More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
What are my hobbies? Torturing and killing people. What do I do in my spare time? Hunt the people I plan to torture and kill. And occasionally stalk you. What’s my relationship like with my family? Well, I’m currently running through a list of people to torture and kill because they murdered my sister. Oh, you want to know about my parents? Well, my mother is practically catatonic and my father’s danced his way onto said list of people I want to torture and kill. See how this might get a little sticky? “I’ve already told you, I’m not a good person. There’s nothing else to tell.”
“Why do you do that?” she asks, pulling me from my thoughts. I’m too amused by her comical show to remember what I said to frustrate her so badly. “Do what?” “You pretend that you’re this horrible person, yet you’ve done all these amazing things. It’s like you want me to hate you.” “You’ve said so yourself: I’m a monster,”
“Something tells me that’s just the mask you choose to wear to push people away…” “No, it’s not a mask. It’s the real me, Stardust. I’ve done horrible, unthinkable things in the name of revenge.”
“There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re perfect in every single fucking way.” More tears spill over, and her face crumples. “Then why can’t I walk away?” “For the same reason I can’t seem to stay away to keep you safe: we were made for each other. Even though you’re the brightest fucking star in the galaxy, and I’m just a black hole that sucks the life out of everything. Even though being with me could completely implode your life. You make everything feel less hopeless.”
Who the hell is this mushy bastard speaking for me right now? Sebastian Lancaster doesn’t spew shit like this. But Jovie has changed me, and I can’t decide if it’s for the better. It was easier being a shell of a person, void of emotions or responsibility to anyone else. To walk through life and do the things I need to do without the constant fear that the things that matter the most to me won’t be taken away. Maybe a part of me died with Sienna, and Jovie has stumbled along to bring it back to life.
One day, I’ll tell her everything. I’ll lay it all out and give her the chance to decide what she wants to do with me—a sadistic murderer driven to madness in my unrelenting quest for revenge. Until then, I’m savoring every single moment she offers me.
he lifts his head, those intense eyes pinning me to my spot with their silent warning. “Stay close. Don't talk to anyone. I'll be back for you in an hour—two tops.”
Bash finds me window shopping at a jeweler a few blocks away from the office two hours later. I don't even want to think about how he managed to hunt me down so efficiently, though I wouldn't put it past him to be tracking my phone or something equally as unsettling.
And no one here is very kind, either. It's no wonder he was bred into a psychopath.
“Stay with me,” he repeats, a little more insistent. “I need you to stay with me. You aren’t safe there alone.”
This monster standing before me is the reason my entire life has imploded, but I can’t even muster up a shred of resentment toward him for it. I only resent myself for not seeing the warning signs before I fell for him.
“Stay,” he commands. “I can’t stay with you Bash. I don’t even fucking know you.” I’m convincing myself more than him. Taking the job, renting my home from him, staying in his penthouse—all of these were concessions I made against my better judgment. How far can I allow him to bend my will until my life is completely unrecognizable? “That’s bullshit. You know me better than anyone else.” I shake my head, rolling my lips into a firm line before I say something I don’t mean. I can’t fucking stand that he’s ruining the amazing week we had with this silly argument. “I’m not going to ask you again.
...more
What do I want from her? Every-fucking-thing.
I want her anger, her fear, her joy. I want to feel every single emotion that flows through her because I’ve been so depraved in the past year, denying myself all of it. I just want to feel alive again, and she's the only one who does that for me. But my message is getting muddied. I’m confusing her. I’m confusing myself.
You deserve peace, Stardust. The kind of peace I can’t give you. But the selfish side of me wants to hold you in my grasp for as long as possible. To throw you in a cage and feed off your innocent soul because mine is so tattered, I can hardly recognize myself.”
“Fine. I want you, Bash. No matter the cost. But I can't just drop my whole life and never return. We can do this together the right way.”
If I can't keep her safely tucked under my wing, then I'll just have to kill every threat that stands against her.
How is it that Bash is the murderer, but Gabe makes me feel more on edge?
Men are so weak. Women are capable of enduring days of labor pains, then pushing entire human beings out of their bodies, nearly splitting themselves in half in the process. We shed the linings of whole-ass organs and bleed quarts of blood every month, yet we’re still expected to do the same jobs as men during that time. For less money, I might add. And here he is, crying because of a little cut to his manhood. Pathetic.
My girl needs me, and this prick is playing games.
the drive turns into a blur of lights and cars as I race to help my little Stardust, mentally planning for every scenario.
I want a chance to make sure her attacker is truly dead, because there’s no way in hell I’m allowing another asshole with a god complex to hurt someone I love and get away with it. Someone I love.
“I can’t lose you, Stardust,” I go on. “I refuse to let you go without me.”
All of this is my fault, and I don't fucking know how to fix it. Being in her life has gotten her attacked. Staying away made her an easy target. What do I do now?
“It’s me, baby. I’m here,”