Page 25 of Claiming Veronica

He let out a low and mocking laugh as he stepped closer. “That’s a lie, Veronica. You’ve been hooked on my little visits. Haven’t you? You’re more interested in me than you’ll admit. Even now, you’re wet for me, my little liar.”

Eli paused, his eyes falling to the pathetic piece of metal I clutched between us. A soft, amused exhale escaped him, more of a hum than a laugh, as his gaze flicked back to my face. “You think that would stop me?”

I swallowed, gripping the shard tighter, feeling the sharp edges cut into my palm. I wanted to say yes, that it would stop him, that I wasn’t scared, but the truth was lodged in my throat. Even if my body was confused, fear was part of it. I forced myself to calm down and took a breath. His eyes narrowed at me, and it felt like he was turning me inside out.

He was right there, standing so close I could feel the subtle heat of his body, yet he didn’t even flinch. The jagged metal felt like a flimsy defense against the weight of his presence. It wasn’t like I was actually going to stab him.

“I’ll use it,” I said, my voice barely steady. It was a lie—he could see it in my eyes and how my hand trembled as I tried to keep the shard between us. The bigger lie was how my heart thudded and my panties dampened.

Eli’s expression darkened, his amusement flickering into something else—something cold, dangerous. He stepped even closer, the tip of the metal shard almost touching his chest. I thought he might press into it for a second to see what I’d do.

“You’re brave. I’ll give you that.” His voice was a low murmur, almost intimate in how it wrapped around me, threatening to pull me under.

I gasped as he reached out, his fingers curling lightly around my wrist. “You’re damaging yourself.” He clucked his tongue lightly. “That’s not allowed.” He squeezed just hard enough for my hand to release the piece of metal so it clattered to the ground.

“What do you want?” I asked, my voice dropping to a whisper.

“That’s simple, isn’t it? You. I want you.” His hand reached forward and grasped mine, dwarfing it completely. “Look what you did, Veronica,” he chastised. Bending his head over my palm seriously, he examined the torn skin, clucking his tongue. “This needs to be cleaned. You could get an infection.”

I was speechless as he dragged me to the front office, into the light, and sat me on the desk, lifting me like I weighed nothing. His heavy palms went around my waist, burning into my skin like a brand.

I’d been moved around like a doll many times in my life. Doctors, nurses, my sister, and my mother while I lay limp and sick, but nothing had felt like this. His heavy palms on my waist as he placed me on the desk didn’t feel clinical or familial; they felt possessive.

“Stay,” he ordered. “I mean it.” He stared hard at me for a moment as if to impart the seriousness of his words, but I believed he meant it. The problem was that I should have had a witty comeback, but I didn’t. There wasn’t anything in my brain but white noise. Should I try to run? I didn’t really want to.

Eli disappeared into the office’s attached bathroom and reappeared, holding a medical kit you get at a big box store. Dragging the office chair around, he sat himself in front of me, making me feel suddenly self-conscious as he loomed so close to me. He dug around in the kit until he had the supplies he wanted.

The whole time, the thought kept rolling around in my brain as I looked at his bent head that I was crazy to be sitting here like this with him. I didn’t know him. Even Pike was suspicious, and he was related to him. All of that only made my heart softer for him. That dark and tragic past that he had only drew me closer. If my sister or Maxim knew, they’d lock me up for good.

I could never let them find out. It’d be my secret.

What harm could it do? I wanted to be reckless just once.

Chapter 15

Eli

Thankfully, there had been a standard medical kit in the bathroom. It probably didn’t have jack shit in it, but it was better than nothing. The cut on her palm wasn’t big, but I still had to grit my teeth to look at how the skin was red and torn. I didn’t like that she’d hurt herself.

“You aren’t allergic to anything, right?” I asked, my hand hovering over hers with the antiseptic while I waited for her answer. I was pretty sure she wasn’t since I’d invaded her privacy a week ago and taken a thorough look into her medical records. She shook her head, her pale eyes looking somberly at me, holding me in place.

I had difficulty looking away and focusing on my task, but I forced myself. When I’d first scoped out the woman Pike was seeing and noticedVeronica, her eyes drew me first. You could tell that she was someone who had been through a profound experience with death—seen it up close. It was something that I could respect.

She was quiet, sitting on the edge of Victor’s desk, her legs dangling above the floor, those sexy legs of hers in those fuck me boots and stockings. I focused on her hand, wiping it carefully with the antiseptic wipe and then putting on the band-aid with unnecessarily slow, deliberate movements. The band-aid would be in the worst spot, but it couldn’t really be helped. Her skin was soft beneath my fingers, trembling slightly, and she didn’t pull away.

“What were you looking for?” I asked her as I watched the pulse in her throat. She swallowed hard and tried to come up with a lie.

“Nothing much.” She shrugged, her pale shoulder rising like a bird’s wing, the bones shifting delicately under her t-shirt, the collarbone looking too close to the surface of her alabaster skin. “He threatened my sister.” That wasn’t a lie, but I could see when she decided to deflect that she was going all in because she met my eyes when she did it. “I am just looking to understand why he was here.” She added a shrug for effect.

“Victor did threaten your sister,” I agreed. “I killed him for it.” Veronica didn’t flinch or look away, which turned me the fuck on. It was common for people to be uncomfortable around me, but I often made them uneasy if they were smart. Generally, I enjoyed the sense of power this gave me. If they were afraid, that meant I was in control, which I liked. This was different. She allowed a sense of connection, which was new for me.

“He wasn’t there for Natasha, my little goddess.” I brushed a finger over her cheekbone, debating what to tell her, and then decided on the truth. “Victor was there foryouin the end.” Ultimately, he’d only come to the house for one reason, and that was for the girl in front of me—the girl who had captured my attention.

He’d gone too far coming to Morinrock. I didn’t care that he’d gone through my backlist and killed my foster care placements — the abusive fucks, but he’d had my brother on that list. I wouldn’t have cared about that at one time, but things changed once I’d seen my brother.

Pike was one of those memories that had been held in limbo, sort of like … what the fuck were those butterfly things? A cocoon? Yeah, one of those. I’d remembered my brother for years as if he were crystallized and immortalized, not as if hewere real. I’d been young when we’d been separated. There had been years where his memory was all that kept me alive, months that I thought he’d rescue me, and years I’d blamed him. Even now, I had a hard time believing he was real.

A child’s mind was funny, and time had a way of tricking you. Trauma was like an elastic band snapping you back and forth like a rubber ball.

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