Touch of Hate Read Online J.L. Beck, Cassandra Hallman

Categories Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary, Dark, Forbidden, Mafia, Romance Tags Authors: ,
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Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 125465 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 627(@200wpm)___ 502(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
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From that moment on, my entire focus has been on making sure no one puts their hands on her. Not when she belongs to me.

It ought to be my fingerprints on her smooth skin, and my scent clinging to her clothes. I want it to be my voice in her ear as I tease pleasure from deep inside her, waking her up to the magic her body is capable of.

She’s still so young and innocent despite her worldliness.

She deserves protection.

I see she’s left nothing to chance, wearing a skirt that leaves most of her thighs on display as she cuts down the hall at a near jog. Is it eagerness to be with me that makes her move so swiftly? My already growing dick stiffens at the thought. The minx is determined to break down every last bit of my resolve.

One of us has to be strong.

Why does it have to be me when I’m so damn weak for her?

She reaches the stairs and begins climbing, her hand on the banister, her head swinging back and forth. She’s watching for me with no idea she’s the one being watched. It’s a thrill I’ll never be able to shake.

Watching like this without her knowing. The sense of control I feel as I creep silently up the stairs, well enough behind her that she doesn’t hear the soft tread of my feet, is intoxicating. I can’t pry my eyes from her legs, the promise of what’s barely hidden beneath that skirt setting loose a deep, burning desire I’m hopeless against.

This is wrong. We should not do this.

But I’ll be damned if anything in the world could stop me from touching her now. Dark and dangerous need overtakes common sense as I close the distance between us, every heartbeat carrying me one step closer to her.

I need my fix, and I’m going to get it.

2

SCARLET

My loving and somewhat understanding father would flip the hell out if he knew I wandered the halls of Corium alone at night. Though I’m only here for a short visit, eventually, I’ll be a student like my brother, Ren, and Aspen.

Xander Rossi is much more than a protective father, but I’m also much more than his daughter. The need to break free of the ivory tower I feel trapped in consumes me. Which is why I find myself wandering the halls late at night, looking for mischief. Kidding unless a dark-haired, blue-eyed man, four years older than me, is considered mischief.

I suppose, in many ways, Ren is that and then some.

If my father or Quinton ever discovered what was going on between us, hell would rain down.

Technically, he’s forbidden.

The thing you long for, even when you know you can’t have it. Every day he reminds me why we can’t do this, yet we somehow find our way back to each other for another stolen moment and forbidden kiss.

I know we have the rest of our lives ahead of us, but I’m getting tired of sneaking around, of being a secret kept in the dark. I’m tired of hiding what I feel for him, even if it’s painfully obvious to others. I don’t want to be his queen in the shadows. I want us to be real, official. I want Ren to be mine.

I round the corner of the stairwell and continue walking. Ren told me to meet him at the top, and I don’t want to be late.

Darkness glitters all around me, but where most would be afraid of it, I’m not. There’s something about the dark, something I can’t put into words. It’s both beautiful and dangerous because you never know what is lurking in its depths. I pause for a moment when I hear what I think are footsteps. The mere thought of being caught wandering around sends a shiver down my spine.

What’s my excuse?

The footsteps grow closer, and I lean into the wall of the dark stairwell, hoping whoever it is will walk right past me without noticing. I hold my breath, waiting. The footsteps are right behind me now.

My heart lurches in my chest. The heavy thud is all I can hear, and then a hand wraps around my waist, pulling from behind. A scream builds in my throat, and I’m a millisecond away from releasing it when a hand clamps over my mouth, the rough finger pads of the mystery person press gently but firmly into my cheeks. Thoughts swirling, I think of how my father and Quinton were right.

How stupid I am for walking around in the dark, all alone. I struggle in the person’s grasp, and icy fear and dread coat my insides. Panicking, I throw back an elbow and make contact with a stupidly hard wall of muscle.

A grunt escapes my assailant, and he releases me. I whirl around, my fists clenched tight, thinking of the defense moves my father taught me, only to find Ren standing there in all his glory. A deviant little smirk on his full lips.


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