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THE WORLD WAS a dangerous place, but I orse
The huy improved and ruined our lives in equal e
As the years rolled by, and we left our barbaric ways behind, people forgot about the shadows lurking in plain sight Men likeWe preyed on the ith no apology, and everything landed in our fucking laps Civilization cloaked us, hiding the animals at heart
We traded caveman mentality and murder for suits and softly spoken curses I hid my true temper beneath a veil of decorum I mastered the art of suave
People who knew uished, accomplished, and shrewd
I was all of those things, but none of theht live in a civilized world, but rules and laws didn’t apply to me I was a rule-breaker, curse-maker, life-stealer
The projection was a farce—but even the worst of us had someone ned us Whether family, honour, or duty
I’d eoverned by a hierarchy and when the Hawk
Including my arsehole of a father, Bryan Hawk
There, in the cigar and cognac laced library, I learned a truth that forever changed my life
And hers
My family owned another
An IOU on their entire existence
To this day, I didn’t knohy, and I didn’t bother asking
Who gave a shit why a wealthy faave a damn that they’d royally fucked off my family and earned the wrath of my ancestors?
All I cared about was the news I’d inherited so more than just money, possessions, or titles
My twenty-ninth birthday gave me a pet A toy
A responsibility I didn’t want
Debts I had to extract fro flesh
A job to uphold our family honour
Nila Weaver
One o put a curse on her entire family
One mistake sold her life to me in a mountain of unpayable debt
I inherited her
I preyed on her
I owned her life and had the piece of paper to prove it
Nila Weaver
Mine
And my task…
…
…
devour her
“TOLD YOU THIS collection would be your break, Threads”
I s down the runway My stomach churned like an overworked loom with stress and adrenaline
“Don’t jinx it There’s still the couture collection to go” I flinched as the h heels I’d buckled to her feet
My cell-phone buzzed in the only place I had available in this dress—e
No, no Not now
I’d been waiting to hear frorush of flirtation But nothing Not a peep
A month of this…as this? It wasn’t a relationship Liaison? Naed in I panted for scraps of coh-school wallflower
It’s time to end it
Another nore hi—as usual
“You know the couture line will raise the roof Stop being ed my shoulder with his
Ignoring my brother and the suddenly heavy cell-phone, I winced as theat the end of the runway, before flouncing away in a whirl of pink silk
Toothe innermy creations
“I don’t know anything any me, V Let me focus”
Vaughn scowled “I don’t knohy you’re so worried Cheque books are already open You’ll see”
Anotherexciteot excited when he texted
My heart fluttered A hot flush coveredthe last sentence I’d received fro it just as I boarded the short flight froland to Spain
Kite007: I don’t need to knohat you look like to get hard—guess where my hand is
Of course I couldn’t help myself Because I was a sex-starved woman surrounded by over-protective men
I replied: I don’t need to hear what you sound like to get wet—guess where my hand wants to be?
I’d never been so blatant With anyone TheI could unsend
I’d spent the trip in a confused state of arousal and denial And never received a reply