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Counsellor (Acquisition Series Book 1)

Page 17

by Celia Aaron


  She strode to me and stared into my eyes, my soul. “You can’t forbid me from seeing my father in intensive care.”

  I gave Farns a look. He took the hint and backed into the hallway and closed the door.

  “I can and I just did. Go back to your room.” I wasn’t letting her out of this house again, not after what had happened in the cabin earlier. She’d gotten to me, lanced through my rotten core and into the one piece of true heart I had left. I didn’t even know it was there until she’d clawed her way in there, too. Goddamn her.

  “I’m not going anywhere until I speak to my father.” She kicked her chin up and put her hands on her hips.

  Lucius walked up behind her. “Sin, it’s her dad, maybe you should—”

  “Maybe you should shut the fuck up, Lucius.” Seeing them together, standing like a united front against me, finally lit the powder keg. I grabbed Stella’s arm and ripped her away from him, pressing her back into my chest and putting my hand at her throat. She tried to scratch me, but I squeezed harder, cutting off her airway until she complied. I held Lucius’ gaze the entire time.

  “She’s mine. All of this.” I slid my hand down her side, around her thigh, and cupped her pussy like the piece of shit caveman I was. “It’s all mine. So, back the fuck off.”

  Lucius glowered and tensed. “I’ve had it with your shit.”

  I held her fast, taunting him. “What, you want to fight me? Won’t you be embarrassed when I kick the shit out of you in front of your little crush here? Maybe then I’ll fuck her while you’re bleeding on the ground?”

  Lucius raised his fists. “Let her go, and I’m going to knock your fucking teeth out.”

  A sharp pain in my ribs shocked me out of our stare down. Stella had managed to sneak in an elbow while Lucius had me distracted. She pulled away from me and darted to stand behind Lucius, her hand on his arm. I thought I was a powder keg before. Now I was a fucking black powder factory going up in a blaze of heat and sound. He reached back, put a possessive hand on her hip, and smirked at me.

  “I just want to see my father. That’s all. Please, Vinemont.” Her plea, delivered behind my leering brother, pushed me far past my limit.

  “You do? Are you sure?” I turned my back and went to my desk, digging for a certain sheaf of papers.

  “Yes, I’m sure. Please, I’ll come back. I promise. I just need to see him.”

  “I’ll tell you what, Stella.” Venom laced every word. “I want you to do a little light reading. Then tell me if you still want to see him. If you do, you can go and visit him. How about it?”

  “Fine.” She sounded relieved.

  I laughed, the sound cruel and harsh even on my ears. I found the papers I was looking for and held them in my hand. She’d have to come to me.

  “Hand them over,” Lucius said.

  “Go fuck yourself. Stella, come here.”

  She stepped out from behind him and tentatively approached me. She wasn’t fearful, but she wasn’t trusting, either. I gripped the papers tighter.

  Lucius trailed his hand down her arm. I wanted to pummel his face until he was no longer capable of begging me to stop.

  Her fear was back. I needed it. I ate it up. It reminded me of what I needed to do, what I had to do. Even so, it tore at my heart, leaving a part of me shredded and raw. I wanted to say I’d never hurt her. Never give her reason to fear me. But it would be a lie.

  I passed her the papers and then held my hands up to show her I meant no harm. But I did. The papers were the dagger, her reading them would twist the blade deep into her back. She took them over to one of the sofas next to a bright lamp. Darkness had fallen outside, painting the grounds in somber gray tones.

  She read the first page, then flipped to the second. I knew when she understood. I knew the exact moment when she read the words, when she flipped to the third page to see her father’s signature.

  “He sold you to me, Stella.”

  Her gaze rose to mine, horror shining in her eyes along with myriad other emotions—all black, all painful.

  “Before you even came in that night, into the room where he and I sat, he’d already signed that contract in your hands. One million dollars. I was so pleased with my good fortune. That was a pittance for a woman like you. He eagerly agreed, signing the paper and sending you to me. He even told me how to phrase my offer to you before you came in. Very helpful, really. And it worked. Oh, how it worked. You came out to the car as planned. Then you came here, as planned. He knew you’d sacrifice yourself for him. The one man you thought loved you was actually the one man who sold you to me. And, just so you know, he was guilty of every single charge against him. I give you my word.”

  Her hand rose to her face, covering her mouth as she gasped for air. I hadn’t hit her, hadn’t touched her, but I knew as surely as she sat there that I’d destroyed some deep piece of her heart. It was blasted away, spoiled so that nothing could ever grow there again. Loathing rose in me—for myself, for her father, for everything.

  She dropped the papers and stood, turning her back on me and staggering to the dark windows. Lucius rushed to her, steadying her by the shoulder. I could do nothing but wish him harm and wish her comfort. After all I’d done and all I would have to do, I still just wanted her to look at me again the way she had in the cabin. It was only hours ago, but now seemed like a lifetime.

  I thought I’d seen love in her eyes, or something like it, as if I knew. I didn’t know anything about that particular emotion, not really. But, I didn’t remember anyone ever looking at me that way, with so much genuine feeling. It was guarded, but it was there. I wanted it back. I’d strangled any fledgling feelings she may have had with the documents that now lay on the floor, but I still wanted her. I wanted her to come to me for comfort, for support.

