was it worth breaking us?” he spits, his voice laced with venom.

“I didn’t... I never…” I shake my head. Like this is the time or place,or universe, in which we’re going to have this conversation.

I opt to just shut down instead.

“You shouldn’t be back here. We could get in trouble,” I whisper, trembling under his scrutiny. Reeling from his words.

Even though he’s right, it feels like he’s judging me, and I can’t take that from him.

Not from him.

He’s always been the one to lift me up. The one who told me I could do anything. And, this is going to sound insane, but it washimwho gave me the strength that terrible day.

With every delicate kiss he gave me at the party. While he kept me close to his side when he talked to his friend, his fingers absently stroking the skin between my tank and my shorts, I made my plan.

I chose him over everything.

Over myself. My own happiness.

So it only adds to the hurt when his gaze fills with disdain.

It seems like he’s had a lot to drink, and anyway, what would be the point in telling him the truth now? I did what I did, be it not exactly as he believes, and we still ended up in the same place. Six years later and worlds apart.

He shakes his head, eyes swirling with despair and hurt. He reaches up and grasps my chin between his thumb and forefinger harshly, and moves closer. His fingers dig into my skin painfully, but part of me welcomes it.

After all, I’ve craved his touch since the moment I lost it.

When we were together, we barely left each other’s side. And I was always within his grasp. Close enough to be touched at all times, and I was the same with him.

“You are still so fuckin’ pretty. Still so…”

He blazes a trail up and down my body. The intensity of his stare sets me on fire and burns my skin as if it were a blow torch.

“Beautiful.” He leans in, lowers his head, and his breath mixes with mine. Not even an inch of space left between us, and then, just at the last second, he pulls away.

“FUCK!” he yells, his voice echoing around the cavernous room, making me recoil, my back hitting the cool wall.

“I need to get out of here,” he grits, and with that, he’s storming off, leaving me to crumple to the floor in a heap of black silk and sequin feathers, a sob tearing its way out of me.

The crushing pain in my chest, too heavy to bear.

CHAPTERTHREE

KNOX

“Drink this,”Troy’s deep voice echoes around my head in surround sound.

The dull ache amplifies as I turn my head and wince. For someone who spends his life making sure he’s keeping his body in peak condition, I sure did a piss poor job last night.

“Go the fuck away,” I mutter into my pillow, eyes closed.

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