Page 51 of Betrayal (Corrupt Empire 1)

The pitiful note in her voice ground into me, making it impossible not to feel something for her. Fuck. I hated how lost and lonely she was. I hated how responsible for her I felt.

“How do I make it stop? The pain. My heart hurts. I’m bleeding for someone I didn’t even know. All of my memories of him feel tarnished.”

Him. Her father. Mitchell.

I wished I could make it go away for her, but she needed to feel. To feel so she could learn to hate them. To hate them like I did. Then she could do what I needed her to. Help me destroy them. Only then would I ever set her free. That’s if I even could.

Avery was mine in the most fundamental way a person could be. She’d surrendered herself to me over and over again. Despite what I’d done and shown to her, I knew she’d still let me in. She’d let me touch her in the ways I shouldn’t. And she’d let me fuck her. Because Avery wanted and needed me.

“You focus on what you have here and now.”

“But all I have is you.”

“I told you I’ll look after you. Give you what you need.”

Even though I hadn’t been doing a very good job of it. I’d have to try harder for her.

“What I need is not to feel. I’m fed up of being cooped up and alone. I don’t want to fight with you anymore. I’m so tired. I just want to give in. I’m sorry. I’m sorry if it’s wrong to want you. I’m sorry for whatever I did to make you angry with me.”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. This girl. Avery. She hates me and wants me. And I fucking wanted her too. She was wrong about me hating her. I didn’t hate her. Her family? Yes, but her? Not at all. I couldn’t. Avery hadn’t done anything wrong. She’d just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. And she was paying for that when it hadn’t been her fault.

“I’m not angry with you.”

“Will you forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive.”

“But I broke the rules again.”

“Fuck the rules, Avery. You and I don’t need rules. Not when you’re mine already.”

Her fingers traced a line down my spine. I fought against my instinct to stop her. Or was it that I wanted to lean into her touch? Who fucking knew.

“Yours. At your mercy. Under your control. That’s what you want from me, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

And so much fucking more. I wanted her mine on every level. Her body. Her mind. Her fucking soul.

“You have that already. I won’t run from you. I won’t tell anyone what happened.”

She pulled away and looked up at me, her eyes still watery.

“Our secret, Aiden. What happened is our secret. Yours and mine.”

She placed her hand on my heart. I covered it with my own. The fragile girl in my lap was stronger than she knew. And now I knew she’d fight for me. There was still a long way to go before she knew everything, but Avery would be my secret weapon.

And the rest of the Daniels clan wouldn’t know what hit them until it was too late.

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