Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 65210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 326(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 326(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
I knew deep down I was playing with fire.
“That smart, bratty mouth is going to get you bent over my knee and my palm reddening your ass, Bunny.”
My body heated, but I noticed his tone was different. Harder. More controlled than I’d heard before.
Pissing off Hades was the last thing I should do, but I was so annoyed about the whole phone situation, then the text messaging and how uncomfortably hot I felt reading them. I felt like this was payback.
He got under my skin, and now it was my turn to get under his.
“Get your ass in the car, Bunny.”
I curled my hand tightly around the cell phone. I probably would’ve talked back if not for the fact his tone was icy. Dangerous.
“If you’re not in this car in the next twenty seconds, I’m going to go out there and beat the shit out of that little bastard for checking you out.”
I snapped my focus to Trevor, and sure enough, he was staring at my chest. I lifted an arm and covered my breasts, and he glanced up at me before he looked away quickly. But he didn’t look ashamed that I’d caught him.
“Now, Persephone.”
I said a quick goodbye to Trevor and spotted Hades’ car right away. He’d parked under a large tree, his sleek, dark Mercedes idling in the shadows. I tossed my bag in the backseat and climbed into the front, sinking into the buttery soft leather and refusing to look at him.
I could feel his gaze on me, and I hated that being so close to him affected me so much.
“Look at me.”
I did just that, unable to disobey him. His voice was like a force of nature, the electricity in a storm, the reason magnets were attracted to each other.
The look in his eyes had goosebumps popping out over my skin.
“I don’t want you talking to the Wilcox asshole anymore.”
I opened my mouth to tell him he couldn’t dictate who I spoke with, but the indistinct sound that vibrated out of his chest had my lips snapping closed.
“Listen to me, little girl. When I say don’t speak to Trevor Wilcox, I mean just that, Persephone. You don’t want to test me, not with this.”
“And what’s this?”
He ground his molars. “With me keeping you close. Not listening to me is going to get somebody killed.”
He put the car in drive, and we were pulling away from the school, the silence heavy and thick, his words rolling through my mind like a broken record.
I had no idea what he meant, and I didn’t think I wanted to know.
Chapter 12
Persephone
The next few weeks passed in almost a blur, with me focusing on getting acquainted with my classes and focusing on schoolwork and college prep.
Late at night was the worst. When I was alone in my bed, memories of my parents laughing and smiling ran through my mind. I’d hear my father’s voice tell me everything would be okay even when I wouldn’t ask, even when I wouldn’t be worried.
But somehow, those words eased me, made me know that, yes, everything would be okay because he said so.
I’d cry nightly, soft tears over the things I didn’t have anymore, but as the days passed, those tears became less frequent until I’d drift off to sleep without a stuffy nose or swollen eyes.
And every night I dreamt about Hades, ones where he sat on a throne, flames lashing all around him as if he were the king of the underworld, as if he were the devil himself.
I hardly saw him except the occasional time we shared dinner together. He was cold and aloof. Distant.
I didn’t understand why he changed so drastically, and I should’ve been happy that I didn’t have to see him as often, but I felt this weird ache deep within my chest that made no sense.
And I even became anxious and excited when I knew I’d have dinner with him. But tonight wasn’t one of those nights.
Hades was no longer taking me or picking me up from school. It had surprised me to see a hulking beast of a man waiting to drive me that first morning without Hades. He’d grunted his name like a caveman, his accent thick. Russian maybe?
Bruno.
He sat in the front seat, brooding and silent, only giving harsh answers when I asked him something directly.
“No speaking with Wilcox boy,” he’d remind me every morning before I climbed out of the car. I just glared and went about my day. His harsh accent made his words seem angry when he would stare at me impassively.
Although I was still friendly with Trevor at school, I’d been so busy and preoccupied with everything else that there hadn’t been time for me to do anything more than say hello to him in passing.
It was probably for the best, anyway. This was my last year, and I wanted to focus on getting good grades. Not only that, I had enough drama in my life that I didn’t need to add to by causing the raging bull that was Hades detonating like a damn bomb because I wasn’t “obeying his commands.”