mythology so much. It’s all very…” I trail off, looking for the correct description. But there’s only one that fits. Glowering, I finish, “It’s all very rapey.”
He belts out a pompous laugh, my words seeming to have little effect on him. When I first met him, I thought him to be so sophisticated, so worldly. I looked up to and admired the man who seemed so out of my league. He fascinated me, enthralled me. But it was all part of his game.
“That’s an analysis I haven’t had the pleasure of examining. At least in those terms. But as I’ve said time and again, everything that happens in mythology is important for the hero’s journey. Just like everything you’ve endured was important for your journey.”
I cross an arm over my stomach, turning my attention back to the stage as Wes takes the microphone, thanking the crowd for attending and their generosity in raising several million dollars in the span of one night.
Lifting a shaky hand to my mouth, I sip on my champagne to distract myself from my current reality. “You always did seem to gravitate to the heroism encapsulated in the tales, didn’t you?” I return my gaze to his, venom swirling within. “I always found a different theme infinitely more intriguing.”
He narrows his eyes on me. “And what’s that?”
Immediately following his assault, I probably would have backed up. Flinched. Cowered. But no more.
“Revenge.” I allow my response to linger in the space between us, making my meaning crystal clear.
“Ouch,” he muses coolly as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. As if he’s free of blame or fault. Based on what I’ve determined of him, he doesn’t believe he did anything wrong. “Seems the kitten’s grown some claws.” He brings his glass to his lips and takes a sip of what I assume to be a ridiculously expensive scotch.
“I had no choice,” I snarl, shifting my gaze forward once more, my brain barely registering the numbers Wes rattles off of the hundreds of people who are no longer living out of their cars or fighting for space in homeless shelters because of his initiative. “Thanks to you.”
“And therein lies the rub,” Nick counters. “It is thanks to me.”
I rip my head in his direction, jaw dropping. I knew he was self-centered and egotistical, a man insistent on exerting power and dominion over everyone and everything. That was the reputation he had all over campus, something I never saw for myself until it was too late. But this is on a completely different level.
He angles toward me, his eyes on fire. “Before me, you were this meek little thing who couldn’t even stand up for herself. You were Persephone, stolen by Hades and forced into marriage to a man you didn’t love, with no one to come and save you from the fiery pits of hell.”
I bark out a laugh. “I stood up for myself. You make it sound like I didn’t have a say in the matter.”
“Did you?”
My lips part as I mentally rewind to the day my father called me into his office and Sawyer was sitting there. Admittedly, the entire thing felt wrong on so many levels, like I was simply a pawn to get Sawyer what he’d worked for. But what about everything I’d been working for?
Refusing to show Nick a hint of weakness, I straighten my spine. “I was able to finish my education because I stood up for myself. Made it part of the deal to marry Sawyer.”
“Not sure I’d call that standing up,” he remarks nonchalantly. “You agreed to marry some schmuck who couldn’t even satisfy you.” He pauses as applause rings out around us. Then he inches toward me, his breath like knives against my skin. “But I did, Londyn Jade.”
Inhaling quickly, I dart my wide eyes to his, speechless by his insinuation. When he inclines closer to me this time, I back up, the look in his gaze one I’d seen before. One I’d blamed on my overconsumption of alcohol, not seeing it for what it truly was. A warning. A caution to run.
“You can deny it all you want, but you enjoyed it.” His voice is low and heated as his fingers brush my hair over my shoulder.
I jump back, leveling my fierce stare on him. “No, I didn’t.”
“I know you did. I felt that you did.” He takes a satisfying gulp of his drink. “But if you need to convince yourself otherwise so you don’t feel