《Alluring Darkness: A Dark College Bully Romance (Kings of Blackwater Book 1)》


 Alluring Darkness: Chapter 4

    People cast nervous nces at us as they pass us on the way to the doors, as if they¡¯re all trying to figure out if we¡¯re here for them or not. With our arms crossed, we stand side by side a few steps from the doors, watching the crowd that streams past and searching for the suicidal girl who keyed my car yesterday. No luck so far.


    Morning sunlight nts across the horizon, turning the fields around us a pale orange and glinting in the windows of the cars in the parking lot. I slide my gaze to the three Range Rovers a short distance away. Mine is being fixed today, so I had to ride with Rico this morning.


    Another wave of incredulity washes over me as I think back on what I saw on that footage yesterday. Our family is untouchable. We¡¯re one of the most feared families in this entire state. My father is a legendary hitman, as are all of my uncles. And we¡¯re connected, both financially and by blood, to the Morelli family. The one mafia family that almost everyone at this entire university dreams ofnding a permanent contract with. No one messes with us.


    Sure, there are some rival families who would love to take us down a peg or two so that they can rise to the top, but none of them have enough members on this campus to challenge us right now.


    So who the hell is the absolute maniac who decided to carve <i ss="calibre2">Small Dick Energy</i> into the side of my car?


    ¡°How did you sleep?¡±


    I blink, yanked out of my thoughts by Rico¡¯s sudden question. Flicking my gaze around the area, I notice that the crowd has started to thin out, so no one is close enough to hear us.


    I slide my gaze to Rico, and immediately wish that I hadn¡¯t. That usual hint of concern is present in his brown eyes. I want to snap at him that I¡¯m fine, but I manage to restrain myself. His concern is justified, after all.


    ¡°As usual,¡± I reply.


    Which means, barely at all. For the past nine years, ever since it happened, I¡¯ve barely slept. Jace often jokes that it¡¯s why I¡¯m so vtile. The problem is that I think he might be partly right.


    Rico hears the quiet dismissal in my tone, and thankfully drops the subject.


    We stand there for another couple of minutes while some stragglers hurry from their cars and jog into the building to avoid beingte. I scowl at the now empty parking lot. Still no sign of the girl.


    ¡°Maybe she finally realized whose car she keyed,¡± Kaden says from next to me. He runs a hand over his jaw while sweeping his gaze over the parking lot. ¡°And was too scared to show her face here now.¡±


    ¡°Damn straight,¡± Jace fills in, a devilish grin on his face.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± I say, but there¡¯s no conviction in my voice.


    There was something so incredibly deliberate about the way she did it. The way she just strolled up to my car without hesitation. The way she smiled at the security camera afterwards. I¡¯m having serious trouble believing that she didn¡¯t know whose car it was.


    Next to me, Kaden nces down at his watch. ¡°If she wasing, she would¡¯ve been here by now. sses have already started.¡±


    Rico grunts in agreement.


    Uncrossing my arms, I straighten and shelve this problem for now. I will figure out who she is, and I will find her. And then she will pay.


    ¡°Alright,¡± I say. ¡°Let¡¯s get going.¡±


    We leave the parking lot behind and stride into the building before splitting up. ckwater University has a three-year education system, and we¡¯re all in different years. Well, everyone except Rico and Kaden.


    Jace is on his first year since he¡¯s only twenty, and I¡¯m on my senior year since I¡¯m the oldest. Both Rico and Kaden are twenty-one, and started at ckwater at the same time, so both of them are on their second year.


    I run my gaze over Rico again before he and Kaden disappear down another hallway. Technically, Rico isn¡¯t my brother. He¡¯s my cousin. His mom is my dad¡¯s sister. Or she was, before she and her husband were killed. Rico became a part of our family after that. But even before that blood-soaked night, I have always considered Rico my brother.


    The door to the lecture hall creaks slightly on its hinges as I pull it open. Some of the first-years closest to the door turn to look when I step across the threshold, but they quickly snap their gazes back to the slightly raised dais at the front of the room. The instructor, a stern-looking woman in her fifties, slides her gaze to me. But she doesn¡¯tment on my tardiness. Because of our connection to the Morelli family, even the staff at ckwater takes great care not to cross us.


    I level a hard stare on the student in the closest aisle seat, and she quickly scrambles out of it and moves farther in. Sliding into the now empty seat, I slouch against the backrest and roll my neck.


    This is my least favorite ss. It¡¯s basically nothing more than a long information session that I skipped when I was a freshman because I was bored out of my mind. But dear old Dad ordered me to finish it this semester because, and I quote, <i ss="calibre2">none of my sons will be known as ckers andzy dropouts</i>.


    I almost let out a huff ofughter at the thought. If only he knew the shit that Jace gets up to.


    Lounging in my seat, I sweep azy nce over the first-years in the rows ahead of me.


    A jolt shoots through me.


    My heart thuds in excitement, and I sit up straight, as my eyesnd on a girl halfway across the room. She has long ck hair and thick bangs. And a very soft-looking body.


    It¡¯s her.


    Shifting my position slightly, I lean to the left so that I can study her better.


    Fuck, she¡¯s gorgeous. Not only does she have a perfectly soft and curvy body that just begs to be broken, but her face is also stunning. Pale green eyes and luscious lips. It¡¯s the kind of face that draws the eye of every man in the room.


    I drum my fingers on my thigh as I continue studying her. Once again, I can¡¯t figure out what the hell she¡¯s doing here. With a face like that, she won¡¯t be a very effective assassin. But then again, not all hitmen need to be anonymous. Our family is proof of that. Half of the people in this state know exactly what we are, and they still die every time one of us is sent out on a mission.


    Sliding my phone out of my pocket, I send a quick message to our group chat, telling my brothers that I found her and where to meet me after ss is over.


    Normally, I can barely manage to get through these lectures. But now, it¡¯s fucking excruciating. All I want to do is to just drag her out of this room and confront her right this second. But I force myself to remain in my seat.


    I want her to feel safe right now. To feel like she has gotten away with it. Because it will make her fear so much sweeter when I corner herter and exact my vengeance.


    She tried to humiliate me by keying those words into my car for everyone to see, so I will return the favor and do something that will make her feel small and weak and utterly humiliated. And since she wrote <i ss="calibre2">Small Dick Energy</i>, I know exactly how to do it.


    Payback really is a bitch.

 Alluring Darkness: Chapter 7

    Soft murmuring fills the massive building. While pretending to listen to the conversation at my table, I scan the space around me. Tall bookshelves line the walls and form several aisles across the floor too. Between them, in the open spaces, are tables where people sit and work alone or in pairs and groups.


    To be honest, I didn¡¯t expect there to even be a library at ckwater University. I thought this career path was mostly just a physical one. But apparently, being a hitman is more than just stabbing people with the pointy end of a de. As it turns out, you also need to know things like science and math and psychology so that you can n advances, trajectories, escape routes, how people will react to different situations, and other stuff like that.


    I sweep my gaze over the various tables again. No sign of Eli. I¡¯ve seen his little brother Jace from time to time, since he takes some of the same sses as me. But ever since I put a de to his neck in that car, I haven¡¯t had any more run-ins with the infamous Eli Hunter.


    Worry gnaws at my bones. I need to keep his wrath focused on me so that he will forget about Connor. Maybe I need to do something else to draw his attention?


    ¡°Raina, are you even listening?¡±


    Giving my head a quick shake, I snap out of my musings and quickly return my attention to the people at the table. There are three of them. They¡¯re all first-years, just like me. Though I suspect that every one of them is a year younger than me since they all most likely started at twenty when they were supposed to.


    Magda, the girl who spoke, is a thin girl with hair so blond it¡¯s almost white, and there is a no-nonsense air about her. Next to her is Gabriel, looking like a true all-American boy-next-door with his blond hair, blue eyes, and easy smile. Thest one is Paulo, a dark-haired guy with sharp eyes, who I haven¡¯t been able to get a proper read on.


    ¡°No, sorry, I spaced out a bit,¡± I reply, shing Magda an apologetic smile. Before she can bring the conversation back on track, I steer it towards a topic I really need to know more about. ¡°I heard that there¡¯s a guy called Connor Smith in the senior ss, and that he¡¯s apparently one of the top students, but I haven¡¯t seen him around.¡±


    The three of them exchange a nce.


    ¡°He¡¯s probably still in the hospital wing,¡± Paulo says carefully.


    I raise my eyebrows as if this is news to me. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Eli Hunter and his brothers gave him the beating of a lifetime.¡±


    ¡°Connor is that unlikeable, huh?¡±


    ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t say that.¡±


    ¡°So he just knows how to make enemies then?¡±


    Gabriel chuckles. ¡°Are you kidding? Half of the senior ss are jealous of him for being so fucking good at everything.¡±


    My mind churns as I turn that over in my head. So, a lot of people are jealous of Connor? But the question is, who is jealous enough to sabotage his rifle in order to bring down Eli¡¯s wrath on him?


    ¡°Apparently, he¡¯s Harvey Smith¡¯s son,¡± Paulo says, lowering his voice conspiratorially.


    Gabriel raises his eyebrows. ¡°<i ss="calibre2">The</i> Harvey Smith?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Hey,¡± Magda interrupts, leveling her pale gaze on me. ¡°Isn¡¯t yourst name Smith too? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re also¡ª¡±


    ¡°Harvey Smith¡¯s spawn?¡± I fill in, and then snort as if that¡¯s ridiculous. ¡°Oh, I wish. But no, I¡¯m just one of the millions of normal Smiths in this country.¡±


    It¡¯s better if no one knows who I really am. Because if it bes known that Connor is my brother, then Eli might realize that I¡¯m purposely drawing his attention away from Con and towards me instead.


    ¡°That reminds me,¡± a new voice says.


    I turn to my left to find a girl with an incredible resting bitch face lean over from the table next to us. I don¡¯t know her name, but I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s in our year too.


    ¡°You¡¯re that new girl who transferred in like five days ago right?¡± Resting Bitch Face continues.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± I reply.


    ¡°What are you even doing here? I¡¯ve been watching you in all of our sses this week, and you¡¯re fucking terrible.¡±


    A sh of irritation shoots through me. I know that she¡¯s right, of course. I am fucking terrible. At everything. Well, except for chemistry. But that ss hasn¡¯t started yet. So all I do now is to walk into training hall after training hall and fail at everything we¡¯re supposed to do. And it¡¯s already grating on my nerves, so I sure as hell don¡¯t need this girl to rub it in my face.


    ¡°And I don¡¯t mean just because you started three weeks after us,¡± she continues. ¡°Your basic skills are so far below average that you¡¯ll never catch up to the rest of us. So why even bothering here at all?¡±


    Adopting azy expression, I give her a nonchnt shrug. ¡°Because I was bored.¡±


    ¡°Bored?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    When I offer no further exnation, she shakes her head at me. ¡°You¡¯re fucking crazy.¡±


    I narrowly prevent myself from grabbing the nearest book and hurling it straight into her stupid face. Instead, I let a psychotic grin curl my lips. ¡°I know.¡±


    She jerks back and blinks at me.


    Before she can recover, I turn to my tablepanions. ¡°Excuse me, I have somewhere else to be.¡±


    ¡°Uhm, yeah, sure,¡± Gabriel manages to press out.


    The others just watch me as I push my chair away from the table and then stride towards the doors. Leaving the library behind, I instead set course for the chemistryb.


    Deep down, I know that I should have stayed. I need to find out who tampered with Connor¡¯s rifle, and that means that I need to continue stealthily interrogating people. But I can¡¯t do that when all I can think about is what color that girl¡¯s face would be if I just happened to slip some poison into her drink one day.


    I need to clear my head, and the best ce for that has always been a chemistryb. So I will mix some poison for Resting Bitch Face in order to calm down, and then I can decide whether I¡¯m going to actually use it on her or not.


    My head is still spinning with annoyance and questions and ns as I round the next corner.


    And m straight into someone¡¯s chest.


    A hiss sounds as he sucks in a breath of pain between his teeth.


    The collision sent me stumbling a step back, and when I finally right myself and look up, I¡¯m met with Connor¡¯s still bruised face.


    His gray eyes go wide as they lock on me. ¡°Raina?¡±


    I didn¡¯t expect him to be up and about quite this fast, so for a few seconds, I just stare at him while I¡¯m trying to figure out how to y this. Since I still haven¡¯t figured it out, all I manage to say is, ¡°Hey, Con.¡±


    Confusion washes over his features. Then he flicks a quick nce up and down the corridor, as if he¡¯s worried that someone might see me. Grabbing me by the shoulder, he pulls me into an empty office and then closes the door. I¡¯m thankful for the extra seconds to formte a n.


    There is no way that I can tell Connor what I¡¯m really doing here. He might think I¡¯m crazy and odd, but I know that he¡¯s very protective of me. So if he finds out that I¡¯m here to be a shield for him against Eli¡¯s wrath, he will do everything in his power to make sure that doesn¡¯t happen. I¡¯m pretty sure he would even go so far as to tell Eli what I¡¯m doing. And we can¡¯t have that.


    So I decide to y to his insecurities. He is carrying our family¡¯s entire burden on his shoulders, and I know that he is secretly worried that he won¡¯t be able to do it. That he will fail and let us down. Let Dad down. And if I hit him there, he will miss even the most obvious clues in his anger and hurt. I know that it¡¯s cruel. But it¡¯s the only way I can protect him.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Connor asks, eyes wide with confusion, once we¡¯re out of sight.


    While blocking out the guilt twisting inside me, I frown at him and shake my head as if the answer to that should have been obvious. ¡°Studying.¡±


    ¡°Studying? What do you mean, <i ss="calibre2">studying</i>?¡±


    ¡°At ckwater University. I¡¯ve enrolled as a student.¡±


    He jerks back,pletely baffled. ¡°What? Why?¡±


    ¡°Because someone needed to step up and try to save our family from ruin.¡±


    He looks like I¡¯ve just pped him across the face. Pain stabs through my heart at the hurt that shes in his eyes.


    ¡°You think I¡¯m not good enough?¡±


    Since I don¡¯t trust myself to speak, I just shrug.


    Anger joins the terrible hurt in his eyes. ¡°So, what? You think you can just¡­ take my ce? That you can just magically fix everything? I¡¯ve spent <i ss="calibre2">years</i> working for this, Raina!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, since you¡¯ve clearly made enough enemies tond you in the hospital wing instead of focusing on your sses, I think we need a backup.¡±


    ¡°You?¡±


    ¡°Me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re delusional. You¡¯re not even trained for this, Raina. You won¡¯t be helping our reputation. All you will be doing is further tarnishing it, because you don¡¯t know a single thing about this world!¡±


    ¡°Then don¡¯t tell them that I¡¯m your sister. Tell them that you have no fucking clue who I am. But I¡¯m not leaving.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± he snaps. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯ll do.¡±


    Good. Because I can¡¯t have him identally blowing my cover with Eli.


    For a few seconds, the two of us just stare each other down. My heart is breaking at the sight of that anger and pain in Connor¡¯s eyes when he looks at me. But I swallow down the lump in my throat while trying to convince myself that this is for the best.


    ¡°You know, I always thought you were different,¡± Connor begins, that awful hurtcing his voice. ¡°That you actually¡­ understood.¡± Anger creeps into his tone again as he flicks a dismissive nce up and down my body. ¡°But I guess not. Good luck, Raina.¡±


    Before I canpose myself enough to respond, he yanks the door open and stalks out. It vibrates in its frame as he ms it shut behind him.


    Tears threaten to spill from my eyes. I blink them back with great effort and instead draw in a deep breath to steady myself.


    It¡¯s better that he¡¯s angry.


    At least then, he will stay out of harm¡¯s way.

 Alluring Darkness: Chapter 9

    My skin was so tender that I was barely able to sit through the entire ss I had after Eli¡¯s attempt to humiliate me in the canteen. But thankfully, that damn bastard had at least allowed me to pull my panties back up on my own. Because if he had been the one to do it, he would have felt how fucking wet I was.


    The way his entire body exuded power, the way he held that belt, the way he ground himself against my ass and pulled on my hair afterwards¡­ My heart is pounding just thinking about it. But I didn¡¯t want him to know that, because then he would probably havemented on it loudly enough for the whole canteen to hear, and that would have been more humiliating than the actual spanking.


    I roll my shoulders back as I get into position on the padded mat.


    At least the difort is long gone now. And thank fuck for that because today is my first lesson in hand-to-handbat, and I suck at that as it is without adding aching ass cheeks into the mix.


    I¡¯m paired up with Magda, which is both a blessing and a curse. She¡¯s so damn fast that I can¡¯t even begin to block her moves. But at least she doesn¡¯t have enough brute strength to break my bones when her strikesnd. So there is that, I suppose.


    Leaping back, I desperately try to avoid the swift kick she throws at my hip. I manage to dodge it by a mere inch. But when Ind, I¡¯m so off bnce that I can¡¯t block her right hand. It ms into the side of my ribs, making me stumble to the right.


    ¡°Keep up,¡± she snaps.


    Massaging my ribs, I straighten again while growling, ¡°I¡¯m trying.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re screwing me over. If I can¡¯t practice against someone who knows what she¡¯s doing, then I will fall behind.¡±


    ¡°I know. I¡¯m sorry. Look, I¡ª¡±


    The door to the sparring room is yanked open. A ripple goes through the room as Eli Hunter saunters across the threshold. My heart flips in my chest.


