Page 78 of The Darkest Note

“Who are you calling a little boy?” Dutch presses forward until his head is right against mine. The big bad wolf getting ready to blow a house down.

The sound of his sharp, rapid breath is all I can hear. It drowns out the thudding of my heart and the roar in my body. It makes my legs tremble like a new-born foal.

Unable to stand, I grab hold of his shoulder when his tongue flickers out against the shell of my ear.

“You want to see fear, Brahms?” he taunts.

I whimper, digging my fingers into his shoulder and arching my back. All the blood is pooling to right between my thighs and it’s all I can do to keep myself from bursting into flames.

“Tell me,” Dutch presses.

“N-no.”

And then he smiles. Evil. Sadistic.

“Keep pushing me and I won’t just destroy you,” he whispers. “I’ll destroy everything you care about.”

Immediately, the tension slices in two and I wrench away from him. He lets me go, but the flush in his cheeks and the tightness of his pants tells me I wasn’t the only one affected by… whatever that was.

Stumbling on shaky legs, I push past him and hurry to the door. Dutch is my nightmare-come-true, but my body’s still roaring for his touch.

I hate myself for being so weak.

Because after everything he’s done and all the ways he’s ruined my life, I just can’t help that I’m drawn to him.

CHAPTEREIGHTEEN

DUTCH

What the actualhelljust happened?

To say my body was raging to get under Cadence’s tease of a skirt is an understatement.

If I had a little less self-control, I would have pinned her against the counter and had all the coffee cups rattling and shaking with how hard I ploughed into her.

Even now, I have to lean over the coffee machine and grip the shelving hard to keep from exploding. Counting backward from ten doesn’t work. Neither does making myself a cup of expresso and draining it.

I can still smell Cadence’s perfume—flowery and light. I can still see those brown eyes narrowing on me, burning with anger and lust. She’s a twisted little thing. The darkness inside her rose to the surface, clamoring for me. I could see it and it called to me in a way that set every nerve on fire.

I’m losing my patience with her and it’s not because I want to break her. I want her under me, sweating, vibrating, groaning for mercy.

Not that I’ll give her any. Not that she deserves it.

I shake my head angrily.

I’m supposed to be thinking of ways to kick her out, not dreaming up ways to screw her.

My interactions with the sharp-tongued New Girl always send my blood pressure spiking. But lately, she’s been elevating a whole lot more than my temper.

At first, I thought it was because of her resemblance to the redhead who stood me up on Saturday. They share the same height and build, along with the same rosebud lips.

Every time I get a glimpse of Cadence’s lips, the redhead blinks into focus. I can’t explain it. It’s like the girl from the showcase is in front of me. Then Cadence will open her mouth and I’ll realize that it’s notmymuse. It’s the most infuriating girl in Redwood Prep.

Even so, my body can’t differentiate between the two and I keep getting this uncontrollable urge to back her up against the nearest wall and kiss her senseless.

My body’s never betrayed me like this. It’s frustrating as hell and I can’t blame it on the redhead anymore.

Cadence isn’t the raw and talented spitfire on the keys. She’s a separate person. She’s quiet and reserved and shy to the max. But there are moments when she’s loudmouthed, brash and fearless.

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