Page 64 of Gothikana

The sides of Vad’s jaw worked, his cheekbones pushing against his skin. ‘Let’s hope for your sake she wasn’t right.’

Ajax gripped the railing in his hand, giving Vad a cold smile. ‘I’m taking my brother and getting the hell off your cursed mountain tomorrow.’

That brought Corvina up short. ‘His cursed mountain?’ she piped up, looking between the two.

‘Ah, don’t you know?’

‘Don’t,’ Vad grit out.

Ajax gave a hard grin. ‘Verenmore has always belonged to the Deverell family line. It’s not common knowledge, but legally, the castle and this mountain are both his.’

CHAPTER 18

Corvina

Corvina stayed rootedto her spot, absolutely stunned.

Vad Deverell was the actual heir of Verenmore.

What the fuck?

She mutely watched as he marched up to Ajax, getting right in his face, their heights placing them even with each other.

‘I don’t feed money into the Squad for you to run your mouth, just to prove your dick is bigger, asshole,’ he grit out. ‘I’m going to overlook it this one time, for the sake of your brother, and pretend your tongue slipped in your grief. But if this happens again, you’ll need to watch yourself. Am I clear?’

Ajax gave a slashing grin. ‘But my dickisbigger, Deverell.’

Vad’s lips twitched. ‘Get lost before I throw you off this damn mountain, Hunter.’

Ajax gave him a mocking salute. ‘Unless there’s something shady with my brother’s death, I’ll be gone at dawn. But don’t forget to tell her about your history, man. We don’t want a repeat of Zoe.’

‘Zoe?’ Corvina asked, her mind trying to keep up with the information overload.

‘The girl who disappeared during the last Black Ball,’ Ajax told her even as his eyes stayed on Vad. ‘My ex-girlfriend. First her, and now my brother.’

A vein pulsed at the side of Vad’s forehead.

Ajax gave her a nod and turned to go into the woods, leaving her standing there with a man she didn’t know at all.

‘Who are you?’ she whispered, trying to find some answers in his eyes.

His jaw clenched. ‘Come.’ He extended his hand to her. ‘It’s getting late.’

Corvina flinched, stepping back. ‘Don’t touch me. Who the hell are you?’

‘I’m who I’ve always been to you.’

‘A stranger.’

His silver eyes flashed. ‘A stranger?’

Something pulsed in the air between them, an aura of danger wrapping around him that sent a perverse thrill to her lizard brain. She knew, just knew that if she ran, he would chase. And she wanted him tochase. She wanted him to catch her, conquer her, claim her, and reassure her everything would be okay, that their chemistry, their connection was still the sun while her world tilted on its axis.

Heart drumming incessantly, Corvina threw the lantern on the ground to distract him, and ran down the bridge, her shawl flying away from her body and falling to the grass. She looked up and saw a dark turret of the castle above the woods, and pumped her legs toward it.

A hand on the back of her neck suddenly slammed her into a tree, her front pressed to the thick, rough bark, and she yelped as his tall, warm body pressed into her from behind.

‘A stranger, little crow?’ His lips found her ear, whispering the words right into them. A hand wrapped itself around her loose braid, pulling her head back. ‘Would a stranger know the exact taste of your come on his tongue?’ he murmured into the side of her neck, tilting her head for his leisure. ‘Would a stranger know exactly how deep his cock can go in that tight pussy, hmm?’ His words rolled over her as the hand from the back of her neck gathered both her wrists in one hand and held them behind her back. ‘Would a stranger know the way your tits bounce when your nipple is flicked?’

---