    Our instructor, Mr. Hansen, turns towards the disturbance and opens his mouth as if to tell the intruder to get the hell out. Then his sharp eyesnd on Eli, and all traces of anger disappear from his stern features in a sh. He is in his mid-forties. Tall and muscr, and with a scar across his jaw. I havee to understand that the Hunters hold some kind of sway on this campus, but it is still baffling to see a man like Mr. Hansen check his tone around a student half his age.


    ¡°Hunter,¡± he says in a neutral tone. ¡°I¡¯m in the middle of ss.¡±


    ¡°I can see that,¡± Eli answers.


    His golden-brown eyes scan the crowd until theynd on me. My heart skips a beat again when a sly smile curls his lips.


    ¡°I heard that you have a student who started three weeks after everyone else,¡± Eli says to Mr. Hansen, but his eyes remain locked on mine.


    Clothes rustle as everyone turns to look at me. I keep my chin up and a nonchnt expression on my face, but my pulse is now thrumming in my ears.


    ¡°So I thought I might help her catch up by instructing her personally,¡± Eli continues. Atst, he breaks eye contact and shifts his attention back to Mr. Hansen before finishing with, ¡°Since you have so many other students who need your attention, and no patience for people who don¡¯t even know their foot from their elbow.¡±


    The other students chuckle. My cheeks heat, but I¡¯m hoping it¡¯s not visible in the bright light from the fluorescents in the concrete ceiling.


    I already have a feeling that Mr. Hansen doesn¡¯t like me very much, and that is confirmed by the contempt on his face as he casts a nce at me.


    Then he lifts his broad shoulders in a shrug and flicks his wrist at Eli. ¡°Knock yourself out.¡± His gaze finds my sparring partner. ¡°Magda, pair up with Jessica instead.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± she says, and quickly hurries away.


    ¡°The rest of you, enough dawdling! Get back to work.¡±


    The other students leap to obey his order. Sparring matches start back up, and the sound of punches and kicks striking flesh once more echoes between the gray concrete walls.


    From across the room, Eli locks eyes with me again and shes me a smile tinged with insanity. Then he starts towards me. I have to suppress the primal urge to back away as my pulse hammers and dread washes over me. Shit. This is going to be humiliating.


    Eli advances on me until he is standing only two strides away. Amusement glitters in his eyes as he slowly drags his gaze up and down my body. ¡°How¡¯s your ass?¡±


    Instead of answering, I shoot a pointed look at the spot where I pressed a knife a few days ago, and then raise my eyebrows. ¡°How¡¯s your throat?¡±


    Holding my gaze, he smirks and casually adjusts his cock through his pants. ¡°How¡¯s <i ss="calibre2">your</i> throat?¡±


    Since I don¡¯t have aeback for that, I just cross my arms and re back at him instead. He huffs out a satisfied chuckle.


    ¡°You know how to surrender, right?¡± he says.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid the word is not in my vocabry.¡±


    He snorts. ¡°Cute.¡±


    I narrowly prevent myself from jerking backwards when he abruptly takes a step towards me. Grabbing my wrist, he easily pulls it away from my chest and instead moves it towards his hip.


    ¡°In a sparring match, when your opponent has you so hopelessly pinned that you can¡¯t save yourself, you submit.¡± Using his grip on my wrist, he moves my hand so that my palm touches his hip twice. ¡°By tapping out.¡±


    ¡°I knew that,¡± I mutter.


    ¡°Good.¡± A wicked grin spreads across his lips. ¡°Because you¡¯re going to practice that move a lot this afternoon.¡±


    Before I can retort, he releases my wrist and steps back again. I rub my thumb over the spot where his fingers were locked a few seconds ago.


    ¡°Square up,¡± hemands.


    Biting back a snarky reply, I raise my hands into the position that Mr. Hansen showed me about half an hour ago. Or at least, I hope so. Eli frowns at me but doesn¡¯tment.


    Then he strikes.


    I don¡¯t even have time to blink in surprise. I expected him to¡­ I don¡¯t know. Say something first? But he doesn¡¯t. He just shes forward and ms a fist into the side of my ribs.


    Pain pulses through my ribcage as itnds, and I suck in a gasp as I stumble sideways. Eli moves again. This time, I at least try to yank my arms into position to block it. But his hitnds anyway.


    He backs me across the floor, getting strike after strike in. But the more of his punches thatnd, the more I realize something incredibly surprising. The hits don¡¯t hurt as much as I expected them to. And given Eli¡¯s impressive physique, there is only one exnation for that. He is pulling his punches.


    The realization stuns me so much that I blurt it out without thinking. ¡°You¡¯re pulling your punches.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t want you to break too quickly.¡± A smirk ghosts across his lips. ¡°I like ying with my food.¡±


    He trails to a halt.


    My chest heaves from exertion, but he isn¡¯t even breathing heavily. In fact, he lookspletely unaffected as he rakes his gaze over my already exhausted body. I flick a nce over his shoulder.


    He has backed me so far across the floor that we¡¯ve ended up on the other side of the sparring hall. Mr. Hansen and my ssmates are still training, and even if they had been able to hear us from all the way over here, none of them are paying us any mind.


    ¡°You clearly suck at using your fists,¡± Eli says.


    I bristle at thement, but he is right, of course, so I just re back at him in silence.


    ¡°Try kicking me instead,¡± he says when I don¡¯t take the bait.


    Narrowing my eyes in suspicion, I try to figure out what he is nning. But actuallynding a kick on him and wiping that smug expression off his features would be so damn satisfying that I can¡¯t resist the temptation to try.


    In the hope of catching him off guard, I quickly shift my weight and m my foot towards his hip.


    His hand immediately shoots down towards it.


    Shock crackles through me as he locks his fingers around my ankle. Holding my leg trapped up in the air like that, he shes me a smile that sends ice skittering down my spine. Then he moves.


    He walks a few steps to the side, using his grip on my ankle to pull me with him. Since my leg is up in the air, it forces me to hop after him on one foot. He moves again. And again.


    Embarrassment sears my cheeks. I can <i ss="calibre2">feel</i> the heat radiating from them, so I can only imagine how red they must be.


    With a vicious smirk on his lips, Eli pulls on my leg again, forcing me to jump after him while I il my arms to keep my bnce.


    For some reason, this is more mortifying than being spanked in the middle of a packed cafeteria. And based on the look in that damn bastard¡¯s eyes, he knows it.


    ¡°Want to tap out?¡± he taunts.


    I grit my teeth and try to yank my ankle away from his hand, but his grip only tightens. Then he starts to move faster, forcing me to frantically hop after him.


    ¡°Fine,¡± I snap atst.


    But before I can so much as shift my hand towards my thigh, he pulls on my leg. Hard. It makes me lose my bnce and sends me toppling backwards.


    Air explodes from my lungs as I hit the padded mat back first. I raise a hand towards my chest while I try to suck in a deep breath.


    Eli kicks my hand aside. It ms into the mat again while he crouches down over me. I have barely managed to get air back into my lungs when he presses his knee against my chest, pinning me to the floor and restricting my breathing again.


    ¡°Go ahead then,¡± he says, locking smug eyes on me. ¡°Tap out.¡±


    For a few seconds, I just re back at him. He shifts more of his body weight to the knee on top of my chest. I bare my teeth at him but then move my palm to the padded mat beside me and tap twice.


    Eli lets out a satisfied chuckle.


    Taking his knee off my chest, he straightens and brushes off his hands. I leap to my feet while his back is halfway turned and aim my fist straight at his side.


    He whips around. I¡¯m one inch away fromnding a strike when he wraps his fingers around my wrist and stops it.


    My stomach lurches as he uses my momentum to somehow flip me over and send me mming down on the mat again. This time on my stomach. I try to gasp in a breath while Eli settles his weight on my ass and twists my still trapped hand up my back.


    ¡°Trying to strike when your opponent¡¯s back is turned?¡± he says from above me. ¡°Sneaky. But not very honorable.¡±


    ¡°What the fuck do you know about honor?¡± I growl.


    He pushes my hand higher up. Pain ripples through my arm at the unnatural angle, and I have to grit my teeth to bite back a whimper.


    ¡°I never said that <i ss="calibre2">I</i> care about honor,¡± he muses. ¡°But I do love having yet another excuse to punish you.¡± I can hear the fucking smirk in his voice as hemands, ¡°Submit.¡±


    I just clench my jaw harder. He shifts his weight on my ass, making his cock grind against it. If it¡¯s by ident or by design is unclear, but it sends a sh of electricity through my body that is distracting enough that I momentarily forget that he is trying to hurt me, not fuck me.


    He forces my hand farther up. A whimper rips from my throat. It feels like my arm is going to snap in half.


    ¡°Submit,¡± he orders again in a voice pulsing withmand.


    If he actually decides to break my arm, I will be in real trouble, so I yank my hand up and frantically tap it against the mat next to me.


    He stops pushing my hand upwards but doesn¡¯t release me. Instead, he leans down closer to my ear and whispers, ¡°Good girl.¡±


    A shudder courses through my body.


    Given the victoriousugh that spills from his lips, he probably thinks it was a shudder of fear. Oh, if he only knew¡­


    Atst releasing my hand, he stands up again, leaving me lying on the ground. I slowly push to my knees and roll my aching shoulder. Then I get to my feet as well.


    Eli is standing there, two steps away, watching me like a predator. I flick a quick nce towards Mr. Hansen and the others. They¡¯re still sparring, and no one is even bothering to look in our direction.


    ¡°Oh, they can¡¯t save you, princess.¡± Raising a hand, he twitches two fingers at me. ¡°Come on then. Try again.¡±


    And since I can¡¯t let him think that he has won, I do exactly that.


    Again and again, Ie at him and try to get at least one kick or punch through.


    But every time, I end up on the floor with no other choice but to tap out. He reads my moves every single time, and reacts so quickly that I can barely see the attacking before I¡¯m on my back again. Anger flickers through me as he yet again demonstrates just how outssed I am against him. There has to be something I can do to throw him off his game.


    Air explodes from my lungs once more as I m into the mat yet again. Before I can so much as lift my head, Eli is there.


    Straddling my hips, he grabs both of my wrists and moves them so that he can pin my hands underneath his knees. I kick my legs and buck my hips, trying to get him off me. But it¡¯s no use. I try to yank my hands away, but he just puts more of his body weight onto my palms, keeping them firmly pinned to the ground.


    ¡°It must be so frustrating,¡± he says, a taunting note to his voice. ¡°Being this weak and helpless.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not helpless,¡± I growl while still trying to somehow get my hands out from underneath his knees.


    ¡°Oh really? Would you like me to demonstrate just how helpless you are against someone like me?¡±


    Before I can reply, he leans forward and wraps his hand around my throat. While bracing the other against the ground next to my head, he tightens his fingers around my neck until he¡¯s cutting off all of my air.


    I struggle to get him off me, but it only makes me grind my pussy against his cock where he straddles me. That,bined with the feeling of his powerful body pinning me to the ground and the sheer dominance pulsing from him as he chokes me, sends lightning crackling through me.


    He must have misread the shudder that racks my frame, because he just smirks and says, ¡°Yeah, I know. With your hands pinned like this, you can¡¯t even tap out.¡±


    His eyes stay locked on mine as he tightens his grip just a little more. My lungs scream for oxygen.


    ¡°Do you know what you do when you can¡¯t tap out?¡± He raises his other hand and brushes my bangs aside, his fingers sending sparkles dancing over my skin. ¡°You beg.¡±


    Since there is nothing I can do to break his grip, I just lie there, looking up at him while he holds my life in the palm of his hand.


    ¡°I will allow you to breathe again in a few seconds. I suggest you use the opportunity to beg me for mercy.¡±


    Air rushes back into my lungs as he rxes his grip on my throat. I cough and drag in desperate breaths until my starved lungs are full again. But I have to admit that the bastard at least knows how to choke someone properly, because my neck doesn¡¯t even hurt from his grip.


    For about half a minute, I just lie there underneath him, sucking in deep breaths. He keeps his hand resting over my throat. He¡¯s not squeezing, but it¡¯s a solid weight meant to remind me that he is still in control here.


    Once my breathing has evened out, Eli arches his eyebrow expectantly. ¡°Well then, princess. What do you say?¡±


    ¡°Choke me harder, Daddy.¡±


    Utter shock pulses across his features, and he jerks back in stunned surprise. It¡¯s enough to take his knee off my right hand for a second. I use that second well.


    Yanking my hand up, I m my fist into his jaw.

 Alluring Darkness: Chapter 10

    The auditorium is packed with people, but my eyes are locked on the dark-haired girl sitting halfway to the stage. She is leaning slightly sideways in her seat, speaking to a blond guy next to her, and she hasn¡¯t looked in my direction even once. I flex my fingers and try to suppress the urge to go find a sniper rifle and shoot that blond guy in the back of the head.


    ¡°If you could quiet down, please,¡± Professor Lawson says, her voice barely carrying over the noise even though she is speaking into a microphone. ¡°We¡¯re ready to start.¡±


    The people in the closest rows immediately stop talking, but the ones higher up have clearly not heard her because they continue chatting in their seats.


    ¡°SHUT IT!¡± Mr. Hansen bellows.


    He is standing two strides away from the mic, but his loud voice still hits it. Several people wince as the grating sound of electronic feedback cuts through the room.


    Deadly silence falls over the massive hall.


    ¡°Ah, uhm, thank you,¡± Professor Lawson says to Mr. Hansen. She gives him a small smile, to which he responds with an uncharacteristically self-conscious nod, before she turns her attention back to the students of ckwater University. ¡°Those of you who are on your second or third year already know what this is about.¡±


    A ripple of anticipation washes through the room.


    ¡°In a few weeks, it¡¯s time for the annual tournament,¡± she announces.


    Some of the seniors let out whoops of excitement.


    ¡°Yes, quite exciting indeed.¡± She smiles. ¡°Now, I¡¯m sure that all of you first-years are wondering what this is all about.¡± After pausing for a second, she asks, ¡°How many of you have read <i ss="calibre2">The Hunger Games</i>?¡±


    A tiny minority of people raise their hands. Raina is not among them. Narrowing my eyes, I study the back of her head. I wonder what kind of books she read while growing up. Perhaps something like <i ss="calibre2">How to Be an Unpredictable Force of Nature</i>.


    I still haven¡¯t gotten over what she did in that sparring hall the other day. <i ss="calibre2">Choke me harder, Daddy</i>. Fucking hell, I did not see that oneing. I¡¯ve never met anyone who surprises me, and challenges me, the way she does.


    ¡°Well, that was a truly depressing number,¡± Professor Lawson remarks. Drawing a hand through her brown curls, she sighs. ¡°Okay, how many of you have at least seen the movie, then?¡±


    A lot more hands are raised this time. Raina¡¯s among them.


    ¡°Great,¡± Professor Lawson says, sounding a bit more cheerful. ¡°This tournament is kind of like that. Except in teams.¡±


    Silence descends on the massive room as the first-years nce at one another.


    ¡°We¡¯re gonna kill each other?¡± a guy calls from somewhere to my left.


    ¡°No.¡± She waves her hands. ¡°No actual killing. But apart from that, anything goes.¡± After a brief pause, she tilts her head to the side and adds, ¡°Well, not anything. We do prefer to keep any permanent injuries to a minimum.¡±


    Tension ripples through the first-years while the rest of us lean back in our seats with grins on our faces. I continue watching the back of Raina¡¯s head while Professor Lawson exins that each team will start at a different ce outside the forest and that the objective is to kill the target at the center while also avoiding or incapacitating the other teams. It¡¯s impossible to tell what she¡¯s thinking, though.


    ¡°Normally, there are teams of four,¡± Professor Lawson continues. ¡°But this year, there will be teams of five.¡±


    Surprise shes across the faces of several people around me. My brothers all frown, and Rico nces towards me.


    ¡°There will be at least one person from each year on every team,¡± she continues. ¡°And you will find out the teams today.¡±


    Paper rustles as her assistant scurries over and hands her a stack of documents. Then she begins reading out the teams. Lounging in my seat, I wait with a smile on my face until she gets to my team.


    ¡°Next up, we have Eli Hunter.¡±


    The people closest to us sneak a few quick nces. They all know that my team is never selected randomly. It always consists of the people that I want on it.


    ¡°Rico Hunter,¡± she continues reading from her paper. ¡°Kaden Hunter. Jace Hunter.¡±


    My brothers all turn towards me and grin.


    ¡°And Raina Smith,¡± she finishes.


    Surprise shes in my brothers¡¯ eyes, and some people gasp closer to where Raina sits.


    ¡°Seriously?¡± Jace hisses while the professor continues on with the next team.


    I just shoot him a sideways nce.


    On my other side, Rico leans closer and speaks in a soft voice. ¡°Are you sure about this, Eli? She¡¯s the weakest person on this entire campus.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± I reply.


    ¡°Then why the hell is she on our team,¡± Jace mutters. ¡°This is my first time. I want us to fucking crush it.¡±


    I slide my gaze to Kaden, waiting to see if he¡¯s going to protest too. But he just sits there, watching me with calm dark eyes and waiting for me to exin my reasoning.


    ¡°All four of us are here this year,¡± I say, looking each one of them in the eye. ¡°We all know that the four of us can carry this entire tournament on our own.¡±


    A smug grin spreads across Jace¡¯s mouth. Rico tips his head to the side, as if conceding the point. I look at Kaden, who nods.


