Page 53 of Corrupt Idol

“I can. It’s been between us from the moment we met and once I had you under me, you gave into it for a while before we almost got caught and you panicked. Since then, you’ve refused to give me an inch because everyone sees us as siblings. We’re not, Violet.”

“Mom and Dad see us that way! They’d have a heart attack!”

“If we stand together, eventually they’ll have to accept—”

She stomped her foot. “What the hell are you talking about? We’renothing!”

He flushed with rage. “Because you won’t let us be! You know we belong together, you just refuse to see.”

She tugged savagely on her hair as she stared at him. He was a madman. “You think you can say you love me and it makes everything better? It doesn’t. You have no idea what you did to me. I haven’t been the same since you.I can’t focus, can’t breathe, can’tdreamanymore. I loved you more than I loved myself. You were my hero, my life. I idolized you. I would have done anything for you and you… You destroyed me.”

“Vi.”

“No!” She held up her hands as her eyes filled with hot tears. “You made me feel dirty, used, alone. You took what you wanted and walked away. You never addressed what was happening between us and you stopped talking to me. All you wanted was sex. You made me feel like a thing rather than a person. You made me your dirty secret. That doesn’t sound like love to me—” A sob interrupted her tirade.

Tears blinded her to the fact that he had moved in. When his fingers brushed over her face, she jerked back, but he wrapped her against him.

“Let me go, you son of a—”

“I’m sorry.”

She stopped breathing. He cradled the back of her head and rocked her from side to side as she began to shake.

“I never meant to hurt you,” he said against her temple. “I never meant to make you feel used or alone. I meant to worship you.”

His hand smoothed over her quivering back as she sobbed against his chest.

“I’m sorry I didn’t take more care with you. I’m sorry I didn’t have enough patience. What I feel for you isn’t gentle or sweet. It’s this dark, insatiable craving and even after years of training and discipline in the military, I still don’t know how to handle it. I’m sorry I’m not stronger.”

“You can stop,” she said raggedly.

His hand fisted in her hair. “You know I can’t.”

She punched his shoulder. “What’s the point of apologizing if you aren’t going to stop?”

“I can’t be around you and not have you.”

“You can—”

“Every time I take you, it gets worse. I should stop. I should let you go. I should feel like a piece of shit for pushing you, but I need you.”

As close as they were, she could see the conflicting emotions in his eyes—lust clashed with pity. She could feel him vibrating against her and didn’t move for fear of pushing him over the edge. He was capable of anything.

“What we have, I’ve never felt with anyone else. Tell me you’ve felt like this with one of those assholes you used. I dare you.”

Tears slid down her face. “You hurt me.”

He kissed the tears away. “I know. I’m sorry. I can make it up to you. I’ll give you anything you want, Vi.”

She strained to get away from him. “We’re both here for Mom. We should focus on her.”

He clasped her face between trembling hands. “Tell me you love me.”

The expression on his face made her soul ache. She closed her eyes against the sight of him. “We need to go.”

“I won’t believe you if you say you don’t love me.”

Her hands fluttered between them. “I can’t do this.”

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