Page 3 of The Darkest Prince

Ican’tquit him.

I tug at the grass with my fingers, needing to keep my idle hands occupied. Anything to stop myself from thinking too much about what I can’t have. Whenever I need to think, I come out back, sit on the lawn, and stare at the bay.

The waves crash on the beach below us. And with the drop being at least a hundred feet, I love being inches from the cliff’s edge, knowing at any second, it could all end.

I’m not afraid to die.

I only fear one thing—losing Bastian. He’s my reason for living on the worst days. When we’re together, it gives me hope. And sometimes, that’s all I have.

Hope for more.

More of him.

Bash must notice I’m getting antsy because he gets on his knees in front of me and places his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t mess this up for Dad. Go take a shower. The Wellingtons will be here within the hour.”

“Only if you get in the shower with me,” I say to see how he will respond.

His eyes lower for a moment as he breathes harder through his nose. “C’mon, D.” He scrubs a hand across his jaw. “We talked about this.”

“You want me, too.” I slide my hand beneath his chin, forcing him to look at me. “Stop denying it, Bash.”

“What we do in the dark can never see the light.” He pushes himself up from the ground and extends his hand to me. “Let’s go. You need to change.”

I take his hand and rise to my full height, our foreheads so close they almost touch. He doesn’t step back like usual when we get too close. So I slip my fingers between his and pull him toward me.

“Damian,” he mutters.

“Bash.” I stare into his eyes, my heart pounding so hard it’s about to punch a hole through my chest. “Come upstairs with me. We can turn out the lights.”

What we do in the dark can never see the light,Bastian tells me all the time. At least once a week. But it doesn’t stop me from wanting him.

He’s still holding my hand, thinking about my request. We stand at the cliff’s edge for the longest minute before he speaks.

“Okay,” he agrees. “But we’re going to The Mansion this weekend.”

Our father owns a sex club an hour from our house. Since we turned sixteen, he’s let us go there whenever we want. And anytime Bash touches me, or me him, he has to purge his dirty deeds at The Mansion. He thinks a woman’s pussy will somehow cleanse him of our sins.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Luca shouts from the veranda, dressed in a black suit, looking older than his age. “Are you holding hands? Jesus, fuck. You two are weird.”

Our adoptive brother walks toward us, and Bastian releases his grip on my hand. He stands a few feet away like he’s sickened by what almost happened.

Again.

I rarely touch anyone but Bash. When I’m with women, I fuck them from behind and use restraints so our skin never touches. The feel of another person’s skin on mine usually makes me sick. It’s a side effect of dealing with so many dead bodies. After a while, skin is repulsive, especially when you know how it feels cold and lifeless.

But with Bash, the world is brighter. My usual shades of black and gray transform into technicolor when we’re together.

“I was just helping Damian get cleaned up,” Bastian says, unable to hold Luca’s gaze.

“Uh-huh.” Luca rolls his eyes. “Sure you were.”

He never believes anything we tell him. Luca knows what we do when alone and pretends it’s not happening. I don’t think he cares one way or the other as long as we keep fucking girls and doing whatever he wants.

Marcello joins us, wearing a suit, with his usually messy black hair slicked off his forehead. He’s younger than Luca by eighteen months and yet could be his twin. They have the same jaw, Roman nose, and dark blue eyes they got from their mother, except Marcello is more muscular.

“Wellington and his stupid fucking heirs will be here soon,” Luca hisses, his tone laced with venom. “I hate her already, and I’ve only seen pictures of her.”

Alexandrea Wellington might be the prettiest girl I have ever seen. None of us have met in her person. But if she looks anything like her surveillance photos, she’s a fucking knockout. The kind of girl so beautiful and pure, I want to taint her.

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