    ¡°So there is no reason to worry,¡± I continue. ¡°I made sure that Raina is on our team because we deserve to have some fun along the way.¡±


    Now, Kaden smiles too. It¡¯s the sadistic one full of quiet anticipation that he so often wears.


    ¡°In two weeks, team training is starting,¡± I say. ¡°Which means that the four of us and Raina will have entire afternoons together. And do you know what that means?¡±


    Kaden¡¯s smile widens while Jace rubs his hands together. Rico just lets out an amused huff.


    ¡°That means that we will have all the time and privacy in the world¡­¡± I match their grins. ¡°To torment her.¡±

 Alluring Darkness: Chapter 11

    Everyone around me shoots me sympathetic looks. Frowning, I nce between them while the people in the auditorium slowly start getting to their feet.


    ¡°What?¡± I ask.


    Magda draws in a breath and shrugs. ¡°Well, it was nice knowing you.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    From my other side, Gabriel gives me an apologetic look. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ the Hunters are insane.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯m on the same team as them.¡± With the frown still on my face, I shake my head a couple of times to show that I really don¡¯t understand their reasoning. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t that mean I¡¯m in the safest position possible?¡±


    ¡°No offense,¡± Magda begins in a tone that makes it clear that she doesn¡¯t actually care one bit if I¡¯m offended or not. ¡°But you¡¯re the weakest person here.¡±


    ¡°Ouch,¡± I mutter, but then shrug. ¡°But okay, what does that have to do with anything?¡±


    ¡°Everyone knows that the Hunters can influence the instructors so that they get the people they want. Why do you think all four of them are on the same team?¡±


    ¡°Not to mention that it¡¯s usually four people per team,¡± Gabriel adds. ¡°And now it¡¯s suddenly five.¡±


    ¡°So?¡± I prompt.


    ¡°So they <i ss="calibre2">wanted you</i> on their team,¡± Gabriel says. ¡°And given who they are, do you really think they did that to help you?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I admit.


    Magda snorts and shoots me a pointed look. ¡°That¡¯s what you get for calling Eli Hunter stupid in front of an entire cafeteria full of people.¡±


    ¡°Well, to be fair, I also carved <i ss="calibre2">Small Dick Energy</i> into his car.¡±


    Paulo, who had been quietly drinking from his water bottle, sprays water across the seat in front of him before he manages to p a hand in front of his mouth. Thankfully, the person who was sitting in that seat has already moved away. But some other students nearby turn to look at us.


    ¡°You did <i ss="calibre2">what</i>?¡± Magda blurts out while Paulo fights to swallow down the rest of the water in his mouth.


    All three of them gape at me. I just shrug in reply.


    ¡°Girl, you¡¯re crazy,¡± Paulo says, shaking his head at me. Then he steals a quick nce over his shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t take this the wrong way, but I¡¯m starting to think that maybe being seen with you isn¡¯t such a good idea.¡±


    Both confusion and annoyance ripple through me. I really don¡¯t understand the power dynamics in this ce. Everyone here is training to be an assassin. They¡¯re <i ss="calibre2">all</i> dangerous. So why does the Hunter family hold so much sway? I get that there are four of them while most people are here on their own, or with just one sibling. But still. It doesn¡¯t exin why they have the power to influence the teachers too.


    Not for the first time, I curse my parents for their decision to keep mepletely separate from this world. Even if they decided that I was unfit to be an assassin, they should have at least told me things. After all, no matter what they want for my future, I¡¯m still Harvey Smith¡¯s daughter. Being kept in the dark is more dangerous for me than learning about all the messed-up shit that goes on in this world.


    ¡°I did that like a week and a half ago,¡± I reply to Paulo¡¯sment. ¡°And they¡¯ve already taken revenge for that, so I don¡¯t think you need to worry.¡± The padded seat flips back up into the backrest as I get to my feet. ¡°But I was leaving anyway.¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on,¡± Gabriel protests. ¡°You don¡¯t have to leave.¡±


    Paulo drags a hand through his dark hair and shes me a sheepish smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean it like that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± I assure them, and wave my hand. ¡°I was actually nning to leave because there are some people I need to talk to. Now that everyone is here, can you point out the strongest people in the senior year? Apart from Eli and Connor, I mean.¡±


    Surprise blows across their faces, but I think they feel bad about Paulo¡¯sment, because they just point out the five other students who are fighting for a spot in the top three. I thank them and promise them that I¡¯ll see themter. Then I start towards the first guy.


    Apparently, my n to keep Eli¡¯s attention on me is working like a charm. Everyone else is acting like I¡¯ve just received a death sentence, but being put on Eli¡¯s team is the best thing that could have happened because it means that it will be easier for me to mess with him. Connor needs to perform well during that tournament, and if I¡¯m on the Hunters¡¯ team, I can make sure that they actually leave him alone so that he can shine without their interference.


    One part of my n is on track. Now, I just need to figure out who tampered with his rifle so that we can hand that person over to Eli instead and get Connorpletely off the hook. But to do that, I need to know who has the most to gain from Connor¡¯s downfall. And the people highest on that list of suspects are the other students fighting for the top three spots.


    Soft murmuring fills the high-ceilinged auditorium as all the students discuss the team selection and the uing tournament. Some of them look to be searching for their team members while others appear to just be talking with their friends.


    The senior I¡¯m approaching is standing with two other guys who look to be his friends rather than his new team members. Or maybe both. I can¡¯t tell since I don¡¯t know their names or remember any of the other teams.


    My pulse flutters nervously as I approach them. I have no idea how to just walk up to a group of guys and strike up a conversation. But I need to do this.


    To protect Connor, I need to make this work.

 Alluring Darkness: Chapter 14

    The front door rattles in its frame as I m it shut behind me. After kicking off my boots, I stride into the hallway.


    ¡°You here?¡± I call.


    Only silence answers me.


    Grinding my teeth, I stalk into theundry room and yank open my duffel bag before tossing my sweaty clothes and damp towel into the basket.


    I had thought that two hours of grueling physical training would calm me down, but tension still coils around my body like steel vines. I normally don¡¯t sleep a lot, and I can handle the exhaustion and the feeling of constantly being high-strung thates with it. But in the past three days, I¡¯ve barely slept at all.


    After our little excursionst Friday, I spotted Raina a couple of times during the weekend. Bute Monday morning, she just disappeared off the face of the earth. And now, no one has seen her all week.


    I can¡¯t concentrate. I can¡¯t sleep. I can¡¯t fucking breathe properly.


    I¡¯m well aware that I¡¯m bing dangerously obsessed with her, but I can¡¯t help it. The tension in my body bleeds away when I¡¯m near her, and my blood-soaked soul sings when she looks at me. Never with fear. Even after what I showed her and told herst Friday, she doesn¡¯t back down. Doesn¡¯t cower. Doesn¡¯t fear me. She almost seems turned on by my threats.


    It¡¯s dangerous, I know that, but my body has started to crave the way she makes me feel. As if I¡¯m not crazy. As if there is nothing wrong with me. As if my mind didn¡¯t irrevocably snap back when I was thirteen. She makes me feel as if she can see right into my soul, and as if she doesn¡¯t care about the darkness she finds in there. It¡¯s like a fucking drug.


    And then she just disappears into thin air.


    Flexing my fingers, I stalk towards the stairs while reaching into my pocket. For the third time this evening, I call my brothers. None of them answer.


    It takes all of my willpower not to hurl my phone through the damn window as my call goes to voice mail yet again.


    Where the hell are they?


    I haven¡¯t seen them since ss ended this afternoon. It¡¯s not like them to disappear like that. Especially not Rico. They know that I¡¯m one careless word away from ughtering someone just to relieve my frustrations. And when that happens, Rico is always close by to pull me back from the edge so that I don¡¯t descend fully into madness.


    So where the hell are they?


    And where the fuck is Raina?


    I stalk through the house, my feet thudding against the polished floorboards. It¡¯s a massive two-story building made of dark wood, and it¡¯s probably the most coveted house on the entire campus. Since I¡¯m a Hunter, I had first pick when I started at ckwater, so I naturally chose this house. It has a huge living room and kitchen, a study, and six bedrooms, eachplete with its own private bathroom. When Rico, Kaden, and Jace enrolled, they moved in here as well.


    But they¡¯re not here right now.


    Moving through the hallway, I check each of their rooms, and even the two spare rooms too. But they¡¯re all deserted.


    My mind is spinning and twisting, and tension crackles through my body like lightning. I know that I need sleep. I can feel my muscles protesting and my brain fraying from theck of it, but I just can¡¯t bear the thought of lying there in my bed and staring at the ceiling yet another night. Because that¡¯s what will happen.


    Striding back down the hall, I reach the door to my own bedroom and grab the handle. But then I pause. I nce towards the stairs.


    Maybe I should just head back to campus instead and do another workout? That should at least help me relieve some of the restless energy still bouncing around inside me.


    Yeah, that¡¯s what I should do.


    I nod to myself and then push down the handle so that I can grab a new set of workout clothes from my closet.


    With my mind still churning, I move across the threshold.


    Then I stop dead in my tracks.


    For a while, I can¡¯t process what I¡¯m seeing, so I just stand there on the floor and stare at the scene before me.


    Raina is lying on my bed.


    My gaze flicks over her body again, and I amend that statement.


    Raina is lying <i ss="calibre2">tied</i> to my bed.


    She¡¯s spreadeagled, her legs spread wide and rope securing her ankles to the footboard. Her arms are simrly tied. Ropes wrap around her wrists and trap her to the headboard, holding her arms pinned against the mattress above her head.


    I slowly close the door behind me while my mind scrambles to catch up.


    Drifting closer, I study her face.


    She¡¯s wearing a blindfold, and she has a pair of noise-cancelling headphones over her ears. Her chest rises and falls with steady breaths, even though she¡¯s gagged.


    I squint down at the ck rubber keeping her mouth in check. If I¡¯m not mistaken, that¡¯s a gag from Kaden¡¯s rather extensive stash. A penis gag that¡¯s probably filling her entire mouth.


    My gaze drifts down over her body. She¡¯s fully clothed. I drag my gaze from her sneakers and up her bare legs to the short ck skirt she¡¯s wearing. Then my eyesnd on her green button-up shirt.


    There¡¯s a note pinned to it.


    Moving right up to the bed, I lean forward and read two words written in Kaden¡¯s neat script.


    <i ss="calibre2">Have fun.</i>

 Alluring Darkness: Chapter 17

    The gun feels all wrong in my hands. It¡¯s too clunky. Too unwieldy. I barely even know how to hold it properly, even though the instructor took pity on me and showed me the basics that everyone is already supposed to know.


    Raising it, I try my best to aim at the paper target across the grass. Then I squeeze the trigger. The gun jerks in my hands, and the bullet shoots through the air and hits the wooden barrier that has been built behind the row of targets. I heave an annoyed sigh.


    I truly despise performing poorly. And right now, I feel like a worldss loser. It doesn¡¯t matter what ss we have, I¡¯m somehow always the worst one at everything we do. The only thing I know that I¡¯m good at is chemistry, but we haven¡¯t started those sses yet. So for now, I sneak off to the chemistryb in my spare time and work on my own, just so that I can build up my crumbling confidence again.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask,¡± Gabriel suddenly says. He steps up to the line, fires two perfect shots at his target, and then moves back before turning to me again. ¡°Were those rope marks on your wrists this morning?¡±


    Thankfully, my cheeks are already flushed from irritation at my own failures, so I don¡¯t think Gabriel notices the added heat that creeps into them. ¡°Uhm, yeah.¡±


    A mix of amusement and confusion blows across his features. ¡°What happened?¡±


    My gaze drifts down the field towards where Eli is standing. For this ss, we¡¯ve been split up and also joined by parts of both the second year and the seniors. So that the first-years can learn from their seniors¡¯ technique, or so our instructor said anyway. Eli is here, and Kaden is among the second-years. At least Connor, Jace, and Rico were assigned to different groups today. I¡¯m incredibly thankful for that because I don¡¯t think I would¡¯ve survived if my brother, as well as all of the Hunters, had seen just how bad I am at this.


    Tearing my gaze from Eli¡¯s expert shooting on the other side of the field, I shift my attention back to Gabriel. ¡°I was, uhm¡­ detained.¡±


    His sparkling blue eyes flick up and down my body in surprise.


    Another wave of heat sears my cheeks, as if I still had dried cum on my thighs. But I skipped lunch today and instead ran back to my dorm room to shower and change clothes before I biked back to school again, so no evidence of how I spentst night remain on my body.


    ¡°That sounds like a story I need to hear,¡± Gabriel says as he lets out a lightugh.


    Chuckling, I shake my head at him. ¡°Trust me, you really don¡¯t want to know.¡±


    Stepping up to the line again, I raise the gun once more. I¡¯m not even sure if I understand where I¡¯m supposed to look in order to aim, but I hope for the best as I narrow my eyes and stare at the target. Then I pull the trigger.


    The bullet shoots through the warm afternoon air and ms right into the target¡¯s left knee. I scowl at the man-shaped paper.


    Once I have flicked the safety back on and lowered the gun, Gabriel ps my shoulder with the back of his hand and shes me a brilliant grin. ¡°Great shot! The target would be thoroughly incapacitated by now.¡±


    ncing up at him, I scratch the back of my neck and grimace. ¡°I was aiming for his head.¡±


    Gabriel blinks. ¡°Oh.¡±


    I justugh and shrug, but even I can hear that it sounds a bit self-conscious. Clearing my throat, I let my gaze drift back to Eli instead.


    I really need to figure out who tampered with Connor¡¯s rifle. Even though my conversation with that senior by the name of Thomas O¡¯Connell was cut short by Eli and his caveman behavior, I managed to get enough of a feel for what kind of person he is. Ambitious, lethal, and mostly without morals. But there was also a strong sense of honor about him. I don¡¯t think he would stoop so low as to use dirty tricks on hispetitors.


    A sudden thought hits me like a lightning bolt.


    What if the sabotage wasn¡¯t aimed at <i ss="calibre2">Connor</i>? What if Eli was the real target? What if someone tried to actually take him out with that tampered rifle, and Connor just happened to be the person that they chose to use as a patsy?


    My stomach bottoms out.


    If that¡¯s the case, if Connor was just unlucky enough to be a random scapegoat, then I¡¯ve been searching in the wrong ce.


    I shake my head to clear it, and then drag my attention back to Gabriel. He fires three shots at his target, two in the heart and one in the head, with a confidence that I wish I had as well.


    ¡°Do the Hunters have any enemies?¡± I ask.


    He nces at me. Then fires one more time before stepping back again. ¡°Well, of course. All assassin families have enemies, especially among the surviving loved ones.¡±


    ¡°No, I mean here. At ckwater.¡±


    His eyes move towards another first-year a short distance from us. I follow his gaze. The guy he is looking at has brown hair and gray eyes and a rather forgettable face.


    ¡°You know Anton, right?¡± Gabriel asks.


    ¡°Not really.¡±


    ¡°His full name is Anton Petrov. He has an older brother too. Mikhail Petrov, who is a second-year.¡± He runs a hand through his thick blond hair and then scratches his jaw before meeting my gaze head on again. ¡°Their family has been trying to knock the Hunters down a few pegs for a while now.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± A smile spreads across my lips. ¡°Sounds like someone I should get to know then.¡±


    Gabriel sputters protests about how getting in the middle of that conflict is a really bad idea, but I ignore him and move down the line so that I¡¯m standing next to Anton instead.


    Surprise flickers in Anton¡¯s gray eyes as I take up position next to him, but he doesn¡¯tment. I can¡¯t just walk up and ask him if he tried to have Eli shot a couple of weeks ago, so I don¡¯t say anything at first either. I just start shooting in silence.


    Gunshots echo across the vast field as we all continue practicing. Sunlight beats down on me, warming my back. There is no wind today, and the heat of summer still hasn¡¯t broken, so a drop of sweat rolls down my spine.


    I fire again. The bullet hits the wooden barrier a short distance from the target.


    ¡°You¡¯re holding it wrong,¡± Anton says eventually.


    Satisfaction bubbles up inside me. Perfect. Now, I have an excuse to start a conversation with him.


    I let an embarrassed expression descend on my features as I turn my head to meet his gaze. ¡°Yeah, I figured as much. The instructor tried to show me earlier, but after the third time, he looked like he was ready to put a bullet between my eyes instead, so I just nodded and told him that I understood even though I still don¡¯t.¡±


    Anton chuckles. ¡°Yeah, patience isn¡¯t exactly his strong suit.¡±


    ¡°To be fair, it¡¯s not really mine either.¡±


    He huffs out anotherugh and then shoots at his target a few more times. I¡¯m starting to think that I¡¯ve lost the opportunity, but then he nces at me again. I can feel his gaze drifting over my body, lingering on my curves.


    ¡°You¡¯re that girl who started three weeks after everyone else, right?¡± he says.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Shifting my gun to my left hand, I reach out with the other as I say, ¡°Raina Smith.¡±


    He takes my hand. ¡°Anton Petrov.¡±


    We shake hands, but he holds on to mine a little longer than strictly necessary. I give him a smile. He gives my palm one more squeeze and then releases me.


    ¡°Petrov,¡± I say, raising my eyebrows. ¡°As in <i ss="calibre2">the</i> Petrov family.¡±


    I had never heard that name until a few minutes ago, but based on what Gabriel said, it sounds like they¡¯re well-known. And ttery always works.


