Total pages in book: 187
Estimated words: 184867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 924(@200wpm)___ 739(@250wpm)___ 616(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 184867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 924(@200wpm)___ 739(@250wpm)___ 616(@300wpm)
The second our eyes connected, her entire body tensed up, and my dick stirred into action at the thought of trapping her on that dance floor and forcing her to come with me.
God, the amount of fun I could have chasing an innocent girl like her … making her fear me and erase that wretched smile off her face.
Suddenly, someone grips my shoulders and pulls me back away from the dance floor and into a wall. By the time I process what’s happened, I’m about ready to gut them like a fish until I realize who it is.
“Kai?” I growl, throwing his hands off my shoulders.
“So it is you. Thought I’d recognized that awful stench of your ego,” he says, smirking.
“Fuck you,” I spit back, jerking my shoulders free. “Don’t touch me.”
He holds up his hands. “Relax. I’m just trying to talk.”
“About what?” I bark back.
“You haven’t been replying to any of my messages.”
“Intentionally,” I reply.
“Figured,” he retorts, snorting. “Look, I don’t know what the hell your deal is, but I’m gonna need you to stop. Too much is at stake here. Put whatever shit you’re holding against me behind you, please.”
“Not even thinking about it,” I say, leaning back against the wall so I can keep an eye on the door in case she walks out.
“What is your fucking problem?” Kai growls. “You know I need your help, and you’re blatantly ignoring it.”
“Deal with your own shit,” I say, glaring over his shoulder. “I have better things to do than help you and these Phantoms fight some imaginary enemy.”
“Look at me. Is this how you’re going to treat me?” he says, tilting his head. “You can’t even look at me when we’re talking.”
“Not if I can avoid it.”
“Fine. Fucking hate me, whatever, but I’m not the one who’ll suffer if you don’t help,” he says, pointing his finger at my chest as if I’m the problem here. “You came here into my fucking territory to enjoy my fucking party. The least you can do is return the favor when I ask for help.”
“Fine. You want me to leave?” I raise a brow as I push myself off the wall to get up in his face. “Because I’m fucking fine with that. Don’t worry.”
“No, I’m not saying that,” he says. “I’m just saying, I help you out, you help me out.”
“Since when have you ever helped me?”
His lips part, but he doesn’t respond as quickly as before, which means he doesn’t know the answer.
Checkmate.
“Thought so,” I quip, and I move past him.
“Nathan’s going to be destroyed if you don’t help,” he says, his voice all serious.
I pause and think about it for a moment. “Your guy … not mine.”
“So you’d let a fellow student die?” he adds.
I swallow. “If that’s the lesson, then so be it.”
And I walk off, leaving him seething with rage.
But I don’t care. His emotions do nothing to me. They haven’t for a long while.
Brushing it off, I walk back to the dance floor, but to my surprise, her friend is alone, and she’s nowhere in sight.
Where did she run off to?
I look around at the couples in the hallways smooching, but none of them are her. I’m obsessed with finding this girl.
“Ares.” Caleb’s voice makes me stop in my tracks as he whispers into my ear from the side. “Her name is Crystal Murphy.”
A devilish grin spreads on my face.
Of course, it is.
Crystal Murphy.
Such an innocent name for such an innocent girl …
It’s a pity I’ll have to destroy her.
“Thank you,” I reply.
“She’s out on the terrace beyond the kitchen,” he adds.
My tongue darts out to wet my lips. “I’ll deal with her.”
I walk through the crowd toward the kitchen. Another door at the other end is wide open, so I head out. There’s a small fenced-up stone terrace with seats, and the music is still audible out here, albeit far less loud.
But the one thing that makes me pause is the girl in the pink dress, staring off into the distance like she’s waiting for a certain someone to come and whisk her away.
A wicked smile forms on my lips.
There she is.
CRYSTAL
I take a deep breath and close my eyes to calm my unsteady heart. It’s dark outside anyway, so there’s nothing to see. Just a few minutes away from the dance floor is all I need to calm down.
Suddenly, a hand snakes around my waist, and all the adrenaline comes flooding right back in.
“Are you afraid of death?”
My eyes burst open at the sound of his voice.
It’s him.
My body tightens as he moves closer, my fingers thrumming against the pocket in my dress, where I keep the small knife I’ve always brought everywhere since that night.
“You know who I am, don’t you?” he whispers into my ear, breath lingering near my skin, creating goose bumps all over. “Say my name.”