Page 43 of Cruel Revenge

He turns up the music, the heavy bass of the dance music filling the car and drowning out the need for any sort of conversation. Thankfully.

I don’t know what to say to him. I would rather be spending time alone in Vermont than making conversation with a Vitale.

It’s bad enough pretending to be married to him. Not that I need to pretend too hard to be attracted to him.

As much as I fight it, he has this weird hold over me I can’t seem to escape.

It doesn’t help that the spicy smell of his cologne is addictive as it fills the truck, making me press my thighs together.

Memories of him inside me, his skin on mine, flood my mind.

I scowl and look out the window before a low thrumming sound draws my attention back to him.

His fingers drum against the wheel as he weaves through the traffic, further and further from the city until we’re parked on a cliffside.

There’s a metal fence and some picnic tables just beyond the parking lot that overlooks the city.

I unbuckle and hop out of the truck first, sitting on top of one of the picnic tables closest to the fence.

His footsteps echo against the cement behind me before he sits down beside me.

His thigh brushes against mine, and I hate the rush of heat it sends through my body.

Or maybe I just hate the fact that I don’t hate his touch at all.

Joshua pulls a blunt out of his pocket and holds it out to me. “Conversation lubrication?”

I bite back a laugh, rolling my eyes as he lights it and takes a drag before handing it to me. “So, your boss and his spoiled brat daughter are going to be at the wedding reception we have no business having in the first place?”

He takes another drag, holds the smoke in for a few seconds, then blows the smoke out in rings, sending one through another with ease. “You agreed to do this. Are you backing out now?”

I’m not.

I should, though.

This pull he has on me will end up being my death sentence.

“What happens if I do?”

The look he gives me is flat, his eyes haunting. “I destroy your family.”

“I could destroy yours.” I lean closer to him, taking the blunt. “It would be nothing to kill your brother, but I would do it slowly. Kill him little by little, to make it hurt as much as possible. A bastard like him doesn’t deserve a quick, easy death.”

“I’m not going to argue with you.” Joshua stretches out his long legs in front of him. “Logan is nothing but a problem, and he always has been. However, he has his uses, which makes disposing of him a little more difficult right now. Good at charming the feds and keeping them away from me, bad at being a person.”

“Golden child problems.”

“You sound like you know them.” He watches me, gaze dropping to my mouth as I inhale the smoke and hold it before blowing it out.

He reaches out and runs his thumb at the corner of my mouth. “Lipstick was smeared.”

My heart slams against my ribs. “Yeah, that happens.”

The corner of his mouth twitches. “There is no backing out of this deal.”

The tone he uses sends a shiver down my spine.

There’s a dark aura that surrounds him, luring me closer and urging me to run away at the same time.

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