    My assumptions are confirmed when a proud smile spreads across his face. ¡°Yeah, one and the same.¡±


    ¡°Then I suppose we have amon enemy too.¡± I shoot a pointed look towards Eli.


    Anton¡¯s expression darkens as he sends a re in that direction as well. ¡°Yeah.¡± Turning back to meet my gaze, he flicks a quick look up and down my body. ¡°I saw what he did to you in the canteen earlier. With the belt.¡±


    I don¡¯t even have to fake the embarrassment in my voice this time. ¡°You saw that, huh?¡±


    Anger brews behind his eyes. ¡°Someone really needs to knock that family off their bloody pedestal.¡±


    ¡°Maybe someone is already trying. I heard that someone tried to shoot Eli a few weeks ago.¡±


    My heart thunders as I wait for his response. Even if he was the one responsible, I doubt that he is just going to confess that to me after only a few minutes of knowing me. But maybe he will let something slip. Some kind of thread that I can keep pulling at until I find proof that Connor is innocent.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Anton huffs out augh. ¡°Too bad it failed.¡± A scheming glint creeps into his eyes as he looks down at me. ¡°And you¡¯re not going to follow their lead and try it too. At least not with how terrible your aim is.¡± There is a smile lurking on his lips as he jerks his chin towards the targets. ¡°Do you want me to show you how to hold it and aim properly?¡±


    ¡°Oh God, yes, please.¡±


    He holsters his own gun and then raises my arms so that I¡¯m aiming towards the target again. After adjusting my fingers, he exins what I was doing wrong with my grip and how it affects the bullet trajectory. Then he moves up behind me.


    My heart lurches as he presses his muscr body against my back and then reaches around me to grab my arms again.


    ¡°Like this,¡± he says.


    But I can barely concentrate on his instructions, because every time he speaks now, his breath dances over my neck and caresses the shell of my ear.


    ¡°Raina?¡± he says. ¡°Are you listening?¡±


    ¡°What? Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then what did I say?¡±


    ¡°Uhm¡­¡±


    Heughs, sending his warm breath dancing over my skin again. ¡°I was saying that when you aim, you need to¡ª¡±


    The area around me goes unnaturally silent as Anton abruptly stops speaking.


    Then a dark voice cuts through the air like a de.


    ¡°Get. Your hands. Off her.¡±


    I snap my gaze towards the sound of the voice, and find Eli Hunter standing right next to us looking like the devil himself. His golden-brown eyes burn like hellfire and violence rolls off his body like dark waves.


    Anton has gone stiff as a board behind me, and he slowly takes his hands from my wrists and spreads his arms wide.


    That¡¯s when I notice the gun that Eli is pressing against his temple.


    My stomach flips. Jesus Christ, is he going to shoot him in the head for just showing me how to hold my gun?


    ¡°What the hell do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± I snap as I step away from Anton and whirl around to face Eli fully.


    ¡°You do not touch her,¡± Eli grinds out. Still holding the gun to Anton¡¯s head, he sweeps hard eyes across everyone around us. ¡°No one touches her. She belongs to me.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t belong to anyone,¡± I snarl.


    But Eli isn¡¯t listening to me. He just drags those rage-filled eyes of his back to Anton. ¡°This is the only warning you get, Petrov. The next time you put your hands on her, I will put a bullet in your brain.¡±


    Anton clenches his jaw, and anger flickers in his eyes as well, but he says nothing.


    ¡°Got it?¡± Eli demands.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he forces out.


    ¡°Then repeat it back to me.¡±


    Fury shes across Anton¡¯s face, and he grits his teeth again, saying nothing.


    Eli shoves the muzzle of his gun harder against Anton¡¯s temple, forcibly making him tilt his head to the side. ¡°Repeat it.¡±


    ¡°The next time I touch her, you will put a bullet in my brain,¡± Anton presses out with what sounds like great effort.


    ¡°Good. Now apologize.¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°Better.¡±


    ¡°I apologize for touching something that belongs to you.¡±


    A mockingugh rips from Eli¡¯s throat. ¡°Good boy.¡±


    Heat pools at my core, but it¡¯s overshadowed by the sheer amount of anger burning through me.


    Every time I try to talk to someone and get information about who set Connor up, Eli shows up and ruins it. I need to figure out who really tampered with the rifle, but I can¡¯t do that if Eli keeps acting like a possessive caveman all the time.


    ¡°I don¡¯t belong to you, you fucking asshole,¡± I growl at him. ¡°I can talk to whoever the hell I want and¡ª¡±


    ¡°One more word out of your mouth, andst night will be child¡¯s y inparison to what I¡¯ll do to you.¡± Eli cuts me amanding stare before taking the gun from Anton¡¯s head and using it to motion between us instead. ¡°If you go anywhere near him again, he¡¯ll be bleeding out on the ground. You want that on your conscience?¡±


    I re back at him while clenching and unclenching my jaw. Then I force out, ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± he repeats, and then jerks his chin. ¡°Then leave while I still have some patience left.¡±


    After a very short staring contest, I¡¯m forced to ept that I have lost this round. With an irritated snarl, I spin around and stalk towards the edge of the field.


    I hand in my gun, but then swipe another one on my way out. That one has a silencer on it. I don¡¯t know how to use one of those, or if it even affects the way the gun works apart from muffling the noise, but it was the only one within reach. But it doesn¡¯t matter. It should work for what I have in mind anyway.


    With revenge burning inside me, I stalk away from the field and towards the chemistryb.

 Alluring Darkness: Chapter 18

    On instinct, I jerk my body to the side. A secondter, a fist ms into the wall right where my head was supposed to be. I whip around to find Mikhail Petrov drawing his hand back for another strike. Yanking my arm up, I m my fist into his side before he can finish swinging.


    A huff rips from his throat, and he dances back a step.


    I flick a quick nce up and down the concrete corridor. It¡¯s suspiciously empty. Almost as if he had it cleared beforehand.


    ¡°You put a gun to my little brother¡¯s head,¡± Mikhail snarls, his blue eyes shing with fury.


    I shoot him a nonchnt look. ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°No one threatens my family.¡±


    Before I can reply, he yanks out a knife and lunges at me. I dodge the swipe and throw a fist down on his forearm, pushing it downwards before I m my other fist into his jaw.


    Pain pulses across his face, but he recovers quickly and jabs at me with the de again.


    My mind churns with possible strategies. I don¡¯t have a weapon, which means that I need to disarm him first.


    Grunts echo between the empty gray walls as Ind a series of punches to Mikhail¡¯s side. He manages to get in a shallow cut on my forearm. I grit my teeth as a flicker of pain sears through my skin.


    He¡¯s good. I¡¯ll give him that.


    Unfortunately for him, I¡¯m better.


    Atst, I manage tond a precise blow to his elbow that makes a jolt shoot through his arm. The knife flies from his grip when his muscles spasm. I follow it up with a kick to the side of his knee.


    A cry of pain rips from his throat as his leg buckles and he crashes down on the floor. I m my knee into the side of his head, sending him smacking into the ground.


    Dropping down, I straddle his chest and then ram my fist into his face again and again.


    Mikhail tries desperately to protect himself, but on his back with my weight across his chest, he doesn¡¯t stand a chance.


    Fury roars through me like a lightning storm. I know that I should try to control myself, but those safeguards in my brain were shattered long ago.


    ¡°Uhm, did I miss something?¡± Rico suddenly asks.


    Locking my hand around Mikhail¡¯s throat, I pause my attacks and look up to find Rico, Kaden, and Jace standing next to us. Rico just looks at me with his eyebrows raised in question while Jace cocks his head as if studying Mikhail¡¯s face and the injuries there. Next to them, Kaden watches us with a cruel smile on his lips and that customary sadistic gleam in his eyes.


    ¡°The bastard tried to knife me,¡± I grind out between gritted teeth while trying desperately to get my rage back under control. ¡°Because I put a gun to little Anton¡¯s head earlier.¡±


    ¡°Aww, how cute,¡± Jace says.


    I turn back to Mikhail, who is struggling to get my hand off his throat so that he can breathe again. ¡°You want to be us, huh? You want to take our family¡¯s ce as the most feared one here? You want to be me?¡±


    Only strained gurgling answers me.


    Without taking my eyes off him, I snap my fingers at Kaden. ¡°Knife.¡±


    He immediately slides one out of his thigh holster and hands it to me.


    I rx my grip on Mikhail¡¯s throat, allowing him to suck in strangled breaths. Then I lift the knife and ce it over his left eyebrow.


    ¡°Well, if you want to be me, then we need to start by making you look more like me.¡±


    His blue eyes dart up to the scar running through my eyebrow and down to my cheek. But before he can say or do anything, someone elsees sprinting around the corner up ahead.


    Anton Petrov skids to a halt on the concrete floor, and his eyes go wide as he stares at us. Then rage floods his features, and he charges.


    ¡°Get off him, you fucking¡ª¡± he begins, but his words are quickly cut off as Rico and Jace intercept him.


    Air explodes from his lungs as my brothers throw him up against the wall. He struggles like a maniac, but they keep him effortlessly trapped like a fly with his back against the wall and his arms spread wide.


    I turn back to Mikhail. ¡°Now, as I was saying, we should start by making you look more like me.¡± Shifting the de, I position the tip right above his eyeball. ¡°Though maybe I should take your eye too, so that we don¡¯t look too simr.¡±


    Dread washes over his features. But to his credit, he doesn¡¯t beg.


    Someone else does, though.


    ¡°No, please,¡± Anton calls as he struggles against Rico and Jace¡¯s hold. ¡°Please!¡±


    ¡°Anton,¡± Mikhail snaps.


    But Anton ignores him and instead locks pleading eyes on me. ¡°Please, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry for what happened on the gun range this afternoon. I¡¯m sorry for what my brother did in this corridor. Please, <i ss="calibre2">please</i>, don¡¯t take his eye.¡±


    While holding his gaze, I let a vicious smile stretch my lips as I move the knife closer.


    ¡°No!¡± Anton thrashes wildly against the wall. ¡°Please, I¡¯m begging you. I¡¯m <i ss="calibre2">begging you</i>.¡±


    I stop moving the de and arch an eyebrow at him. ¡°Are you now?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Please, Hunter. I¡¯m begging you not to take his eye. He won¡¯te after you again. I swear it. Just please let him go.¡±


    Mikhail squeezes his eyes shut and clenches his jaw. Shame burns on his face at hearing his little brother plead so pathetically and beg us for mercy on his behalf.


    And in my book, that utter humiliation is punishment enough.


    With a smug grin on my mouth, I move the knife away from his eye and spin it in my hand instead. ¡°Well, since you begged so prettily.¡±


    A gasp of relief rips from Anton¡¯s throat.


    After handing the knife back to Kaden, I get to my feet again.


    As soon as my weight is off his chest, Mikhail tries to push himself up too.


    I nt my boot against his chest and shove him back down on the floor. ¡°Stay down.¡± Sliding my gaze to Anton, I lock hard eyes on him. ¡°And you, you¡¯d better make sure he stays that way.¡±


    His worried gray eyes flick down to Mikhail, but then he nods.


    Taking my boot off Mikhail¡¯s chest, I jerk my chin at my brothers. They release Anton and then fall in beside me as we start down the hall.


    The restful calm I felt this morning after sleeping for almost ten hours evaporated the moment I saw Anton put his fucking hands on Raina. And now, vtile restlessness is back again. Just waiting to explode. Beating up Mikhail helped a bit, but it¡¯s not enough.


    When ites to Raina Smith, nothing is ever fucking enough.


    I drag in a deep breath to calm my churning emotions as the four of us walk out the front door and into the parking lot.


    People hurry back and forth. Some heading back to their dorms and others walking towards other buildings for after-hours practice. The orange afternoon sun is slipping farther down the horizon. Its light stretches across the parking lot and reflects against the cars and the windows, making it look like part of the area is on fire.


    ¡°Well, that was fun,¡± Jace announces, sliding his hands into his pockets, as we start towards our cars.


    ¡°I really wish you would have actually carved his eye out,¡± Kaden says. ¡°That would have been fun to watch.¡±


    ¡°And also a fucking mess to clean up,¡± Rico adds, shooting Kaden a pointed look.


    He just shrugs. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t¡ª¡±


    A <i ss="calibre2">boom</i> tears through the air.


    I jerk back in stunned shock as the front of my car explodes. It sends the hood flying up and mming into the windshield with enough force to crack the ss.


    People around us scream. It¡¯s probably yells of surprise rather than fear, since it wasn¡¯t that big of an explosion. After all, none of the other cars were damaged. Only mine.


    Rico grabs my arm and says something, but I can¡¯t concentrate on his words. All I can do is stand there and stare in utter disbelief at the strange mes licking the engine of my car. It¡¯s not a natural color. Fire only looks like that when it¡¯s burning chemicals.


    I sweep my gaze around the area, noting the faces of all the people around us.


    This wasn¡¯t Mikhail¡¯s doing. If it had been, he wouldn¡¯t have tried to attack me in the corridor. He would have just waited for me to get in the car.


    Only stunned faces meet me as I continue scanning the parking lot.


    No one except the Petrov brothers would even consider doing something like this. So if it wasn¡¯t them, it leaves only one possible suspect.


    Someone who is pissed at me for not letting her flirt with my enemies.


    Someone who is just as unhinged as I am.


    Raina.

 Alluring Darkness: Chapter 19

    Uncertainty swirls through my chest. Did I miscalcte? I was so sure that Eli would understand that it was me and that he woulde for revenge, but it¡¯s almost midnight now and he still hasn¡¯t shown up.


    Shifting my weight, I stretch my arms out and then flex my fingers on the stolen gun. Only the faint silver light from the moon shines in through the windows and illuminates my dark dorm room. I nce towards the windows, even though I can¡¯t really see anything from my position behind the door.


    Why hasn¡¯t he shown up yet? I saw his face in the parking lot when I blew up his engine. He didn¡¯t look confused. He looked determined. So he must know that it was me. Maybe I should have left a note? Then he¡ª


    A soft clickes from my door. My heart leaps into my throat, and I snap my gaze towards the lock.


    Two seconds pass.


    Then the handle is slowly pushed downwards.


    Excitement flutters through my stomach. <i ss="calibre2">He¡¯s here.</i>


    I quickly straighten and lift the gun.


    The corridor that connects all the dorm rooms is always lit, so yellow light spills across the threshold and pools on the floor as the door is pushed open. I¡¯m standing right next to it, hidden by the door and the darkness in the room.


    My heart patters in my chest as a tall and muscr man bes partly visible.


    He stops in the doorway for a moment, staring at the narrow single bed that has been pushed against the wall by the windows. I¡¯ve stuffed clothes underneath the covers so that it looks like I¡¯m lying there sleeping.


    I hold my breath.


    Then he steps fully into the room.


    My heart does a somersault in my chest, because even in this darkness, I would recognize that lethal body anywhere.


    Moving like a viper, I yank my hand up and press the gun against Eli Hunter¡¯s temple.


    He stiffens in surprise. The reaction is so subtle that if I hadn¡¯t been looking for it, I would¡¯ve missed it. But I did see it. And a victorious grin spreads across my lips in response.


    Kicking the door shut, I use my free hand to flick the light switch next to the door.


    Yellow light floods the small room, illuminating the single bed with the stuffed covers, the closet on the opposite wall, the empty desk, and the wooden chair pushed underneath it. And, of course, the dangerously hot man in front of me.


    Eli slides his gaze to me, but otherwise doesn¡¯t move an inch.


    I push the gun harder against his temple while shing him a wicked smirk. ¡°Oh you¡¯re fucked now, asshole.¡±


    Amusement and disbelief glitter in his eyes as he huffs out augh. ¡°Fucked?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡ª¡±


    He moves so fast that my brain can¡¯t even process what¡¯s happening.


    One second, I¡¯m standing there holding the gun to his head. The next, he shoves my arm to the side, snatches the gun from my fingers, and ms me up against the wall.


    My breath explodes from my lungs as my back hits the gray concrete wall hard enough to rattle my teeth. Blinking in surprise, I draw in a breath to refill my lungs.


    Once my vision is clear, I find Eli standing right in front of me. He has one hand on my chest, pushing me up against the wall. In the other, he holds the stolen gun that he is now aiming at my forehead.


    ¡°Fucked?¡± he repeats, amusementcing his tone. A smile that is pure viin spreads across his mouth as he rakes his gaze up and down my body. ¡°Would you like me to show you what it means to be <i ss="calibre2">fucked</i>?¡±


    Insanity dances in those burnt gold eyes of his. Deep down, I know that I probably should be terrified. But I¡¯m not. Because that madness calls to the insanity in my own soul. Like a siren song, it pulls at me, telling me toe and dance in the mes as the world burns.


    The intensity in his stare is so all-consuming that I can¡¯t even formte a response.


    ¡°Strip,¡± hemands.


    His mere presence is so dominating that my soul vibrates from the authority in that one word. There is absolutely no room for argument. This is the voice of a person who expects to be obeyed.


    Dark desire washes through me.


    While holding hismanding stare, I quickly strip out of my clothes and let them fall to the floor beside me. My skin prickles and my nipples harden at the exposure. I drag in a shuddering breath as I straighten again, standing before himpletely naked.