  Lucius pulled her into his side as her sobs rose and fell. I willed her to leave him and come to me, to return to me and throw her arms around my shoulders. I would hold her while she cried. I would whisper sweet words into her ear. I would soothe her and bring her out of her despair.

  My heart swelled, as if drunk on her tears. I could make it right. Somehow. I would try.

  Her sobs stopped and her breathing slowed. She lifted her head, staring out into the inky gray of night.

  I would tell her. I didn’t care if Lucius heard. I was sorry, so fucking sorry.

  “Stella—”

  “I choose Lucius.”

  “What?” Her words were a jolt to my system—unbelievable, false. She couldn’t mean it, not after what we’d been through, what we’d shared in the cabin.

  She turned to me, her tear-streaked face bearing an expression that was a mix of heartbreak and hatred.

  “I said I choose Lucius as my owner instead of you,” she spat.

  “You can’t—”

  “You heard her, Sin.” Lucius wrapped his arm around her waist. “She chose me. She’s mine now.”

  She stepped back from him, pushing his arm away in disgust. “Don’t touch me. Leave me alone, both of you.”

  She rushed through the room, running as if demons were at her heels. We both watched her go—one brother destroyed, and the other exhilarated.

  She wouldn’t look at me, though she was all I could see. She retreated down the hallway, disappearing from my view. My soul seemed to have left with her; my legs were no longer strong enough to hold up the empty shell of my body. I sank into the chair.

  What have I done?

  After a few moments of silence, a door slammed somewhere far away in the house. Her door.

  The sound jarred Lucius into motion. He followed Stella’s trail like a seasoned hunter, smooth and focused.

  I wanted to stop him, to work the same violence on him that I had on Stella’s heart.

  “Leave her alone, Lucius.” Though my soul was gone, my rage still burned.

  He glanced over his shoulder, triumphant and vicious. “She’s mine now. I know the rules. I call the shots, and I have no intentions of
ever leaving her alone.”

  “I will fucking end you.” I forced myself to move and followed him into the hall.

  He flipped me off and took the stairs two at a time.

  “Game on, big brother.”

  Coming December 2015

  Magnate, Acquisition Series Book 2

  Lucius Vinemont has spirited me away to a world of sugar cane and sun. There is nothing he cannot give me on his lavish South American plantation. Each gift seduces me, each touch seals my fate. There is no more talk of depraved competitions or his older brother – the one who’d stolen me, claimed me, and made me feel things I never should have. Even as Lucius works to make me forget Sinclair, my thoughts stray back to him, to the dark blue eyes that haunt my sweetest dreams and bitterest nightmares. Just like every dream, this one must end. Christmas will soon be here, and with it, the second trial of the Acquisition.

  Sign up at AaronErotica.com for news on Magnate’s release date and an advance review copy giveaway. (I would never sell your info, maybe just send you free stuff or book news.)

  Erotica Titles by Celia Aaron

  Forced by the Kingpin

  Forced Series, Book 1

  I've been on the trail of the local mob kingpin for months. I know his haunts, habits, and vices. The only thing I didn't know was how obsessed he was with me. Now, caught in his trap, I'm about to find out how far he and his local cop-on-the-take will go to keep me silent.

  Forced by the Professor

  Forced Series, Book 2

  I've been in Professor Stevens' class for a semester. He's brilliant, severe, and hot as hell. I haven't been particularly attentive, prepared, or timely, but he hasn't said anything to me about it. I figure he must not mind and intends to let me slide. At least I thought that was the case until he told me to stay after class today. Maybe he'll let me off with a warning?

  Forced by the Hitmen

  Forced Series, Book 3

  I stayed out of my father's business. His dirty money never mattered to me, so long as my trust fund was full of it. But now I've been kidnapped by his enemies and stuffed in a bag. The rough men who took me have promised to hurt me if I make a sound or try to run. I know, deep down, they are going to hurt me no matter what I do. Now I'm cuffed to their bed. Will I ever see the light of day again?

  Forced by the Stepbrother

  Forced Series, Book 4

  Dancing for strange men was the biggest turn on I'd ever known. Until I met him. He was able to control me, make me hot, make me need him, with nothing more than a look. But he was a fantasy. Just another client who worked me up and paid my bills. Until he found me, the real me. Now, he's backed me into a corner. His threats and promises, darkly whispered in tones of sex and violence, have bound me surer than the cruelest ropes. At first I was unsure, but now I know – him being my stepbrother is the least of my worries.

  Forced by the Quarterback

  Forced Series, Book 5

  For three years, I'd lusted after Jericho, my brother's best friend and quarterback of our college football team. He's never paid me any attention, considering me nothing more than a little sister he never had. Now, I'm starting freshman year and I'm sharing a suite with my brother. Jericho is over all the time, but he'll never see me as anything other than the shy girl he met three years ago. But that's not who I am. Not really. To get over Jericho – and to finally get off – I’ve arranged a meeting with HardcoreDom. If I can't have Jericho, I'll give myself to a man who will master me, force me, and dominate me the way I desperately need.

  Coming October 2015

  Zeus

  Taken by Olympus, Book 1

  One minute I’m looking after an injured gelding, the next I’m tied to a luxurious bed. I never believed in fairy tales, never gave a second thought to myths. Now that I’ve been kidnapped by a man with golden eyes and a body that makes my mouth water, I'm not sure what I believe anymore. . . But I know what I want.

 

 

 


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