A High so Sweet (Thornes & Roses #2) - Dani Rene Page 0,40

anyone is going to hurt you and make you cry, it will be me, and trust me when I say that when I do, it will not be from pain, but from pleasure.”

“Cassian, you’re not making sense. You cannot keep me hostage here,” I answer, but my head is spinning with confusion. The man in front of me hates me, with good reason. He shouldn’t be stepping into my life as a hero because I don’t need that. All I wanted was forgiveness.

He steps up to me once more, closing the distance between us. Our bodies flush as he captures my chin between his finger and thumb. “I’ve been angry at you for a long time, Kaly,” he tells me earnestly, his eyes shimmering as he looks into mine. “I’ve spent my life wanting revenge, to make you pay for your lie, for telling your parents I would ever get you into this sick addiction of yours.”

“When your father spoke to them, told them the truth, they—”

“I know they believed him,” he interrupts me. “But it was your lie that sparked my anger. That you could even say something like that about me, that’s what shattered me, little liar.”

“I’m sorry, Cassian, I truly am.” This time, my voice breaks, and the tears I’d been keeping at bay slip from my lashes and trickle down my cheeks. A smile dances on Cassian’s mouth as he takes in my broken expression. I know he’ll enjoy my tears because he’s spent years wanting to cause them, wanting to make me beg and cry.

“Oh, you will be,” he warns. “But as I said, you’re not going back to that bastard.” He pulls me closer by my chin, so there’s nowhere else to go. Our mouths are a hairsbreadth away, and his warmth consumes me as he whispers along my lips, “You’re mine now, and I’m not letting you out of my sight until I’ve extracted my pound of flesh. Once you’re paid up, you’ll be begging me to keep you, just like you did all those years ago.”

“I don’t understand.” My words come out as a breathy whisper, one that I admonish myself for because I don’t want Cassian to know just how much his words have affected me.

“You’ll live at Thorne Manor until the Narro house is sold. While you’re at the manor, you’ll pay me back for that lie, for those words that fell from your lips.”

“How?” I mumble, inhaling his breath and allowing him to steal mine. His lips touch mine, it’s featherlight, but enough to cause my thighs to squeeze together.

A flicker of warning dances in those pretty eyes. I should ask him why he wants me to stay at the manor, why he wants to keep me from Paulo, but all I can think about right now is kissing him. And wanting him to finally claim me as his.

But he pushes away and says, “You’ll soon learn. Come.” Cassian spins on his heel, leaving me heaving breaths to keep from passing out. His scent is all over me; the cedar and mint of his cologne have engulfed me, and as I rush to follow him through the trees, it’s the only thing I can smell.

I don’t know what he has in store for me, but I have a feeling his revenge will be nothing compared to what Paulo’s put me through. So, before I have time to rethink my actions, I slip into the passenger seat of the SUV and watch as Cassian joins me.

“What about my father? Paulo’s paying for his treatment.”

Cassian glances over at me, his right hand gripping the steering wheel while his left elbow leans against the door. He looks like the ultimate bad boy as he grins. “Don’t you worry your pretty head about that,” he tells me. “Your father is being taken care of by Thorne Industries.”

“I still don’t understand,” I say, imploring him with my gaze to tell me the whole story. “What about my car?”

“Don’t worry about that either,” he informs me. “I’ll have one of my men bring it to the house.” Cassian starts the engine, a song blares through the speakers cutting off any more conversation we could have. Instead of forcing him to talk, I settle in for the short ride back to the manor and pray that whatever his plan is, my family is safe.

18

Cassian

Her scent is all over me.

Even as I attempt to focus, all I can think about is just how close I was to