Page 43 of Queen of Vengeance

His eyes scanned Lea up and down, finding she wasn’t unattractive by any stretch of the imagination.

He could even understand why his best friend, Zane, had a thing for her.

She was no Chika, but she was beautiful in her own right. That would make what Jax had to do next much more bearable—bordering on enjoyable.

“Did I knock the sense out of you this morning? What are you saying?” Lea couldn’t fathom it, even with all the dots he had laid out for her to connect.

“I want to be with you, Lea. Please don’t tell me that I’m too late.” His eyes glimmered with what he hoped to appear as honesty.

“What about Chika?” She was barely speaking now. Her brows furrowed deeply as she tried to comprehend the situation still.

“She isn’t you.” Jax knew she needed more convincing. Without giving it a second thought, he grabbed her arm and pulled her into him, pressing her against himself. He could feel her whole body shiver excitedly, making him flash her a toothy grin.

“Jax, have you thought this through?” The way her voice trembled only fed his ego.

“Much more than you’ll ever know,” He breathed out in a whisper before grabbing the back of her head and pulling her into a kiss.

In an instant, she was his.

Her body melted, and she was clay in his hands, ready to be shaped and molded in whatever way pleased him.

Jax was surprised at the tiny flicker of pleasure he derived from the kiss. He had kissed many girls before and felt nothing.

Chika was the only one who was able to give him any sort of reaction.

This feeling wasn’t anything like Chika, but it rivaled all the rest.

“What a shame,” he thought. “We might have had something one day. Perhaps she could have eased the lonely night, but after I’m done with her, I doubt she’ll want anything to do with me.”

That didn’t matter to Jax. His eyes only looked for status, and he was ready to crush anyone he had to to get it. He pulled away, brushing Leia’s hair behind her ear. “You and I will take on the world together, Lea. With my ambition and your potion writing skills, There won’t be anything we can’t conquer.”

“How do you propose we do that? More lying and stealing?” The serenity on her face crumbled into a heavy grimace. Her opinion of him had changed, possibly forever, but it wasn’t enough to kill the feeling she held for him.

“Look, I found a person who works for the Federation of Setas. He said he would be willing to sponsor us as our Potions Agent. We would only need money to pay for us to portal there. Once I’ve made back the money, I will happily give back whatever I had taken. This might be our only shot to get out of here.” Jax pleaded, feigning innocence in his eyes.

Lea couldn’t deny him, even with all the integrity instilled in her. “Fine, but I’m going to make sure you give that money back as soon as you have it.”

“Of course! You have my word.” Jax placed his hand over his heart, a smile spreading across his face. He continued walking with her, even holding her hand up until they were in view of the school. He then dropped her hand quickly and stepped away.

Lea watched this, puzzled and disheartened.

“I haven’t spoken with Chika yet. I just need some time. How about we meet tonight in the woods behind your house? We can go for a run. It’s a full Lunair, after all.” He winked at her, and her face turned bright red.

She nodded slowly before he turned around and disappeared into the crowd of students.

Jax felt like he was on top of the world at that moment. Not only had he successfully swindled Lea, but she didn’t suspect a thing. He felt like the future he wanted was so close he could reach out and touch it.

“My new life begins tomorrow. Tonight will be the last hurrah.”

“Hey, Jax!” Zane’s voice tore through the crowd of students greeting each other.

Jax’s good mood was instantly sullied when he realized he would have to explain to his best friend where he got the money so they could go to the portal.

Zane wasn’t going to be nearly as easy to fool. He had already worked with Jax’s uncle prior and knew that Jax would have had to do something huge to come about the money that he did in one night.

Jax kept walking, hoping that Zane would lose him in the crowd, but after feeling a firm hand grab his shoulder, He knew he was busted. Jax turned to Zane and gave him a wiry smile. “There you are, man. I’ve been looking for you.”

“You didn’t just hear me call you?” Zane was quick to question him. He was sharp as a tack, making it difficult to lie to him.

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