Page 168 of Owned

She deserved nothing more than my spite.

I crossed to the window and shoved the boxes to the floor.

Indulgent silks and velvets spilled free, jewellery I didn’t want and couldn’t bear to look at clattered on the hardwood floor and the scent of sweet sandalwood and heady jasmine filled my nose.

I kicked them aside and opened the window.

The air beyond was damp and metallic.

Even the rain tasted like iron.

A knock at the door snapped through me like a shot, and I turned, breathless, and pulled my robe tighter around myself. I half-expected to see Lucian in the doorway, and I cursed myself for choosing a robe that was so sheer and delicate.

I didn’t want him to find me alluring in any way. I was already too vulnerable.

I opened my mouth to say something, but no sound came out.

My eyes closed as a vibration rippled through me—it wasn’t Lucian at the door.

It was them.

With the slightest gesture of my hand, the knob turned and the door opened.

Titus, Valen, and Bastian loomed in the hallway.

Three dark figures that set my heart pounding.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” I said, but the words were a gasp of relief.

They entered the room like shadows, soundless and sure and Bastian pushed the door shut behind them. “And yet here we are,” he said.

His voice was a dark melody, and I wanted to dissolve in it.

“You need to leave,” I said. The lie caught in my throat.

“Avril—” Valen’s eyes were already pleading.

I turned my back to them. “You shouldn’t have come.”

Titus’s laugh chilled the air. “How could we stay away?” He reached for me and pulled me against him. The silk robe was a whisper between us.

I leaned into him. “You don’t understand.”

“You’re not going through with it. We won’t let this happen.” There was an urgency in Valen’s voice that sliced through me.

I pulled away from Titus and stepped backward, shaking my head. “I have a plan. You have to trust me.”

The three of them exchanged looks.

“What the fuck is she talking about?” Bastian asked.

“Tell us what you’re going to do,” Valen said, his voice low and rough.

Our gazes locked. He was so damned earnest—so intense—that I had to look away before I told him everything.

Titus reached for me again, his long fingers gentle on my wrists.But for how long?

“Tell us.”

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