Page 15 of Blades of Obsession

Her breath hitches, but she doesn’t resist. I step behind her, pulling her hair aside with one hand, draping the necklace around her neck with the other. Her pulse pounds beneath my fingers, her trembling making it even sweeter. She’s nervous—and I fucking love it.

“Good girl,” I whisper darkly in her ear, and then, before she can even process what’s happening, I sink my teeth into the side of her neck—not hard enough to break skin, but enough to leave a mark. A warning. A reminder. Knowing Harvey won’tstop me. I could fuck her, right here, right now, and he wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing about it.

The wince that falls from her mouth makes my cock twitch. “Don’t take it off again,” I warn. “Or next time, I won’t be so gentle.”

I smirk at Harvey, before turning and walking out of the room, pulling the door shut behind me. But he’s half crazy if he thinks I’m leaving. I linger a few feet away, then quietly come back to lean against the wall, listening.

“What’s going on, dad? Are you a criminal? Apart of the…thinghe’s in?”

I can’t believe he kept the Serpents hidden from her all this time, especially when he sent her to a college where they lurk, with no warning about keeping an eye out for them. Any one of them could’ve hurt her.

He exhales. “After your brother… they ruined his life before he passed. I didn’t want the same for you. I thought if I could just shelter you, then I could hide you from them.”

“So—so do something,” she pleads. “You told me to call you if something like this happened and you’d handle it.”

It’s so cute how she thinks she has a chance to get away from me. I’d trap her inside of hell with me before letting that happen. Over both our dead bodies.

“I said that before I knewhe’dbe the one to—” Harvey sighs. “I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do.” There’s a beat of silence, and I know he’s trying to find something to say that won’t make him look even weaker.

“So you’re just giving up!”

“Amelia, you don’t understand. You’ve found yourself in the worst possible predicament. The only thing you really can do is… brace yourself.” There’s another pause before he speaks again. “How did he even give you that necklace last night, anyway? You called me at near midnight.”

“I, um, went to a party with my friend last night,” Amelia admits. Her voice is barely above a whisper, but part of my training included picking up sounds that the average person wouldn’t.

Harvey’s voice erupts, laced with anger. “Are you out of your fucking mind? Aparty?!” My head perks up. “What the hell is wrong with you?! I thought you were the innocent victim in all this, but instead, you’re just a—”

I slam the door open, the force rattling it against the wall. Harvey instantly goes silent. My eyes find Amelia, sitting there, tears running down her cheeks. Without thinking, I pull her up into my arms. As I rub her back, she melts into me, starting to softly cry against my chest.

What the hell is wrong with him? Most college kids go to parties. Even if they didn’t, she still deserves some fucking respect. You’d think the one person a daughter could have to show her the meaning of respect is her father.

Fuck, her cries twist something in me.

Deciding to get her away from him, I lead her out of his office, but before we’re fully out the door, he gets up to close it.

“Sit down,” I seethe, and I don’t start moving again until he’s sat back down. “Leave this door open. I’m coming right back.”

Amelia points me to her room, and I gently lay her underneath the pink comforter set, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Take a nap, pretty girl. I’ll be here when you wake up,” I whisper.

“He usually doesn’t… I mean sometimes…” she mumbles, sleep starting to take over.

“Shh… It’s going to be okay. I’ll handle him for you. You get some sleep, okay?” I’ve been wanting to run my hands through her hair for the longest time and it’s as soft as Iimagined. She nods, her breathing evening out as she settles into a slumber.

The moment she’s asleep, I practically run back to Harvey’s office, slamming the door so hard the walls shake. The anger I’d pushed down while comforting Amelia flares back to life, burning hot and wild.

“Are youfuckinginsane speaking to my girlfriend like that?!” My voice echoes in the small space. It takes every bit of control I have left not to drive my knife through his jugular.

“Girlfriend?” he chokes out, as if the word is poison on his tongue. “Look, you have to reconsider. She’s my daughter.”

He still doesn’t get it. She’smine. Not his. I don’t give a damn that two decades ago he fucked a woman and made a baby.

I laugh, a dark, humorless sound. “Oh, now you care that she’s your daughter. Where was all this concern for her when you were just tearing her apart?”

“Your mind is clouded. I’m sure you saw her at the party in a pretty outfit and maybe even had some fun, but this…infatuationwill pass.”

“I’ve been following your daughter for over a month and a half now. This isn’t some fleeting thing from alcohol or a sexy dress.”

He raises his right eyebrow. “Sexy? What kind of dress was she wearing?”

---