    With the gun still to my head, Eli removes a pair of handcuffs from his belt and tosses them to me. ¡°Put them on. Behind your back.¡±


    Metallic rattling fills the room as I catch the handcuffs and then maneuver them into position behind me. They let out faint clicks as I snap them shut around my wrists.


    As soon as they¡¯re on, Eli grabs me by the shoulder and spins me around. Then he uses his free hand to tighten the handcuffs almost to the point of pain. I grit my teeth as the metal digs into my skin.


    Eli just nts his palm against my shoulder des and gives me a shove towards the closet that has been built into the wall. I stumble forward, almost mming into the white-painted doors.


    When I¡¯ve straightened, I turn around and find that Eli isn¡¯t holding the gun anymore. Instead, he¡¯s holding a small bundle of rope. My gaze darts towards the door.


    ¡°Do it,¡± Eli says in a mocking voice. ¡°Make a run for it. See what happens.¡±


    Sliding my gaze back to him, I lock eyes with him again but say nothing. A smug smile lurks at the corner of his lips.


    There is no way that I would be able to make it to the door before he can draw the gun again. And besides, I kind of want to know where this is going.


    When I make no move to run, Eli loops the rope around my neck and then pulls it through the metal handle of the closet¡¯s top cab.


    A thrill rushes down my spine as he shes me a grin. Then he pulls on the rope. My heart pounds in my chest as I¡¯m forced up onto my toes.


    Once I¡¯m standing on my toes, Eli pulls just a little bit more. The rope digs into my throat, almost choking me. <i ss="calibre2">Almost</i>. Then he ties it in ce.


    Heat pools at my core as I draw in strained breaths.


    With a smirk on his lips, Eli gives me a satisfied once-over. Then he slides out the gun from the back of his waistband and aims it between my eyes.


    A jolt shoots through my body like electricity.


    I have never been in a more vulnerable, more dangerous, position in my entire life. I¡¯m naked, with my hands cuffed behind my back and a rope around my neck that is keeping me trapped on my toes and almost choking me, and a gun to my head. I should be terrified. But all I can feel is how hard my pussy aches with forbidden need.


    Drawing the muzzle of the silencer down my cheek, Eli studies my face like he is inspecting a painting that he hasn¡¯t decided whether to buy or cut to pieces yet. My heart hammers against my ribs. He traces the very edge of the round barrel that makes up the silencer along my bottom lip.


    Then his other hand shoots up.


    I gasp as he pinches my nipple hard.


    But because of the tight rope around my neck holding me immobile, I can¡¯t even squirm against the door as he squeezes harder, sending shes of pain through my tit.


    Then he rxes his grip. I suck in a shuddering breath as he teases his thumb over my sensitive nipple.


    A whimper spills from my lips as he grips it hard again and pulls it towards him, stretching my tit. He presses the gun underneath my chin. I draw in strained breaths underneath the rope and try to shift my weight on my toes so that I can arch my back and relieve the pain in my tit. But I¡¯m hopelessly trapped in ce.


    My clit throbs and I¡¯m so wet that I can almost feel it dripping down my legs.


    He releases my nipple. Relief washes over me. Lowering his hand, he instead draws his fingers over my pussy. Electricity shes through me at the touch.


    Raising his hand in front of his face, he inspects his fingers, and a smirk blows across his lips when he finds them wet.


    A sh of embarrassment sears through me, but it¡¯s quickly reced by another kind of heat as Eli takes the gun from my chin and instead starts drawing it down the center of my chest. The metal from the silencer is smooth and cold against my zing hot skin.


    ¡°This, princess¡­¡± Eli begins.


    My heart thunders in my chest and I suck in rapid breaths as he slides the gun over my hip and down my thigh. I can barely think straight as the muzzle scrapes against my inner thigh and then over my pussy.


    My pulse thrums in my ears as he holds the round barrel of the silencer right against my entrance.


    Then he pushes it inside me.


    A jolt shoots through my body like a fucking lightning strike, and my eyes snap wide open.


    I jerk against my restraints, but the movement only makes me choke harder on the rope. Forcing myself back up onto my toes, I thump the back of my head against the wooden door behind me and bite back a moan as Eli draws out the silencer and then shoves it back in again.


    ¡°<i ss="calibre2">This</i>, princess,¡± he repeats. His eyes dance with wickedness as he holds my gaze while sliding the cold metal barrel deeper inside me. ¡°This is what it means to be fucked.¡±


    ¡°Eli,¡± I gasp out.


    ¡°Yes, princess?¡±


    Lights flicker in my brain as he picks up his pace, fucking me faster with the silencer of the gun. Another whimper spills from my lips.


    ¡°Is the safety on?¡± I atst manage to press out in a strained voice.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± A smirk ys over his mouth as he runs his gaze over my face, studying every emotion that blows across my features while he continues thrusting the gun into me. ¡°<i ss="calibre2">Is</i> the safety on?¡±


    Something between a whimper and a moan rips from my chest, and I squeeze my eyes shut as a shudder rolls through my body. ¡°Eli¡­¡±


    He just continues mercilessly fucking me with the gun.


    Every nerve inside my body is on high alert. It feels as if I have swallowed a bottle of lightning. Bolts of pure energy flicker through my veins, making me hyperaware of the tightness of the rope against my throat and the pressure of the handcuffs against my wrists and the friction of that hard metal silencer inside my pussy.


    I have never felt more alive in my entire life.


    Pleasure builds inside me, soaring quickly into a violent thunderstorm just waiting to be released. My chest heaves as I suck in desperate breaths.


    Eli is fucking me with a gun. A fucking <i ss="calibre2">gun</i>. If he identally bumps the trigger, I¡¯m dead. Hell, he could even decide to purposely pull the trigger while that silencer is still buried inside me. And there is absolutely nothing I can do to stop him.


    My life is entirely in his violent, blood-soaked hands.


    And that thought alone makes my clit throb so hard that I feel like my brain is going to shatter with the lust thrumming inside me.


    I love the feeling of losing control.


    Or rather, I love the feeling of someone else <i ss="calibre2">taking</i> my control away from me.


    It makes me feel alive, feel free, in a way that nothing else does.


    Tension builds inside me, pulsing through my body and vibrating against my bones, as Eli keeps thrusting the silencer in and out of my pussy. The friction,bined with the electrifying danger and the sheer control that Eli has over my life right now, pushes me closer and closer to the edge.


    My heart pounds against my ribs.


    I suck in desperate breaths that never seem to contain enough oxygen.


    Then Eli shifts the angle of the gun slightly as he shoves it into me.


    And release shoots through my body.


    A cry rips from my lungs with enough force to make me taste blood. But the sound is immediately cut off as Eli ps his free hand over my mouth, silencing me.


    I scream and moan and whimper into his warm palm as the orgasm ricochets through my body and Ie hard all over the gun still buried in my pussy.


    Stars flicker before my eyes and my limbs shake violently.


    The force of it makes it impossible to stay on my toes, and I choke as the rope digs into my throat when my knees give out. But that only makes mee harder.


    And through it all, those eyes like burnt gold watch me with enough intensity to steal what little breath I had left. Eli¡¯s gaze sears into me, as if he is burning this image into his memory.


    When he realizes that I can no longer stand on my own, he moves his hand down from my mouth to my throat, holding me up so that I can gasp air back into my lungs again.


    For a while, he just keeps me like that. Even when the orgasm has finished crashing through my body, Eli keeps me trapped against the cold closet door while he finishes studying every inch of me.


    Then he atst pulls out the gun. I suck in a breath.


    While still holding on to the gun, he raises his hand and then undoes the knot keeping the rope secured to the handle above my head. Then he simply releases my throat.


    I don¡¯t have a single ounce of strength left in my body, so at the loss of support, I simply crash down on my knees on the floor. My hands are still shackled behind my back, so I can¡¯t even brace myself when Ind. Instead, my body just bows forward over my knees.


    For another few seconds, I just remain kneeling like that while I draw in deep breaths. The rope is still wrapped around my throat, but since it¡¯s not attached to anything anymore, I can now inhale fully again.


    My head shifts to the side as Eli taps what feels like the butt of the gun against my temple.


    ¡°Clean it off,¡± he orders.


    After sucking in one more deep breath, I lift my head and slowly raise my gaze.


    Eli is standing above me.


    I look up from his ckbat boots, drawing my gaze over his ck pants and over the tight ck t-shirt that shows off his lethal muscles. My pulse flutters erratically as I take in his dominating presence.


    With the dark clothes and the scar down his face and thepletemand that pulses from his powerful frame, he looks like war and death incarnate.


    Kneeling naked and handcuffed at his feet, I¡¯m acutely aware that I am still utterly at his mercy. I drop my gaze to the gun that he is holding in front of my face. The silencer is wet with the evidence of my orgasm. I know that I should be scared of what he can do to me right now. Any normal person would be. But all I can think about is how much I want him to put that gun to my head and then fuck me properly.


    ¡°Clean it off,¡± Eli orders again.


    Since my hands are shackled behind me, there is only one way for me to do that. My core throbs again as I open my mouth and lean forward until the silencer almost hits the back of my throat. Then I close my mouth before drawing my lips back down the barrel.


    A faint <i ss="calibre2">plop</i> sounds as I finish the final part of the silencer and then pull my head back.


    I look up at Eli again.


    Wicked satisfaction shines on his face as he smirks at me.


    Shifting his grip on the gun, he nces down at it before meeting my gaze again and shing me an amused smile. ¡°Well, would you look at that? The safety <i ss="calibre2">was</i> on.¡±


    I just narrow my eyes, staring back at him while he continues silently gloating about his victory for another few seconds.


    Then a dangerous glint appears in his eyes as he abruptly flicks the safety off and presses the gun against my forehead. ¡°But if you ever put a gun to my head again, the next time I fuck you, it won¡¯t be. Understood?¡±


    I think I manage to answer yes, but I¡¯m not sure because my brain got stuck on the middle part of that sentence.


    <i ss="calibre2">The next time I fuck you</i>.


    A thrill races down my spine.

 Alluring Darkness: Chapter 20

    Jace snaps his fingers in front of my eyes. ¡°Bro? You with us?¡±


    Yanking my hand up, I grab his annoying fingers and move them out of my face.


    ¡°He¡¯s probably thinking about Raina again,¡± Rico teases from across the table.


    ¡°Ohe on, that was two days ago.¡± Jace snorts. ¡°There really¡ª¡±


    His words are cut off as I twist his fingers back, making him cry out in pain. Across the table, Kaden snickers while Jace tries to unsessfully pull his fingers back. I twist again, making him squirm in his seat and grimace.


    ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯m sorry,¡± he blurts out, admitting defeat. When I just raise my eyebrows pointedly at him, he mutters curses under his breath and rolls his eyes, but then adds, ¡°Please?¡±


    I release his fingers.


    He snatches his hand back and shakes it out while shooting me a re. I huff out augh.


    ¡°Just because you have an incredibly short attention span, it doesn¡¯t mean that everyone else does too,¡± I say.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Rico adds, and shes him a grin. ¡°We don¡¯t call you Golden for nothing, remember?¡±


    ¡°Shut up,¡± Jace mutters at me before twisting to stab his finger at Rico instead. ¡°And stop calling me that.¡±


    ¡°You <i ss="calibre2">were</i> thinking about Raina, though,¡± Kaden interrupts before Rico can retort. There is a knowing look in his sharp brown eyes as he holds my gaze. ¡°Weren¡¯t you?¡±


    Leaning back in my seat, I rake my fingers through my hair and heave a deep sigh.


    We¡¯re sitting around our massive kitchen table made of dark wood. It¡¯s Saturday night, and great portions of the student body are busy getting drunk right now, but we decided to stay in and n our strategy for the uing tournament instead.


    Though to be fair, that was mostly because I didn¡¯t feel like going out. Ever since I broke into Raina¡¯s dorm Thursday night, I¡¯ve felt even more restless than normal.


    I¡¯m sitting in our spacious and beautiful kitchen, full of dark wooden furniture and stainless-steel appliances and marble countertops, drinking whiskey and plotting mayhem with my brothers under the golden light of the expensive chandelier above. But all I want to do is to go back to that crappy little dorm room on the other end of thepound.


    Tilting my head back down again, I meet Kaden¡¯s calcting eyes and admit, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Why are you so obsessed with her?¡± There is no judgement in his tone. Just genuine curiosity.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you do.¡±


    I force out another long breath. ¡°Look, I swear to God, there is something wrong with that girl. She¡¯s fucking insane! And I should know. Because I¡¯m insane too.¡±


    Rico tips his head to the side in an acknowledging nod. ¡°Well, can¡¯t argue with that.¡±


    Jace and Kaden chuckle. Shaking my head at the three of them, I give them a half disgruntled, half amused look and then blow out another sigh.


    ¡°What exactly happened when you broke into her dorm room?¡± Rico asks, frowning at me. ¡°You said you were going to get revenge, but you came back looking more stunned than ever. What did you do to her?¡±


    ¡°I handcuffed her, tied her up with a rope around her neck, and then fucked her with a gun.¡±


    Silence falls across the elegant kitchen as all three of them just stare back at me for a few seconds.


    Then Kaden lets out a low approving whistle while Rico huffs out augh and shakes his head.


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s fucking hot,¡± Jace announces, a grin on his face.


    ¡°Yeah, it was.¡±


    ¡°Was the safety on?¡± Rico asks. Always the careful one.


    ¡°Of course the safety was on. But I didn¡¯t tell her that until afterwards, so she didn¡¯t know that while I fucked her.¡± Blood rushes to my cock at just the memory of that night, so I adjust my position slightly in my chair. Leaning back, I drag a hand through my hair again as I sweep my gaze over my brothers and then shake my head. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m trying to tell you. I put her in such a humiliating and vulnerable position that any normal person would¡¯ve been bawling their eyes out with fear. But what did she do instead? She came so fucking hard that her eyes rolled back in her head.¡±


    Grabbing the whiskey ss before me, I bring it to my lips and down the rest of the liquid in an effort to stop the sudden impulse that shes through me. It takes all of my willpower not to lurch up from my chair and drive straight over to Raina¡¯s ce.


    I thrive on taking people¡¯s control away from them. Just like my control was taken away from me all those years ago. Ever since then, my soul craves the power that rushes through me when I have someone elsepletely at my mercy. I get off on forcing people to do what I want. Either by threats, power, or sheer physical dominance. But nothing has ever felt the way it did with Raina the other day.


    My soul was feeding off her helplessness, herck of control in the face of my power, but it was as if <i ss="calibre2">her</i> soul was feeding off it too.


    And now, it¡¯s all I can think about. I just want to corner her and torment her and do wicked, depraved things to her so that I can see just how far I can push her before she finally breaks.


    Kaden lets out another low whistle and then shoots me a look full of dark anticipation. ¡°Oh, that sounds like one hell of a ything. You sure you don¡¯t want to share her with us?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I snap immediately.


    Jealous, possessive rage burns through me at the mere thought of someone else seeing what Raina¡¯s gorgeous face looks like when stars burst behind her eyes and breathy screams rip from her throat. Even my brothers.


    That sight is only for me to see.


    Only ever for me.


    ¡°No,¡± I repeat, a bit calmer this time.


    Rico and Jace just shrug as if it¡¯s no big deal.


    Kaden looks a bit disappointed, but then he just sucks his teeth and shrugs too, epting my decision.


    But I still add one more time, just to really drive the point home.


    ¡°No one touches her but me.¡±

 Alluring Darkness: Chapter 21

    The back of my neck prickles, but I don¡¯t turn around. I already know that Eli is watching me from where he sits with his brothers higher up in the auditorium. Ignoring the way his gaze burns into the back of my head, I instead keep my attention fixed on the stage ahead where Professor Lawson has stepped up to the microphone.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± she says in a cheerful voice. ¡°We are now just under two weeks away from the annual tournament.¡±


    Whoops of excitement ring out from several people in the audience. Including Magda, who is sitting next to me. I steal a nce at her and then the two boys on my left. A wide grin decorates Magda¡¯s usually so serious face. On my other side, Gabriel is giving Professor Lawson his polite boy-next-door smile while Paulo just watches her with his customary unreadable expression.


    Apparently, I¡¯m the only one who is outright dreading this bloody tournament. It¡¯s easier to hide how terrible I am at everything when I¡¯m in ss. But in an actualpetition, when I¡¯m on a team with the Hunters? Everyone will see just how much I suck at everything. And I¡¯m not looking forward to that.


    ¡°And do you know what that means?¡± Professor Lawson continues.


    ¡°Team training!¡± someone yells from the audience.


    A ripple of excitedughter follows it.


    ¡°Correct.¡± Lawson hooks her loose brown curls behind her ears and shes us a glittering smile. ¡°Starting today, we will begin team training. In the mornings, all the way up until lunch, you will have sses as normal. But during the afternoons, you will have time to train as a team. What you choose to spend that time on is up to you.¡±


    It takes great effort not to groan. I know that I technically want to keep Eli¡¯s attention fixed on me, but spending every afternoon for two weeks alone with him and his three psycho brothers?


    I risk a quick nce over my shoulder.


    My heart lurches when I find all four Hunters staring straight at me with devilish grins on their faces.


    Turning back to the stage, I massage my brows. This is going to be a rough couple of weeks.


    ¡°Any questions?¡± Professor Lawson asks. When no one speaks up, she nods. ¡°Excellent. Then may the odds be ever in your favor.¡±


    Everyone just looks back at her in silence.


