Page 58 of The Penalty

“Pretty. Brunette. When I was younger, my dad told me I had her eyes and her charming personality.”

“Ohhh,” Victoria laughed. “That’s where it comes from.”

A full grin bloomed on my lips. “Yeah.”

She kept smiling at me. A beautiful, gentle, adoring smile. Emotion surged to the thing in my chest, nearly causing me to reveal my darkest mistakes. Not the ones related to disliking my step-brother or feeling inadequate in my father’s eyes.

The dangerous ones. The ones where people got hurt because of my reckless decisions and impulsive behavior.

I wanted to fall apart in front of her. Piece by jagged piece, until she put me back together.

Beautiful but broken.

I pulled her closer. Not because I intended to shag her again. Although the feel of her pussy nestled against my cock put up a good argument. I just needed to have her close. Breathe her in.

She calmed me simply by existing.

“Thank you for telling me.” The tenderness in her voice reached down and grabbed hold of my heart.

“There’s nobody else I’d rather tell.”

“Am I going to be the first you tell all your secrets to?”

“Do you want to be my first?” I dragged my hands along her thighs, picking up on the sensual note in her voice.

She ran her fingers through my hair. “First.” She kissed my nose. “Last.” Her lips pressed against my forehead. “Only.” The softness of her mouth on my scar sent violent shivers through me.

I desperately wanted to hold onto this moment. Hold onto this happiness.

I had to.

My past keeps threatening to break free.

Dark thoughts. Spiral. Revenge. Redemption.

Victoria

Note to self: Attending photoshoots with Xavier Maddox can cause heart failure.

How ridiculously attractive can one person be? It’s not natural.

This campaign will be huge for him. It’s with Apex Jewelers for a fancy watch. Logic dictates that it requires him to be bare-chested in jeans sitting on a leather couch.

Sleek muscles. Tattoos. Tousled hair. Seductive smiles. Dark eyes.

Everything about him was a lethal, perfectly honed machine.

Perfect for telling time.

I bumped into the monitors. Hard. They rattled and shook so violently I feared they’d collapse.

Everyone turned to stare at the commotion.

“Sorry.”

I internally scolded myself for being such a mess. This wasn’t my first photoshoot and yet I’m acting like I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.

A tiny smirk tugged at the corners of Xavier’s mouth. “You’ll have to excuse Ms. Chase. It’s our first time working together.”

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