Dark Promise by Annika West

4

I did not just hear that. That can’t be right.

“You will be barred from entering this building permanently,” Hux stated, glacial, plowing over the frenzy in my heart.

“I helped you capture her!” Creed cried out. “I broke the law for you, sacrificed so much so you could take her!”

No…

Hux ignored him. “If you set foot on my property again, you will regret it for the rest of your brief existence. Do not contact me without invitation. I handled Miss King’s downfall, yes. Remember that next time you think to defy me.”

Creed was sobbing now. “But that’s what you do, isn’t it? You just tear through lives like they’re nothing and burn the carnage. Even to her, this Cut girl you need so badly. Have you thought of that, Cayne? Huh?”

Another blow to Creed sent him crashing into the wall, the impact reverberating all the way to me.

I flinched like I, too, had just been hit.

Creed slurred, “She’ll end up as broken and beaten as I am now. Mark my words. Your world is built on a mountain of sand, and one day, it’s going to —”

The next blow ended in a sickeningly wet crunch. Like a watermelon being crushed by a boot.

Bile climbed up my throat.

There was a heavy moment of silence that followed. The world pressed in on me, threatening to break me open too.

“You can come in now.”

Hux’s words filtered into my consciousness.

“Aster.”

The scent of smoke and honey filled my nose. A warm hand lifted my chin, and amber eyes blazed down on me.

When had he approached? How long have I been frozen here, in shock?

“Don’t touch me.” The voice that came out didn’t sound like mine at all.

This one was a low, dark voice. Hot as the pits of hell.

“You want me to explain.”

I jerked my chin from his touch. My gaze locked onto the center dip of his collarbone. I wouldn’t be looking up. “What’s there to explain? You set me up and played me like the idiot I am. Was it always the plan to fuck me too? Or was that just a little speedbump you made the most of?”

I changed my mind and lifted my chin, defiant.

Why shouldn’t I look the bastard in the eyes?

He wasn’t my mate, Hux, or even the CEO.

He was the vengeful god.

The devil I’d feared at the start.

Bright eyes cast shadows across his face, highlighting the sharp angles of his severe glare and beautiful face. “Don’t act like I knew we’d mate.”

I scoffed.

He grabbed my jaw in a steel grip and drew closer. “And don’t pretend you didn’t know who I was. What I am. I’ve never lured you into believing I’m a kind man made of bleeding hearts. I take what I want and do what I please by the morality of my own code.”

But… he had lured me.

He’d shown me his softer sides. He’d shown me he cared about his people, which included me. He’d… hell, he’d made love to me.

Protected me.

Backed me up.

Laughed at my stupid jokes.

Shared his deepest, darkest past with me. The one that still haunted him.

But I’d never, ever been fooled into thinking he was the perfect hero. Because he wasn’t. He was the devil with a beating heart. He was the ruthless leader who did what had to be done.

No matter the cost.

A part of me hated him for it.

The other half respected him, trusted him, because of it.

But how was I ever supposed to have seen this coming?

He shifted against me, and just the feel of his body against mine made my back arch in response. The muscles in my lower abdomen tightened.

Even as he held me in this punishing grip, I wanted him.

The world hazed. It was the same effect that had happened on the beach. The only thing I could see was him. Hux was the only thing that mattered.

My hips rocked against him. Even the touch of his skin sent jolts of agonizing desire through me. The mating runes brightened the space between us, pulling us together in an inescapable magnetic field.

I’ve never felt more like junk metal.

When Hux’s breath hitched, heat flared in me.

“This changes nothing with us,” he stated, gaze on my lips.

His mouth crashed onto mine.

My arms circled him, pulling him into me.

His kiss wasn’t sweet or kind. It was possessive. Bruising.

He growled when I bit into his lip. “Aster,” he breathed roughly into my neck, tongue leaving behind a trail of heat.

I clutched at his hair and slid my hands over his muscled shoulders, wishing I was better than this. I wanted nothing more than for him to feel as out of control as I did.

Why was I the only one getting hurt?

I wanted to break him.

But no one breaks the devil.

He rocked against me. “I want to hear you moan,” he rumbled. “I want to hear you say my name while I move inside of you. While I taste you and claim you over and over.”

Nails in his shoulder and pulse dangerously high, I nearly agreed when a sliver of my critical thinking slipped through.

“Fine. Then release me,” I rasped, throat tight with need. It took all of my willpower to hold myself back.

Hux paused.

He didn’t need to ask me to explain. We both knew what I’d meant.

If he wanted me so badly, he had to release me from the I.E. contract.

He cupped my cheeks and kissed me so desperately that it took my breath away. While I drank him in, my thoughts faded more and more.

A voice in the back of my head screamed at me. But I ignored her. Hux would agree. And then I could give in. I could have what I wanted…

He needed me too, after all/

That was clear enough.

For once, it was all the power I required. Who would have thought a Cut nobody would have any pull over one of the most powerful men in existence?

Releasing me from Indentured Employment wouldn’t erase what he’d done. And I’d still demand those fucking answers.

However, if he gave me this one thing, it was a step. It would tell me he was willing to level with me for real.

It would give me a reason strong enough to give this motherfucker a chance.

We gazed at one another, our bodies drawn together like two halves of a broken stone. Our glowing golden mate runes shone together.

His face softened into tenderness. His eyes lost the feral edge.

“No.”

The haze pulsed around me, fading in and out like sand washing up on shore before the ocean coaxed it away.

It took a few stunned moments for me to actually hear him right.

When I finally admitted the obvious, bitterness sunk into my chest like an iron weight. Tears pricked my eyes.

“You thought this was a negotiation?” I asked. I forced the haze down. The sensation was worse than drinking sand. My body begged me to take what it wanted, to let my mate touch me.

Too bad.

My mind was made up.

His gaze widened, showing the first flash of fear. “Aster. Aster, no!”

Before the haze took me again, I shifted into the invisible realm.

Hux’s hold disappeared.

The moment I pulled myself fully into the energetic realm, The haze disappeared, leaving only a gut-aching desire and enough fury to make me want to vomit.

My heart stuttered at the thunderous look of fear and betrayal on his face.

And then, the thoughts followed.

“She cannot escape me. She will not. I’ll never let her go. I’ll never let her go. I’ll never let her go.”

He stiffened and turned toward me. “Stay, Aster. As your employer, I require it. Return to me now. You are forbidden from leaving this Level, much less this building.”

Even though he couldn’t hear me, I laughed. It was genuine too. What level of delusion made him think I’d listen to him now?

Selfish, stupid prick. I was going to make him regret the day he was born.

He knew he was losing. I could see it in his face. He knew that this was the last fucking straw, and pulling rank on me was the only thing he could think about.

Not even an apology crossed his pretty little ancient head.