Page 12 of Vengeful

I fixed her with a firm gaze, determined that she should believe me. I meant every word. She was beautiful, smart and extraordinary. I fell for her the moment I lay eyes on her, in the Academy bar. The second my cock sank into her pussy I was gone, head over heels. If the twins hadn't agreed to share, I would have been forced to get them out of my way.

She said she wasn't a good person. She was wrong. It was me who wasn't. Not even close.

"I wouldn't do those things, but I'd do other things," she said. She looked like a sad, lost little girl for a moment. Sometimes it was easy to forget she wasn't a mature, worldly woman. She was only nineteen. Right at the beginning of her life. She was a badass, and not as innocent as many women her age, but she was still so young.

Could I protect her from the big bad world before it destroyed her?

CHAPTER 5

SLADE

"So, about that punishment." Lila slid a hand up my arm.

We arrived back at the Academy a few hours ago. As far as I could tell, Chloe and Zachary were still in hospital, with Dane watching over them. Okay, watching over her. My sneaking suspicion was, if Zachary died, Dane wouldn't shed a tear. He might even have a hand in it.

I thought about driving over there and quietly ending all three of them. Doing that would take little effort on my part, as long as Lila was somewhere public so no one could immediately pin it on her. Unfortunately, my absence wouldn't go unnoticed, and if all three of them turned up dead, it wouldn't take a PhD graduate to figure out what happened.

I didn't give a fuck what anyone else thought, but if Lila didn't want them dead, then they could live for a while longer.

If I had any regrets in life, it was that I hadn't disposed of them months ago. Long before anyone knew about the connection between me and Lila. I should have stayed away from her long enough to get the job done, but I let my emotions get in the way. And my cock. That was the first and last time that would happen.

"You're eager to have your ass spanked, aren't you?" I teased. "You like the sting of my hand that much?"

The smile she gave me in response triggered a competition in my body. One between my heart and my cock, to see which would react the most vigourously. I think it was a tie.

"That looks like a yes to me," Parker said. "Wouldn't you say so Hunt?"

"Without doubt," Hunter agreed.

"It is." Lila dropped her hands to her sides. "But I keep thinking about the trials."

That made my cock soften slightly. "What about them?" I could be all business if she needed me to be. Considering the importance of the trials, I could put anything aside, even thoughts of burying myself balls deep inside her.

"Not so much the trials themselves." She stepped towards the door that led out of her room and slid the tips of her fingers around the knob like it was one of us. "I keep thinking about the practice run we did."

"What about it, babe?" Hunter frowned and took a half step toward her. "Whenever you want to do another trial practice, we can—"

His concern was palpable, almost equal to my own. If I could do the trials for her, I would, in a heartbeat. All three of us would.

Ifwe thought she'd forgive us for taking her place. Which she wouldn't. She want to confront this head on and get through it. Otherwise, she'd always wonder at her own abilities. She shouldn't. Her self-doubt was misplaced as far as I was concerned. No one was more incredible than she was.

"I definitely do," she replied. "The sooner the better." She glanced down at the floor, then back up at us, a secretive smile on her luscious lips.

"I was thinking since we all enjoyed the chasing part so much, we could do that again." She twisted the knob and yanked the door open. "Catch me if you can." She darted out the door and swung it shut behind her.

I was a step behind Hunter as he pulled the door open and raced out behind her. My heart and cock were in definite agreement now. We needed to catch her before either of the twins did.

Hunter headed down the stairs, but I caught a glimpse of white dashing around the end of the corridor.

I glanced over my shoulder. Parker was hesitating. Clearly torn between following his brother and following me.

I didn't bother to wait and see what choice he made. I bolted down the corridor, hoping thatwasLila I saw rounding the corner. If not, I just gave the twins a huge advantage.

I slowed before I reached the corner. Now was a good time to put my skills to use. If I found her first, she wouldn't see me coming until I was virtually on top of her. Figuratively and then literally.

I ducked into the shadows and peered around the corner.

Moonlight illuminated another long corridor, slanting in from a couple of windows that overlooked the front of the building. At the end of that corridor was another bend leading to another set of stairs.

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