Page 145 of The Revenge Plan (Forbidden Descendants 1)

Haven huffed out a breath and scowled at me. “You’re supposed to be on my side here, willing to attack him in any way possible. He’s your enemy too. Why do you gotta be all reasonable and high-road and quote freaking Martin Luther King, Jr., for God’s sake?”

I smiled affectionately. “Is that who said that?”

“Basically,” she muttered in a petulant voice, stroking Bingley with her cheek. “But I’ll be damned before I show that bastard any love, light, or hope.”

“Yeah, I don’t blame you there.”

“Then why are you trying to help him win this?” she countered.

Shaking my head, I answered, “I’m not. I’m trying to help you. But that is by not even engaging with him. I’ve been his adversary longer than you have. I know what I’m talking about. He only lets up when it’s no longer fun for him to play. The best way to deal with a bully is to ignore him. He’ll eventually lose interest and move on.”

“Move on to someone else, you mean. Because as long as it’s not us he’s picking on, all is fine and dandy in the world again, right?” Haven shook her head. “Wrong. That’s bullshit. I appreciate your peace-seeking stance and I even understand it. But I can’t agree. Tell me honestly, Wick, how long will it take for him to lose interest in hurting me? When he finally does succeed in getting me fired from my practicum and I lose all chance of becoming a teacher someday? No. I refuse to lie down and just take that from him. Besides, what poor innocent soul will he move on to torture next? It has to stop somewhere. I have to do something.”

“Then do something else,” I urged. “Be smart. Let your temper die down. And think. Something will come to you, I promise. I’ll even help you with that something else. Anything else. Just… Don’t do this. This is too risky. I have a bad feeling. You’re going to get hurt.”

When she actually smiled at me through her tears, her expression softening with affection, I thought I’d managed to get through to her.

She leaned up onto her toes and kissed my cheek. “You really are a unicorn man, aren’t you? Gorgeous, honest, faithful, trustworthy, genuinely nice, and actually fun to hang out with. There’s not an evil, malicious bone in your body.”

When she handed Bingley back to me, I accepted the kitten without complaint, even though I frowned as I said, “Why does it sound like a bad thing when you say that?”

“It’s not,” she assured me, even though the expression on her face was anything but good. “It’s just sad to me. I wish I could’ve met you three years ago before he ever came into my life and I ended up with all this baggage and anger.”

And that was it. The kill shot.

My chest felt as if it’d just been split open and was bleeding out every pain and regret I’d ever experienced. Three years ago, she wouldn’t have wanted me, because there was nothing unicorn about me. I hadn’t stood up for what I wanted and I hadn’t fought back when I should have. I was a fucking failure.

And now, here I was, trying to convince her to stand down too. It was utter bullshit. Who was I to counsel anyone on the best way to react to victimization? I’d never done the right thing in that regard.

That was why I didn’t outright deny her when she picked up an unopened condom package and held it out to me, saying, “I’ll give you fifty bucks to fill this for me with real semen.”

I lifted my eyebrows. “You did not just offer me money to jack off into a condom for you?”

She nodded, totally serious. “I did.”

“Un-fucking-believable.” Sniffing, I spun away from her and set Bingley on the floor so she could chase one of her fuzzy mouse toys. Then I straightened to run my hands through my hair. Finally, I turned back to Haven. “You know, there’s a much more effective way you could’ve gotten a used condom from me.”

She nodded again, watching me solemnly. “I know. But I promised you I wouldn’t use you like that. Whenever we’re—I mean…” Her cheeks flushed and she glanced away before continuing. “If we’re ever together like that, it’s not going to have anything to do with him. That will just be you and me. But this… This right here and now is business.”

“Dammit,” I muttered, shaking my head. “I told you I wouldn’t be your revenge plan. You promised not to ask me.”

She must’ve realized I was close to cracking because she only nodded. “I know. And I’m sorry I broke that promise. But things have changed. He went where he never should’ve gone. He attacked my future.”

Shit. Cannon had been right, I was fucking whipped. I barely had the promise of sex from her, and it rendered me completely incapable of saying no. But no way in hell did I want to say yes.

Growling out a sigh, I clenched my teeth and said, “I think this is the stupidest fucking idea anyone’s ever had for revenge. You know that, right?”

She stepped toward me, her eyes glittering with triumph because she knew I had just given in. Reaching out to grip the front of my shirt, she answered, “Yeah, I know exactly how you feel about it.”

“And you’re still sure it’ll bring you all the vengeance and satisfaction and happy endings you want it to?”

“At least I’ll know I did something,” she promised.

Dammit. I squeezed my eyes closed. Her fingers coasted gently over my cheek, making my betraying cock harden like an idiot, fully on board to produce cum for her.

“Wick,” she murmured, saying my name in a way that only had my blood racing faster. “You certainly don’t have to help me with my plan. But I’d make it worth your while if you did.”

God.

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