    She heaves an exasperated sigh and then snaps her fingers before pointing towards the door. ¡°That means, get to ss.¡±


    Clothes rustle and shoes thud against the ground as we all get up from our seats and start heading for the door.


    My morning ss is about how to stay hidden in different environments. Just like every other ss, it¡¯s not something I excel at, but I know that it¡¯s at least going to be better than whatever this afternoon brings.


    I follow the others out of the main campus area and towards a building that almost looks like an aircraft hangar. I¡¯ve been inside it before, of course, but the sight still takes my breath away.


    The massive building has been split into sections. One part is full of trees and bushes, turning it into a forest. Another part has buildings and stone streets just like a busy city. A third one has been built like a park. And so on.


    We move towards the open area at the front where our instructor is waiting.


    My heart stalls and I almost walk right into the person in front of me when I find Connor standing there next to our instructor. The bruises that were covering his face and body have now healed, which means that he no longer stands out in a crowd. His gray eyes linger on me for an extra second before simply moving on and scanning the rest of the people around me.


    ¡°Today, we have Connor Smith with us to help demonstrate how to efficiently move unseen through an area,¡± our teacher begins.


    I barely hear the rest of the instructions because I can¡¯t stop staring at the nk expression on Connor¡¯s face.


    A stab of pain shoots through my heart. I wish I could tell him what I¡¯m really doing here. That I¡¯m not trying to take his ce or undermine his efforts. That I¡¯m here to help him. But if he ever finds out what Eli has done to me, he will go after him, and that would only end in more bloodshed.


    Once the mandatory demonstrations are done, I move to the section as far away from Connor as possible. It¡¯s the forest part. A few other students picked that one as well, but I don¡¯t pay them any mind as I walk between the trees and breathe in air that smells like grass and dirt.


    It helps ground me again, and I run through the instructions and tips we received, as well as what Connor showed. I knew that Connor is good. People tell me that all the time. But actually seeing it with my own eyes was something else. The way he moved, the way he blended in even though we all knew what to look for, was absolutely incredible. He really is going to be one of the greatest of all time. As long as I can make sure that Eli Hunter doesn¡¯t¡ª


    ¡°You¡¯re dead.¡±


    I jerk back at the unexpected sound of that voice, <i ss="calibre2">his</i> voice, and my spine bumps against the muzzle of a gun. Twisting my head, I look over my shoulder to find Eli standing right behind me with a gun to my back. Amusement dances in his eyes.


    I scowl at him. ¡°I hadn¡¯t even started yet.¡±


    ¡°Too bad, princess. This profession doesn¡¯t wait for you to start. If you¡¯re not ready, you die.¡±


    Spinning around to face him, I shove his hand and the gun to the side as I re up at him. ¡°What are you even doing here? You¡¯re not in this ss.¡±


    ¡°I have to see where your skill level is at, so that I know what we need to work on this afternoon.¡± A smirk lifts his lips. ¡°As a team.¡±


    I snort.


    His gaze sharpens, and he gives me a look dripping with challenge. I just raise my eyebrows expectantly. Lifting his arm, he flicks his wrist, using the gun to motion at the vegetation around us.


    ¡°Go ahead then,¡± he says, a taunting edge to his voice. ¡°I¡¯m giving you two minutes to get ready and find somewhere to hide.¡±


    I don¡¯t waste a second. Darting away from him, I hurry into the trees. There are a few other students here, practicing how to move quietly across a forest floor, but they barely spare me a nce as I search for somewhere to hide.


    A cluster of trees appears up ahead. Sprinting towards it, I dive in behind one of the thick trunks since I¡¯m pretty sure that my time is up now.


    The rough bark scrapes against my skin as I press myself to the tree. My heart flutters in my chest. I nce around the edge. Nothing.


    One minute passes.


    Two.


    A smug grin threatens to break out on my face. Guess I¡¯m not as terrible as everyone thinks.


    I lean forward a little, casting another nce around the trunk.


    A gun appears at my temple from the other side. ¡°You¡¯re dead.¡±


    Since I can¡¯t move my head now, I just slide my gaze to where Eli is standing half behind me. I didn¡¯t even hear him sneak up on me.


    He removes the gun from my temple and then jerks his chin. ¡°Try again.¡±


    Branches sh past my vision as I dart away. This time, I try hiding behind arge rock instead. My heart patters in my chest as I sit there crouched behind it while scanning the forest around me. This time, I will see himing.


    I suck in a sharp breath between my teeth as the cold muzzle of a gun is pressed against the back of my head.


    ¡°You¡¯re dead,¡± Eli repeats yet again. Then he removes it. ¡°Go.¡±


    With frustration crackling inside me, I sprint away from the useless rock and try another hiding ce.


    I¡¯ve only spent about a minute covered by some thick low-hanging branches before I hear, ¡°You¡¯re dead.¡±


    I hide behind some bushes.


    ¡°Dead.¡±


    I try a massive boulder next.


    ¡°Dead.¡±


    Then I try another tree. Peeking out around it after barely a couple of minutes, I find a gun between my eyes.


    ¡°Bang.¡± Eli smirks at me. ¡°You¡¯re dead.¡±


    Anger ripples through me as I sprint through the trees and approach the park section instead. If he¡¯s so damn good, then let¡¯s see if he can figure out that I¡¯ve switched sections entirely.


    Connor is standing a short distance away, talking to our instructor. Since I don¡¯t want to get too close to them, I decide on the bushes behind one of the park benches. Crouching down behind them, I narrow my eyes as I scan the area furiously. This time, I <i ss="calibre2">will</i> see himing.


    Hope flutters in my chest when another few minutes pass and Eli still hasn¡¯t shown up. I watch the other students practicing throughout the park. Connor helps instruct some of them. Yet again, my heart aches. He¡¯s even helping other people get better, so why the hell did someone have to put him on Eli¡¯s shit list. It¡¯s so fucking cruel and unfair.


    A yelp slips past my lips as someone nts a boot between my shoulder des and shoves me out from behind the bushes. I topple forward and barely have time to yank my hands up and brace my palms on the ground before I m face down on the grass.


    I start to push myself up, but before I can, the boot appears between my shoulder des again, shoving me back down. I let out a huff.


    Turning my face to the side, I look up and find Eli standing over me with his boot on my back and his gun pointed at my head. Vicious amusement lurks on his lethally handsome face as he tuts and shakes his head at me. ¡°Oh Raina, this truly is pathetic.¡± While holstering his gun, he huffs out augh. ¡°Well, at least it was informative.¡±


    Before I cane up with a retort, he abruptly takes his boot off my back, spins around, and stalks away without another word.


    Pushing myself up, I get to my feet while brushing des of grass and crushed leaves off my clothes. The park around me has gone oddly silent. I look up.


    Everyone is watching me. Some look confused as they nce between me and Eli¡¯s retreating back. Others look thoroughly amused. My brother, on the other hand, is looking at me with disappointment¡­ and shame.


    I swallow down the burning feeling that crawls up my throat.


    Connor starts towards me.


    For a moment, I can¡¯t decide what to do. I can¡¯t let people know that we¡¯re siblings, so I can¡¯t make it seem like we know each other. But he has been helping the other students too, so it shouldn¡¯t be strange for him toe over and offer some tips after watching this humiliating disy of nonexistent hiding skills.


    Before I can decide what to do, Connor reaches me. But to my surprise, he doesn¡¯t stop. He keeps walking past right next to me, as if he is heading towards someone else.


    However, when he is right beside me, he speaks in a low voice full of pain and embarrassment.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be here.¡±

 Alluring Darkness: Chapter 23

    My chest heaves and my heart hammers against my ribs. Fuck, I¡¯m so out of shape. This sprint through the woods has to be the longest continuous distance I¡¯ve run in ages. And these four bastards have the audacity to look like this was just a leisurely stroll in the park for them. I narrow my eyes at them as they prowl closer while I drag in deep breaths to calm my heaving chest.


    A taunting smirk spreads across Eli¡¯s face as he raises his eyebrows at me. ¡°Come on, Raina, this was too easy. Did you even try?¡±


    Of course I didn¡¯t. If I had actually managed to stay hidden, and Eli had honored his promise to leave me alone for a month, then who would he have taken out his rage on instead? My brother, that¡¯s who. So I had to make sure that I lost. Though, to be fair, I doubt that I could¡¯ve escaped all four of them anyway. But I had still made more noise while running than I normally do just to be certain that they would in fact catch me.


    When I don¡¯t answer, Eli narrows his eyes at me. My heart skips a beat at the challenge that shes in them when he stares me down.


    ¡°Or is this what you want?¡± He spreads his arms to indicate the others. ¡°For me to watch while my brothers fuck you?¡±


    I know that he doesn¡¯t mean it. Given how he reacted when Anton was teaching me how to shoot, Eli is far too territorial to ever let anyone else touch me. So I knew from the very first moment he tried to threaten me with that that he would never actually go through with it. And I know what he¡¯s trying to do. He¡¯s trying to scare me. Trying to make me see him as a monster. But what he doesn¡¯t seem to understand is that <i ss="calibre2">I</i> am a monster too.


    While letting a sly smile curl my lips, I slowly draw my gaze over his brothers. Kaden and Rico are resting their bats on their shoulders while Jace absentmindedly spins his in the air next to him.


    ¡°Well,¡± I drawl, and nod towards Kaden. ¡°Given that he¡¯s not even the slightest bit winded, he has much better stamina than you.¡± I shift my attention to Rico. ¡°And he is much prettier to look at than you.¡± My grin widens as I slide my gaze to Jace. ¡°And based on the rumors I¡¯ve heard, your youngest brother has the biggest dick.¡± Challengeces my tone as I meet Eli¡¯s eyes again and finish with, ¡°So of course I would rather have them fuck me.¡±


    Jealous, territorial rage shes in his eyes like a lightning storm.


    ¡°I think I should probably save Jace forst,¡± I continue with a mock contemtive voice. ¡°Since his massive dick will otherwise kind of ruin my experience with the others. So, Kaden, how about we start? I bet you could make me scream like no one else.¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡± Jace says, and thenughs while casting smug looks at the others, obviously very pleased with myments.


    Next to him, Kaden tightens his hold on the bat until he is gripping it so hard that his fingers turn white. His eyes are full of dark anticipation, and it looks like it is taking every ounce of his self-control to remain where he is.


    ¡°Shut up,¡± Eli snaps at Jace. Then he levels a sharp look at Kaden. ¡°My order still stands.¡±


    For a second, it¡¯s as if the moment is suspended in time.


    Then Jace mutters something under his breath and shrugs while Kaden rxes his grip on the bat, with what looks like great effort, and then flexes his fingers.


    ¡°I¡¯ll meet you back at the house,¡± Eli says in what is clearly a dismissal.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Rico says immediately.


    Turning around, he ps Eli once on the shoulder before starting back in the direction of the cars. Kaden rakes those cold eyes up and down my body before turning around as well.


    His lips lift in a half-smirk as he pauses next to Eli and says, ¡°Don¡¯t do anything I wouldn¡¯t do.¡±


    Eli snorts, and I get the distinct feeling that there are very few things included in that particr category. After they exchange a brief knowing smile, Kaden follows Rico into the trees.


    ¡°Ugh,¡± Jace groans as he spins around and stalks after them while muttering, ¡°Right when things were finally starting to get fun around here.¡±


    I watch them leave. Eli doesn¡¯t. His eyes are firmly locked on mine, but I ignore his stare until Jace¡¯s white t-shirt has finally disappearedpletely from view. Only then do I slide my gaze back to Eli.


    A jolt shoots through me, and it takes all of my willpower to stifle a gasp, at the way he is looking at me.


    ¡°You¡¯re ying with fire, princess,¡± he says, his voice low and dark.


    ¡°And I¡¯m quite adept at it.¡± My heart is thundering in my chest, and heat pools at my core, but I managed to keep a mocking expression on my features as I sh him a smirk. ¡°Just ask your car.¡±


    Something flickers in his eyes, but it¡¯s too fast for me to read. He takes a step forward, but this time, I don¡¯t retreat. Amusement ys over his lips as he flicks a nce up and down my body. A thrill races down my spine. He is watching me as if he can¡¯t decide whether he wants to kill me slowly and very painfully or if he wants to fuck my brains out.


    Since I¡¯m kind of hoping for option two, I blurt out, ¡°Are you ever going to fuck me for real?¡±


    He arches an eyebrow. ¡°I distinctly remember making youe so hard you saw stars. Twice, in fact.¡±


    ¡°With your fingers. And then a gun. I¡¯m asking if <i ss="calibre2">you</i> are ever going to fuck me.¡±


    ¡°Are you ever going to submit to me?¡±


    ¡°If you want my submission, then take it.¡±


    His eyebrows crease in confusion.


    My heart is mming against my ribs. I know that this is probably a terrible fucking idea. Not to mention dangerous. And sick. But I¡¯m way past the point where I care about what other people think is eptable or proper or normal.


    ¡°If you want to fuck me,¡± I begin, speaking the words slowly to make sure that he understands that I truly mean what I say. ¡°If you want my body, my submission, then take it.¡±


    Dark desire res up in his eyes, but he keeps a guarded expression on his features as he asks, ¡°Do you understand what you¡¯re saying?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± I hold his gaze. ¡°I <i ss="calibre2">want you</i> to fuck me. I¡¯m going to fight back, but I want you to take me anyway.¡±


    My pulse is thrumming in my ears. For a few seconds, Eli only stares back at me inplete silence. It¡¯s so loud that I can only hear the violent pounding of my own heart.


    I know that having forced sex fantasies is considered uneptable by society atrge, but it¡¯s actually a lot moremon than most people think. And given that violence already turns me on, I¡¯m not surprised that I¡¯m one of the people who get off on being overpowered and at someone else¡¯s mercy.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Eli asks.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    He watches me in silence for another few seconds, waiting for me to change my mind. But his eyes study my face, and he must be able to tell that I am in fact serious about this, because he atst gives me a slow nod in acknowledgement.


    Then a wicked glint glitters in his golden eyes, and he shes me a grin dripping with challenge. ¡°Then run.¡±


    Excitement crackles through my veins. Not hesitating a second, I dart towards the tree line on my left.


    After giving me a short head start, Eli moves too.


    My shoes thud against the ground, crushing the thick grass underneath me as I sprint away from the rock wall behind and towards the cover of the wide forest ahead. The green leaves rustle and ripple like a curtain as a strong wind sweeps through the trees.


    Footsteps sound from behind me.


    Close.


    Far too close.


    Jesus, how fucking fast is this guy?


    Before I can fully finish the thought, a massive weight ms into my body.


    I haven¡¯t even made it halfway to the tree line when Eli takes my legs out from underneath me and I m down on the ground. des of grass and a few crushed leaves flutter around me as I try to roll away before he can pin mepletely. I¡¯m only up on my side when Eli grabs me by the shoulder and shoves me back down on my stomach.


    A huff escapes my lips.


    His knees are on either side of me, caging me in. I press my palms to the thick grass, trying to use my arms to heave myself off the ground. I manage to get my chest and head up a little. Then he locks his hands around my wrists and pulls my arms to the sides.


    With the loss of support, I m down on the ground again.


    Eli uses my moment of disorientation to twist my arms up behind my back. Shifting my wrists to one hand, he nts his other on the back of my neck. I kick my legs and buck my hips, trying to wiggle out from underneath him. His fingers tighten around the back of my neck, pressing my face down harder against the grass.


    ¡°Submit,¡± he orders.


    I try to yank my wrists out of his grip. ¡°Make me.¡±


    He leans down over me until his lips brush against the shell of my ear. ¡°I thought you¡¯d never ask.¡±


    His warm breath dances over my skin like a gentle caress, sending a shiver through my body. It makes my brain malfunction for a few seconds, which was probably his n all along because he uses those seconds to quickly shift his position so that he is facing the other way instead.


    Right as my mind catches up, he settles his weight on my back, trapping my hands underneath him. My heart thuds against my ribs so hard that I can almost hear it through the ground as Eli pulls my skirt up so that it¡¯s bunched around my waist instead and then slides my panties down over my ass.


    Air rushes over my bare ass as he pushes the fabric down my thighs, making my skin prickle from the exposure. I kick my legs in an effort to loosen his hold on me. But he just keeps sliding my panties down.


    Heat thrums through my veins.


    While trying to yank my arms out from underneath him, I kick my legs again.


    I gasp as a palmes down hard on my ass. Eli ps his hand against the other side of my ass too. Biting my lip, I swallow down a moan. My pussy throbs.


    ¡°You really do have such a spankable ass,¡± Eli says, drawing his hand along it¡¯s curve. Then he gives it a small p. ¡°Now, lie still while I finish getting your panties off.¡±


    Need pulses through me as I bite back another moan. Lying there on my stomach, I wait until Eli has gotten my panties down my legs. There is no way that he will be able to get them off fully without taking his weight off my back and hands.


    The moment he does, I move.


    As soon as he has risen to his knees and pulled my panties over my shoes, I yank my hands out and start scrambling away.


    He spins around. And before I¡¯ve even made it two feet, his hand locks around my ankle. I let out a yelp as he yanks me back towards him. My shirt rides up my stomach as I slide along the grass.


    Twisting around, I sit up and try to push him off me instead. But before I can, he nts a hand against my chest and shoves me back down on the grass. I hit it with a thud while he settles his weight on my hips.


