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She smiles and heads our way. My stupid heart stutters. “Making sure she’s not some psycho who will kill you in your sleep.” Chloe side-eyes me. “I know you, Wes. You’ve never looked at a girl like that.”
She’s never been with a guy before, that much is obvious. The thought of being the first man to get her in bed, the first man to make her come, the first cock she has inside her, makes me hard.
“If you don’t leave this campus, I’ll make your life a living hell. I’ll make you pay for what you did. Make you suffer worse than you made her suffer. You’ll be begging for a prison cell when I’m through with you.”
“I’m telling you now, Violet. If you don’t get the fuck off this campus, I’ll kill you myself.”
But there’s a reason it’s called a crush and not something nicer. Because falling for someone you know will never want you back is crushing.
When he steps back, my gaze lands on the bulge in his pants. My mouth goes dry. Oh my god. Choking me and nearly making me black out made him hard. Hurting me turns him on.
“You said I’m a loser who should only date nerds from the library. I guess I just haven’t found the right one yet.” “I never said you were a loser. You’re gorgeous and sweet and smart. You could date any guy.”
Wes slams me back against the bark, knocking the breath out of me. When I part my lips to scream, one hand clamps over my mouth and the other around my throat. “Don’t you fucking dare.”
“I’m going to take what’s mine, little flower.”
“You like that you might get caught, don’t you?” Wes murmurs. “That everyone knows you want to be my own personal plaything. You love when I make you get on your knees for me. You get off on that edge of fear.”
“You start by forgiving Violet,” Mom tells me. I open my mouth to object, but she cuts me off. “Violet is a good girl, Wes, and she was such a great friend to Chloe. She genuinely feels bad about what happened.”
“You can allow yourself to feel happy, Wes. That doesn’t mean you’ve stopped grieving your sister or love her any less.”
“You and Violet are both grieving someone you loved so much. You can help each other through this, but instead, you’re making her loss worse for you both. Chloe would be so upset if she knew you were closing your heart off to her best friend just because you’re ashamed of feeling happy.”
“Get out,” he growls at his teammates. Trey emerges from beneath the table, still grinning. “We were just starting to have some fun.” “Get. Out.” Now the smile slips from Trey’s face and his eyes narrow. “What? She’s all yours now?” “That’s how it works. I claimed her. She’s mine.”
“Oh, please. I see the way you stare at her. The last time a man stared at me like that, he married me.”
Edith is such an icon
“I wanted to kiss you.” His grip on my jaw tightens yet somehow remains tender. My heart stops. “But I didn’t want to do it on a dare. I want it to be real.”
“I don’t do sweet and gentle,” he warns. “If you’re looking for a prince, he’s not me. I want my belt around your throat. I want to fuck you so hard, your nails leave scars on my back. If I kiss you, you’re mine.”
“I hope you know what you’ve just unleashed, little flower. You’re not going anywhere now.” There’s no going back. I’m his. I belong to Wes Novak.
“That’s it, little flower,” he mutters. “Come on my finger.” It’s more threat than promise. Then he adds, “If you dare.”
“I’m going to fuck your face now, little flower.”
“I’m not like him. Your pleasure gets me off—not your pain. You liked this before, didn’t you? You get wet every time you think about me choking you again.”
I wait for her to ask me to put an end to the torment. To feed me some bullshit line like this isn’t what Chloe would want. But she doesn’t. She means it. The guilt is eating her alive. This whole time, I’ve been wanting to punish her for what she did. But her own mind has been punishing her more severely than I ever could.
What I’ve hated most of all isn’t what Violet did. What I’ve hated is that I’ve kept loving her through all of it, no matter how hard I’ve tried to stop.
“It was an accident. What you did was stupid. Really, really fucking stupid. But I know you loved her. You’d never hurt her on purpose.” Violet shakes her head, a new stream of tears renewed. “No, I wouldn’t. I’d hurt myself before I’d hurt her.”
“Your captain didn’t order you to cut her up.” I snarl my next words directly in his ear so he hears them loud and clear. “You ever lay another fucking finger on her, I’ll rip every limb off your body.”
