Page 23 of Ever Dark

Oh, he knows exactly what I’m talking about. That’s why he can’t look at me. I reach into my purse, pull out the lock pick, and chuck it at him.

“Bones, what did you do?” Villette is shaking now.

Aries steps in between us. “Calm down, Lettie. None of this concerns you.”

“I knew I’d seen your eyes before, but I couldn’t place you because you were wearing a fucking ski mask,” I grit out as I step back, shaking. “You-you broke into my house and…” I can’t finish my sentence because I catch another familiar set of eyes on me from across the room.

I tune out the screaming match that Villette, Aries, and Bones are having to drown in my mystery man’s eyes. My breath hitchesas a flashback from the bathroom at Duff’s resurfaces again. That night that I can’t get out of my mind.

He walks toward us, and I can’t breathe. He’s more beautiful than I remember—tall, muscular, with black hair and golden honey-flecked eyes. His lips are thick. I never got to kiss him that night. We were too busy trying to get off as quickly as possible, determined not to know anything about each other. Convinced we’d never see one another again.

I want to run to him. To tell him what these people are doing to me. Would he help? Would he even care?

“Mia,” Villette says in a way that sounds like she’s called my name more than once.

I look back at her, breaking out of my reverie. Bones and Aries are still arguing behind her. “Who is that?” I jerk my head toward my bathroom man.

Her neck is flushed, her brow furrowed. I can tell how fast her heart is racing by the way her chest heaves between each breath. She’s just as furious as I am. But I need one sliver of joy tonight. “Please, Lettie. Tell me who that guy is.”

She shakes her head in frustration. “That’s Draven. Draven Blackwell. If my brother and Aries are tormenting you, then the odds are thathe’sthe one who put them up to it.”

No.

Please, for fuck’s sake, no.

The room starts to spin. My knees wobble. I take a shaky step back as my fight or flight response kicks into overdrive. How in the fuck is this happening? “I-I need to get the fuck out of here, Lettie. Like out of this fucking town.”

DRAVEN

Black hair. One blue eye, one brown. It’sher.

Fuck.

I can smell the jasmine from across the room. But why the fuck is she sandwiched between Bones and Aries in what looks like a heated debate?

I make a direct line for them, walking as fast as I can without looking desperate.That fucking dress she has on.Black and skintight. I’m guessing she’s not wearing any panties. Just like the last time we met.

Why the fuck is she still in town? I figured she’d be long gone by now. Off to wherever she came from to recover from our autumn equinox festivities. I can’t have this girl here right now. Not with all the fucking shit I have to deal with.

A storm brews inside me as we lock eyes. A tug of war between my dick and my head. The anger and rage I felt after that night sparks in my veins again. The fury of knowing that the brief timeI spent inside her pussy were the only minutes of peace I’ve felt in years. So long that I can’t even remember when the last time was.

But the closer I get to them, the more the knots in my belly twist. Something isn’t right. Lettie is visibly upset. My mystery girl is, as well. Aries’s shirt is wet, and Bones looks like he’s about to brawl. Fucking hell.

I stop in my tracks.No. Fucking. Way.It can’t be her. If I get any closer, then it will be. And my fantasy will be destroyed. Decimated.

It’s the body language. The way she backs away from them, her eyes full of rage. A picture says a thousand words. Judging by the look that Aries tosses me, this picturesque moment has only two words that matter…

Mia Harker.

Sweet fucking hell.

I take a deep breath and flip the switch, instantly burying any lingering feelings I had for the girl who brought me peace in the bathroom at Duff’s. I don’t owe her anything. And I will be damned if I give up an entire legacy of poison for pussy. Even one as fucking perfect as hers.

Her mouth drops open when I approach. It looks like she’s figured out who I am too.

“Well, I didn’t expect to see you ever again. It seems like you really are trouble, after all,Mia.” I can’t rid the sour taste of her name from my mouth. She’s been causing me nothing but grief since she moved here.

Her lips quiver as she looks up at me. “You… This was your plan all along. You think your dick is so magical that I’d just sign over everything I own to you after one night of riding it?”

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