    His eyes dance with excitement and anticipation as he meets my gaze. My heart flips at the devilishly handsome smile on his face, and for a moment, I forget that I should be fighting him.


    All I want to do is to grab the back of his neck and yank that troublesome mouth down to mine, but he¡¯s still my enemy. And I¡¯m still his enemy. Kissing would be too intimate. It would cross that thin line we¡¯re already bncing on right now. And I still want him to fuck me hard and rough and dominantly, so I raise my arms as if to push him back.


    He quickly snatches my wrists from the air and ms them back against the grass.


    I squirm again, but it¡¯s no use. I¡¯m now hopelessly trapped against the ground. My exposed pussy aches at the power pulsing from Eli as he pins me beneath him.


    ¡°Submit,¡± hemands again.


    So I sh him a grin full of challenge and repeat, ¡°Make me.¡±


    He releases my wrists. Stunned surprise flickers through me, and before I can do anything with my newfound freedom, he locks his hand around my throat. I yank my arms up and grab his forearm, trying to push it away. He just tightens his grip on my windpipe.


    ¡°Unbuckle my belt,¡± he orders. ¡°You have five seconds toply before I cut off your airpletely.¡±


    Lust pulses through my body at the unflinchingmand in his voice. With my clit throbbing, I scramble to get my hands to his belt before his deadline has passed. Since I¡¯m on my back, and his forearm is also blocking part of the view, it¡¯s difficult to see what I¡¯m doing as I fumble to open his belt. But he is apparently satisfied with my speedy efforts at least, because he still allows me to breathe.


    Once I¡¯ve unbuckled his belt, he says, ¡°Unzip my pants.¡±


    I undo the button before sliding the zipper down.


    ¡°Take out my cock.¡±


    Desire thrums inside me as I slip my hand beneath his ck boxers and free his cock. I¡¯ve seen it before, of course, but heat still rushes through me at the size of it. Once his hard length is out, I reluctantly take my hand off it and let my arms drop back down by my sides. But my eyes keep getting drawn back to his cock. Fuck, I want that inside me. And I want it now.


    ¡°Still think the rumors about Jace are true?¡± Eli asks, a smug glint in his eyes as he watches me stare at his cock.


    There were no rumors about his little brother having the biggest dick. I only said that because I knew that it would annoy the hell out of him.


    When I don¡¯t answer immediately, he gives my throat a brief squeeze. ¡°Answer.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I admit. A vicious smile tilts my lips as I lock eyes with him. ¡°But thanks for mentioning your brother, because now I can think about him instead while my clit throbs.¡±


    Lightning shes in Eli¡¯s eyes, and he tightens his grip on my throat as he leans closer until he¡¯s right in my face. When he speaks, his voice is like a rumbling thunderstorm. ¡°The only face you will ever picture while your cunt does fucking <i ss="calibre2">anything</i> is mine.¡±


    He stares me down as if trying to brand the order into my soul. Then he rxes his grip on my throat, allowing me to breathe and speak again.


    ¡°Then fuck me already and maybe I will,¡± I retort.


    Challenge to rival my own dances in his eyes. With one hand still around my throat, he reaches back and draws the other between my legs.


    A jolt shoots through my body as his fingers brush against my wet and throbbing pussy. He keeps his eyes locked on mine as he traces his fingers over my clit before sliding them down to my entrance.


    Pleasure ripples through my body, making my eyes flutter.


    ¡°Beg for it, princess.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t beg.¡±


    ¡°You will.¡± He teases my clit again, drawing a moan from my lips, before forcing out, ¡°<i ss="calibre2">Beg</i>.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Jace,¡± I say in my most breathless voice.


    Jealous rage shes in his eyes, and his hand tightens around my throat as he snaps, ¡°If you ever again speak his name while <i ss="calibre2">my</i> hands are on you, I will¡ª¡±


    ¡°Fuck me properly and I¡¯ll stop imagining his face,¡± I interrupt, holding his furious stare.


    His eyes burn with challenge, but I¡¯m not losing this round so I just continue staring right back at him.


    Another few seconds pass.


    Then he abruptly releases my throat. Sliding backwards, he instead grabs my thighs and forcibly spreads my legs wide. Anticipation flickers along my spine like electricity. I raise my hands, but before I can even get them halfway to his muscr chest, he grabs my wrists and ms them back down on the ground.


    Then he shoves his cock into my wet pussy.


    I arch up from the ground, and a gasp rips from my lips at the size of him. While pinning my hands to the grass beside me, he draws his cock out slightly and then pushes it in again. Deeper this time.


    ¡°You fucking troublesome, infuriating¡­¡± Eli grinds out while pulling out and then thrusting inside again. ¡°Disrespectful, insubordinate, death-courting¡ª¡±


    ¡°You call this fucking? I thought I told you to take me¡ª¡±


    My taunt is cut off as he rams his cock all the way inside me. I gasp, my eyes going wide, at the feeling of his massive cock filling mepletely. Pleasure washes through me.


    With his fingers still pinning my wrists to the ground, he starts up a brutal pace that has my body jerking back and forth on the grass.


    A moan tears from my throat at the incredible friction his cock creates.


    I squirm underneath him, but he only fucks me harder.


    Pleasure soars inside me.


    I can feel the grass underneath my body, smell the woodsy scents of damp soil, hear the wind rush through the rustling canopy above, but all I can see is <i ss="calibre2">him</i>. That lethally handsome face with that scar across his eye like a warrior god of old. That powerful body pinning me to the grass like an apex predator.


    He could do whatever he wants to me. Take whatever he wants from me. And I fucking love it. The knowledge that he has mepletely at his mercy sends a rush of adrenaline through me. The danger and insanity of it all makes me feel alert. Alive. Like I could breathe fire.


    My heart hammers in my chest as Eli pounds into me. Fuck, he feels so damn good inside me. I want him to take more. Take everything. Make my body surrender to his until I¡¯m gasping and trembling while my whole soul crackles with pleasure.


    I stare into his eyes and see the same fire that is burning in my eyes reflected back at me in his. It¡¯s as if his craziness feeds mine, making my very soul vibrate from his dominating presence, while mine feeds his too.


    Release shes through my body as his cock hits a spot deep inside me.


    I scream into the pale blue sky above as the orgasm shoots through me with enough force to make my limbs shake. Or my legs, at least, since Eli is still keeping my hands trapped and my arms motionless against the ground.


    Moans drip from my lips as my inner walls tighten and flutter around his thick cock.


    But Eli has stopped moving. Instead of chasing his own release, he remains perfectly still, studying every emotion in my eyes while pleasure washes through me.


    Heat sears my cheeks at the intensity of his gaze, but he has me firmly pinned so I can do nothing to break his stare.


    My chest heaves, and I drag in deep breaths as the final waves of pleasure die out. Then I blink. Confusion swirls in my chest as I meet Eli¡¯s gaze. I can feel his hard cock still buried deep inside me. So why isn¡¯t he chasing his own release?


    ¡°Why did you stop?¡± I manage to ask once my breathing has evened out again.


    ¡°Are you on birth control?¡± he demands.


    <i ss="calibre2">Oh</i>. So that¡¯s why he stopped before he coulde. I have to suppress a small smile, because despite the clearmand in his voice, I actually find this pretty sweet of him. But I obviously can¡¯t let him know that.


    ¡°Of course I am,¡± I retort, which is the truth. ¡°Do you really think that I would let you fuck me unprotected otherwise?¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± A slow smile spreads across his lips as he draws his cock out and then pushes it back in again. ¡°My turn.¡±


    I wince. My pussy is still sensitive from the previous orgasm, so I squirm on the ground and struggle against his grip on my wrists as he pulls out and then thrusts into me again.


    ¡°Eli,¡± I press out, as another flicker of pain courses through me.


    ¡°Yes, princess?¡±


    But a whimper spills from my lips instead as Eli shoves his cock into me again.


    ¡°Does it hurt?¡± he says when I don¡¯t answer.


    Another flicker of pain appears as he grinds his cock against my sensitive clit before pushing inside once more. I wiggle underneath him again before admitting, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± There¡¯s a wicked smile on his mouth as he holds my gaze. ¡°That¡¯s what you get for daring to call out my brother¡¯s name when my fingers are on your cunt.¡±


    I bite back something between a groan and a moan.


    But despite Eli¡¯s cruel words, he fucks me at a slow and almost gentle pace until the pain fades and instead turns to pleasure again. Once he sees my eyes flutter and hears a true moan from my lips, he picks up the pace. My body jerks against the grass as he thrusts into me with mind-numbing force.


    Tension builds inside me and I start climbing towards another orgasm.


    I yank against his grip on my wrists, suddenly desperate to run my hands through his hair and then rake my fingers down his back. But he only tightens his grip. His fingers dig into my skin so hard that I¡¯m sure he will leave bruises to mark me as his captive, but it only makes me soar faster towards an orgasm.


    Throwing my head back, I suck in desperate breaths and stare up at the sky as Eli keeps up his rough pace.


    ¡°Eyes on me,¡± he snaps.


    The sheermand in it sends a pulse of lust through my already thrumming soul. Tension builds inside me exponentially as I shift my head back and meet his gaze again. Power rolls of Eli¡¯s body like the waves of an invisible cloak. My heart lurches in my chest.


    Half of his mouth tilts up in a smirk. ¡°Good girl.¡±


    Release crackles through my veins. Breathy screams rip from my throat as another orgasm sweeps through my trembling body.


    My pussy tightens around his cock, and this time, he continues fucking me through the waves of pleasure. Intensifying them. Prolonging them. But also chasing his own release.


    A deep groan tears from his chest as hees.


    I study his face, noting every flicker of emotion there. Pleasure and a hint of incredulity flood his eyes. It makes a warm and incredibly smug feeling spread through my chest. He might be able to make my body surrender to his, but I sure as hell can make his surrender to mine too.


    Then, as his gaze finally focuses on mine again, another feeling appears in his eyes as well.


    Determination.


    Intense, burning determination to force me into submission and take backplete control again. I sh him a grin full of challenge in reply.


    Bring it on.

 Alluring Darkness: Chapter 24

    Standing by the window, I watch the grass field below where the first-years are forced to go through a grueling obstacle course over and over again. Soft chatter and the asional chuckle fill the corridor as the other third-years around mement and make bets on the oue. We¡¯re on a short break from our own morning ss, so we decided to get some entertainment. Though, I have no idea how the other first-years are doing, because my eyes have been fixed on the same person from the moment I walked up to the window.


    Raina is so far behind the others that her ck hair stands out like a beacon against the green grass when she runs alone towards the next obstacle. It¡¯s a smooth wooden wall with a few ropes hanging down from the top. I watch as Raina grips one of the ropes in both hands and starts trying to climb up.


    Terrible restlessness and impatience flickers through my soul. She shouldn¡¯t be down there, uselessly running through an obstacle course. She should be here. With me. Trying her best to fight back while I slowly but surely grind her stubborn defiance to dust underneath my boot until she finally breaks.


    Squeezing my hand into a fist, I clench my jaw and use every ounce of my self-control to stop myself from going down to that field and dragging her out of there so that I can do just that. I blow out a long breath through my nose and flex my fingers.


    My obsession with Raina is bing dangerous. I can barely concentrate on anything when she¡¯s not in the room because my mind is spinning when I don¡¯t know where she is or what she¡¯s doing. But at the same time, I can¡¯t concentrate when she¡¯s in the room either. Because when she¡¯s there, it¡¯s as if she sucks all the oxygen out of the room until all I can see is those confident green eyes and all I can hear is that utterly unapologetic voice of hers and all I can smell is that intoxicating scent of jasmine from her perfume. I can¡¯t breathe when she¡¯s not in the room but I also can¡¯t breathe when she is.


    I resist the urge to rake a hand through my hair. Fuck, what is she doing to me?


    Out on the field, Raina tries to pull herself up along the rope, but her arms give out before she can make it more than a foot off the ground. She drops down to the grass again.


    From a couple of windows over, I notice Connor Smith abruptly turning around and stalking away. I track him with my gaze as he moves away from the window and back towards our lecture hall. I flex my fingers again. I¡¯m itching to take out my frustrations on someone, but before I can do anything about it, my gaze is drawn back to Raina again.


    I watch her grip the rope again and make another effort. Her body wiggles against the wall, and I¡¯m reminded of the way she squirmed underneath me when I fucked her in that forest two days ago.


    That experience had¡­ not gone as expected.


    I had tried to terrify her by threatening to let my brothers fuck her. I had tried to make her see me as the monster and the heartless lunatic that I am, so that she would run far away. But is that what she did? No. Instead of running from the darkness, she fucking dove headfirst right into it with me.


    Telling <i ss="calibre2">me</i>, someone who gets off on taking other people¡¯s control away from them, to act out a forced sex fantasy? It¡¯s like handing crack to an addict. Pinning her to the ground and fucking her hard until her body submitted to mine was so fucking addictive that I¡¯m already craving my next fix.


    I want her so badly that I can¡¯t think straight anymore. I sleep even less now than I usually do.


    She makes me crazy. But at the same time, she makes the craziness go away. Or rather, she makes me crazy when she¡¯s not here and she makes the craziness disappear when she¡¯s with me. When she¡¯s near me, all I can see and hear and smell and feel is her, and that for some reason makes my head gopletely silent.


    But that also makes it hard to breathe because panic ms into me when I realize just how much power this insane girl has over me. I can¡¯t let anyone have <i ss="calibre2">any</i> power over me. But she somehow consumes my thoughts every waking hour, and half of the already dangerously few hours I sleep too.


    Exhaustion pulls at my body. I discreetly rub my fingers against my temple. I have a throbbing headache behind my left eye, and it makes me even more short-tempered and vicious than usual. I practically threw one of my ssmates across the hall earlier because he was in my way when I arrived.


    Every part of my body is screaming for rest, and my mind most of all. But there is no rest to be found here.


    The memory of those ten hours I slept when I had Raina¡¯s body pressed against mine drifts through my brain. I would kill for another night like that right now.


    Another sh of panic shoots through me.


    I cannot be dependent on Raina for anything. I¡¯m already too obsessed, too distracted, by her all-consuming presence. By the way her insanity sings to mine. I have to take back control over this.


    Out by the wall, Raina loses her grip on the rope again. This time, she was almost halfway up. Her arms and legs il around her as she plummets down andnds hard on the grass. The instructor yells at her from across the field.


    Next to me, a guyughs derisively. ¡°What a loser. If I could get my hands on her, I would¡ª¡±


    I m my fist into his stomach.


    Air explodes from his lungs as he doubles over from the unexpected hit. I ram my elbow into the back of his neck, making him crumple to the floor with a dull thud.


    I sweep my gaze over the other people around me, and I know that there must be absolute fury and insanity swirling in my eyes, because two of them even flinch.


    ¡°Anyone else?¡± I growl.


    They all snap their gazes back to the field. But no one is even looking in Raina¡¯s direction now.


    Rational thoughts slowly start trickling back into my mind. Didn¡¯t I just tell myself that I was going to stop letting Raina drive me crazy? And yet here I am, beating someone up just because he called her a loser.


    Raking a hand through my hair, I blow out an inaudible sigh as I slide my gaze back to where Raina ispletely ignoring the yells and threats from her instructor as she instead marches <i ss="calibre2">around</i> the wall.


    I shake my head.


    What the hell is this girl doing to me?

 Alluring Darkness: Chapter 25

    To say that there is tension inside our family dining room is the understatement of the decade. The very air is practically crackling with it, and the clinking of our utensils against the tes is so loud in the thick silence that it¡¯s nearly deafening.


    Atst, Mom¡¯s restraint snaps and she ms down her knife and fork on the table. ¡°I still don¡¯t understand <i ss="calibre2">why</i>!¡±


    There is confusion, disappointment, and quite a lot of usation in my mother¡¯s eyes as she locks them on me.


    Yesterday, she finally found out that I had quit the chemistry teacher program and instead enrolled in ckwater University. She called me and Connor immediately and demanded that wee home the next day for a family meeting. I have already spent the past hour exining to her that yes, this was my decision, and no, I¡¯m not changing my mind. Connor has been suspiciously silent throughout the entire dinner, but I¡¯m pretty sure that he has already told Mom exactly how terribly I¡¯m failing all of my sses because she has brought that up several times.


    ¡°Because I wanted to,¡± I reply, cutting off a piece of chicken and popping it in my mouth.


    ¡°Stop with the flippant attitude, Raina,¡± Mom says, angrily flicking back her long blond hair. ¡°And exin why you threw away your future as a teacher to do this¡­ this¡­ whatever this is.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t throw away my future. If this doesn¡¯t work out, I can still re-enroll for the teacher program next year.¡±


    ¡°I can already tell you that it won¡¯t work out. You know it. I know it. Your brother knows it. So why would you enroll at a university that you have no business being at?¡±


    A sh of annoyance shoots up my spine, and I grip my fork harder. Since I don¡¯t trust myself to reply politely just yet, I take an extra couple of seconds before speaking as I look back at Mom.


    The lines around her pale green eyes are more visible when she¡¯s angry. And she <i ss="calibre2">is</i> angry, there is no mistake about that. But so am I. In fact, it is taking all of my willpower not to m my fist down on the table just to hear the satisfying rattle that would fill the air when all the fine tes and dishes would jump up from the tabletop. Or to snatch up one of those crystal sses and hurl it at the wall and watch as the red wine sshes against it and then runs down like blood, staining the stylish white wallpaper.


    Drawing in a long breath through my nose, I atst grind out, ¡°I have every right to enroll at ckwater. I am Harvey Smith¡¯s child too, am I not?¡± I stab my knife in Connor¡¯s direction. ¡°Just like he is.¡±


    Across the table, Connor is staring at a pile of broli with enough singr focus to make it seem like it¡¯s the most fascinating thing he has ever seen. Cutting piece after piece, he eats furiously while looking like he would rather be anywhere but here.


    ¡°Of course you are,¡± Mom replies, her voice softening. Her eyebrows smoothen into a sympathetic look as she meets my gaze again. ¡°But we¡¯ve talked about this, Raina. You¡¯re not cut out for that line of work. Your father, God rest his soul, agreed with that too.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you and Dad agreed. But what about what <i ss="calibre2">I</i> want?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re making our family look bad!¡± she snaps, the words ricocheting through the elegant dining room like a bullet.


    And there it is. The thing she has been wanting to say from the moment I walked across the threshold. My poor performance reflects badly on the family, and that will ruin our chances of recovering from this financial and social mess. Or so she thinks. If she only knew what I¡¯m really doing.


    I nce towards Connor. He is shoveling rice into his mouth as if his life depends on it. And he doesn¡¯t contradict Mom, which means that he agrees with her assessment.


    Setting down my fork on the polished wooden table, I turn back to face Mom fully again. The silver candleholders on the table have been lit, and they cast flickering golden light over Mom¡¯s gorgeous face. I look so much like her. Apart from the ck hair I got from Dad, I look almost like a carbon copy of her. But even while noting all of that, I¡¯ve never felt less like a part of this family than I do right now.


    For a second, I consider telling them what I¡¯m really doing. That I enrolled for the sole purpose of drawing Eli¡¯s attention away from Connor so that he could finish out his senior year without any interference and then restore our family¡¯s reputation. But my rational mind shuts down the idea immediately. If Connor were to find out, he would put a stop to my n without hesitation in order to protect me. And the n is <i ss="calibre2">working</i>. Eli hasn¡¯t messed with Connor since the day I keyed his car. So I do what I¡¯ve been doing for weeks now. I lie and deflect.


    ¡°No one knows that I¡¯m Con¡¯s sister,¡± I say with a carefree shrug. ¡°They all just think that I¡¯m a random Smith.¡±


    ¡°The other students might not know,¡± Mom says. ¡°But the teachers definitely do.¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, <i ss="calibre2">and</i>?¡±


    ¡°And what? Who cares if the teachers know?¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± she begins, but then she trails off. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she closes her eyes for a few seconds and draws in what sounds like a calming breath. When she opens her eyes and lowers her hand again, most of the anger has been reced by pity. ¡°Look, Raina.¡±


    A cold oily feeling snakes through my chest at the pity evident both in her eyes and in her tone.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for what your father put you through when you were young,¡± she says, holding my gaze with sad eyes. ¡°I know that it made you a little messed-up in the head.¡±


    Hurt shes through me, and I think I even jerk back a little. <i ss="calibre2">Messed-up in the head</i>. I know that I¡¯m crazy. That I don¡¯t function like normal people. That Ick some of themon restraints and emotional responses that I should probably possess. But hearing my mom say that I¡¯m messed-up in the head still hurts more than I expected.


    I think she misinterprets my reaction, though. Maybe she thinks I flinched because hearing her say that brought on shbacks from all those times with Dad. It has to be that, because she looks at me with even more sadness.


    ¡°If I had known about it, I would¡¯ve put a stop to it,¡± she says, her green eyes searching my face. ¡°You know that, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I manage to press out.


    She reaches across the wooden tabletop and ces her hand on my forearm, giving it a little squeeze. ¡°I wish you hadn¡¯t quit therapy, sweetheart. If you had continued going while you were still a teenager, I think maybe things would have been different. Better.¡±


    Disbelief pulses through me. Blinking, I pull my arm away from her as I sit back in my chair. ¡°I didn¡¯t quit therapy.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you did. When you were fifteen, remember? You were starting to make progress, but then you just suddenly stopped going.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t quit therapy,¡± I just repeat like an idiot, because I can¡¯t believe what ising out of her mouth.


    ¡°Sweetheart, I¡ª¡±


    ¡°I stopped going because Dad had my therapist killed.¡±


    Shock crackles through the living room like a lightning strike. Even Connor looks up from his te to stare at me with wide eyes. At the head of the table, Mom just gapes at me in stunned silence.


    ¡°I had told her that Dad was a hitman,¡± I continue. ¡°Since, well, it¡¯s kind of a huge part of why I went there in the first ce. And Dad couldn¡¯t risk her telling anyone else and blowing his cover, so he killed her and made it look like an ident. That¡¯s why I stopped going to therapy.¡±


    The silence in the dining room is so loud that it¡¯s practically vibrating through the air. Light from the candles dances over the white walls and casts flickering shadows over Mom¡¯s and Connor¡¯s stunned faces. Since Mom and Dad were always such a perfect team, I assumed that he had told her about this. But then again, given how Mom had reacted when she found out the other secret concerning me that he had been keeping from her, I probably should have known that he hadn¡¯t dared to tell her.


    ¡°Oh,¡± is what atst makes it out of Mom¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Raina,¡± Connor says. His gray eyes are so full of emotion that it sends another pang through my chest. ¡°I didn¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°I know you didn¡¯t.¡± Forcing a casual expression onto my face, I pick up my knife and fork and continue eating again, even though the chicken has now gone cold. ¡°And the damage is already done, so don¡¯t worry about me. I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°No, you won¡¯t!¡± Mom protests, wrapping her hand around my wrist and stopping me before I can put the bite of chicken in my mouth. ¡°This is all the more reason to stop this ridiculousness at ckwater.¡±


    I yank my arm from her grip and raise my fork again. After holding her gaze while chewing slowly, I try to muster up all my patience for an articte response. But I find that particr attribute nonexistent, so I just swallow and simply reply, ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Raina,¡± she groans, frustration bleeding into her voice. Leaning back in her chair, she rakes her slender fingers through her loose blond curls and stares up at the frescos in the ceiling while heaving a deep sigh. Then she atst meets my gaze again. ¡°Please. I know that your father has messed you up in ways that can¡¯t be fixed, but <i ss="calibre2">please</i>. This is our family¡¯s only chance to regain our previous standing before we¡¯re ruined. <i ss="calibre2">Your brother</i> is our only chance. So please, don¡¯t screw this up for him.¡±


    Pain shes through my chest like sharp ws.


    Slumping back in my chair, I stare unseeing into the mes while those words echo through my brain.


    <i ss="calibre2">Messed-up in the head.</i>


    <i ss="calibre2">Can¡¯t be fixed.</i>


    I really am broken beyond repair, aren¡¯t I?

 Alluring Darkness: Chapter 28

    I wake up with a warm, soft body against mine. For a moment, I just pull it closer to me and tighten my arms around it. Around <i ss="calibre2">her</i>.


    Then my eyes snap open. Staring over the side of Raina¡¯s head, I look at the clock on the nightstand. It¡¯s almost noon.


    <i ss="calibre2">Noon</i>.


    Cold panic washes over me.


    I¡¯ve slept for eleven and a half hours.


    Once is a coincidence. But now, there is no denying the fact that Raina is somehow the reason why I¡¯m able to sleep again.


    Shoving her away from me, I roll over on my other side and then quickly get out of bed. Raina mumbles and groans when my manhandling wakes her up as well.


    With my heart mming against my ribs, I stalk over to the dark wooden dresser and yank it open while I try to suck in calming breaths without Raina hearing it.


    <i ss="calibre2">She</i> is responsible for this. <i ss="calibre2">Her</i> presence for some reason allows me to sleep. And that means that she has power over me. More power than <i ss="calibre2">anyone</i>.


    Fuck, fuck, fuck.


    I snatch up a pair of pants and shove my legs into them before grabbing a t-shirt and yanking that over my head as well. Panic continues whirling inside me like a crackling storm.


    Raina is the worst assassin-in-training at this entire fucking university. So why the hell is she still the most dangerous person I¡¯ve ever met?


    I can¡¯t keep doing this.


    Every day, she gains more and more power over me. Every day, I grow more obsessed with her. More dependent on her. Hell, I even fucking <i ss="calibre2">care</i> more and more about her. When I heard that she was ckout drunk in a fucking bar, I couldn¡¯t breathe because I was terrified that something might happen to her. That someone might do something to her.


    It has to stop. I have to put some distance between us until I can figure out how to get my treacherous emotions under control. Until <i ss="calibre2">I¡¯m</i> in control. Fully. Completely.


    Dragging a hand through my hair, I draw in a deep breath and then turn around to face the bed again.


    ¡°Get up,¡± I snap, putting unflinchingmand into my voice.


    Raina blinks and then squints at me from the bed. ¡°Well, good morning to you too, asshole.¡±


    ¡°You have three seconds to get out of my bed before I tie you to it and beat your ass with my belt.¡±


    Something flickers in her eyes.


    ¡°One.¡±


    She quickly scrambles out of bed.


    A smug smile curves my lips.


    While throwing a scowl in my direction, she brushes her hands down her shirt, <i ss="calibre2">my</i> shirt, and then runs her fingers through her hair. As if only then realizing that the shirt isn¡¯t hers, she nces down at it again while she lets her arms drop back down by her sides. Then she looks towards where her clothes are sitting on my bathroom floor.


    She starts towards them, but I¡¯m faster.


    Before she can round the bed, I move so that I¡¯m blocking the door. Annoyance flits across her face. nting her hands on her hips, she raises her eyebrows as she res up at me.


    ¡°Unless you never want to see this shirt again, I suggest you step aside so that I can grab my own clothes,¡± she deres.


    The absolute authority in her voice and the cocky tilt of her chin sends a pulse through my body. And suddenly, all I want to do is to follow through on my threat and tie her to my bed, spank her bratty ass, and then fuck the insolence out of her.


    But I¡¯m supposed to be putting distance between us, not falling deeper into her all-consuming presence, so I remain firmly where I am and bring my cruelty to the surface.


    ¡°You behaved like a slut in that bar yesterday,¡± I say, even though I don¡¯t mean it, just for the sole purpose of hurting her. ¡°So now, you pay for that.¡± I jerk my chin towards my bedroom door. ¡°Time for a walk of shame.¡±


    ¡°A slut?¡± She snorts and rolls her eyes. ¡°The eighteenth century called and wanted its views on women¡¯s sexuality back. Now, get the hell out of my way so that I can grab my clothes.¡±


    ¡°Your clothes are staying right here.¡±


    She raises her eyebrows in a pointed expression.


    I sh her a cold smile. ¡°Spoils of war.¡±


    She scoffs.


    ¡°You have two options. You either walk back to your dorm in that.¡± I nod down at my shirt that she¡¯s wearing. ¡°Or you walk back naked. Choose.¡±


    A knowing glint creeps into her green eyes, and a vicious smile curls her lips. ¡°Easy.¡±


    Grabbing the hem of the shirt, she yanks it over her head and then shoves the crumpled-up fabric at my chest.


    Shock ngs through me at the unexpected move, so I don¡¯t even have time to grab it before she releases it. The white fabric flutters down to the dark floorboards as she turns on her heel and marches towards my bedroom doorpletely naked.


    Fury roars through me.


    She¡¯s going to walk through the entire residential neighborhood naked? For everyone to see? Like hell.


    Her fingers have barely brushed the handle when I catch up to her and m my palm against the door. She turns around to face me. And that scheming, victorious glint in her eyes almost sends me to my fucking knees.


    She knew that I would never let her walk through the neighborhood naked, so she called my bluff and obliterated my power move.


    ¡°You have two options,¡± she begins, echoing my words, while her eyes glitter with smugness. ¡°Either I walk back to my dorm wearing my own clothes.¡± She nods towards the bathroom. ¡°Or I walk back naked. Choose.¡±


    Clenching my jaw, I flex my fingers while I try to suppress the overwhelming urge to strangle the fuck out of this infuriating woman.


    But she knows that she has already won, so she only looks back at me with eyebrows raised expectantly.


    A low snarl rips from my throat as I stalk back to the bathroom and gather up her clothes and shoes. But I don¡¯t give them to her when I return. Instead, I shift them to one arm and use my other hand to shove the door open. Then I grab Raina by the arm and throw her out into the corridor.


    She stumbles from the force of the shove, and has to brace herself against the opposite wall. Stillpletely naked, she straightens and levels a scathing re at me.


    ¡°Here.¡± I throw the bundle of garments at her. ¡°You can get dressed out in the corridor just like all the other desperate girls I¡¯ve fucked in this room over the years.¡±


    Anger pulses across her face, and she jerks back like I¡¯ve pped her.


    <i ss="calibre2">Good</i>. I want her to hurt. To doubt. To crumble and break. I need to destroy whatever this thing between us is before she gains too much power over me.


    I haven¡¯t touched, let alone fucked, anyone else ever since I met Raina.


    But I can¡¯t let her know that, so I add in a mocking voice, ¡°Aww. Did you think that you were special? I hate to break it to you, princess¡­¡± I flick a dismissive look up and down her naked body. ¡°But there is absolutely nothing special about you.¡±


    Emotions sh across her features. Too fast for me to decipher.


    But before she can reply, I m the door shut in her face.

 Alluring Darkness: Chapter 31

    I jerk awake as hands grab me from all sides. I try to yank my arms away and kick my legs while a scream of surprise builds in my throat. But before it can erupt, duct tape is pped across my mouth.


    It¡¯s pitch ck inside my dorm room since it¡¯s the middle of the night, so I can¡¯t see properly where my attackers are. My pulse thrums in my ears as I fight blindly to get free of their grip.


    Pain pulses through my body as I¡¯m thrown down on the cold stone floor. Before I can recover, someone nts a boot on the side of my head while someone else sits down on top of me and twists my arms up behind my back at the same time as a third one grabs my ankles. I struggle futilely as they tie my wrists and ankles together with rope.


    Because of the boot on the side of my head, I can¡¯t see my attackers¡¯ faces. But I¡¯m not stupid. I know exactly who they are.


    After giving Eli the antidote earlier this afternoon, I left him and his brothers on that field while the cure for the poison finished working its magic. The res that followed me when I walked away were so lethally furious that they could¡¯ve set the world on fire.


    I knew that the Hunters would being for revenge. I just hadn¡¯t expected it to be this soon. But then again, if there¡¯s one person that wouldn¡¯t need more than a few hours to recover from a near-death experience, it¡¯s Eli Hunter.


    The weight on my back disappears as the person who was sitting on me stands up. But before I can do anything about it, someone bends my legs up towards my ass. My heart hammers from the adrenaline as they hogtie me.


    Then they step back, and the boot atst disappears from the side of my head.


    I wiggle on the floor, but the ropes keep me mercilessly trapped, so all it aplishes is to make my sleep shirt ride up and bunch around my waist. Since I was sleeping, I¡¯m only wearing arge t-shirt and a pair of panties.


    The stone floor is cold underneath my bare thighs as I try yet again to somehow get free of the ropes. It¡¯s useless. Since there¡¯s tape over my mouth, I breathe deeply through my nose as I twist my head to look at my captors. But all I manage to see before someone blindfolds me are ck boots and dark pants.


    My stomach lurches as one of the Hunters lifts me off the floor and throws me over his shoulder. The hogtie is so tight that my body can barely bend, leaving my muscles straining in the awkward position. I growl a curse that the gag muffles.


    The sound of doors opening and closing joins the thudding footsteps. Then cool night air washes over me. Gravel crunches underneath boots. I listen carefully as I¡¯m carried a short distance away from the building that houses the dorm rooms.


    A trunk is popped open.


    If I hadn¡¯t been blindfolded, I would¡¯ve rolled my eyes.


    In the trunk? Seriously?


    A muffled huff rips from my chest as I¡¯m unceremoniously tossed into the trunk before it¡¯s mmed shut, locking me in. While trying to wiggle into a somewhat morefortable position, I wait for the sound of car doors being opened and closed. To my surprise, only one is.


    After what is presumably the driver¡¯s side door has been closed, the car is started. I jerk to the side as the driver does a sharp turn before speeding away.


    Lying there in the trunk of a car, gagged, blindfolded, and hogtied, I can¡¯t help but feel that this is a bit overkill. I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s so upset about. It was just a little poison. Just a tiny little murder attempt. He is clearly overreacting.


    At least this will make sure that Eli¡¯s attention never slips from me back to Connor. Which means that my stunt had the desired effect.


    My body shifts to the side again as the driver eventually stops the car. I listen as the door is opened and then closed.


    After another few seconds, the trunk is popped open. I draw in a deep breath through my nose as fresh air finally floods the space. Then I¡¯m hauled out and thrown over a broad shoulder again. My muscles groan in protest from the restraints, and I mutter through the gag, but my abductor just continues walking.


    Another huff tears from my chest as I¡¯m dumped on what feels like a forest floor. Grass and leaves and twigs scrape against my bare skin as I wiggle on the ground.


    For a few seconds, nothing happens.


    Then my captor starts untying the ropes. I stop moving since I very much want these restraints off me.


    Relief floods my limbs as the ropes are finally pulled off. Pushing up to my knees, I roll my shoulders and wrists before reaching for the blindfold and the gag. To my surprise, no one stops me as I pull them off and toss them to the ground.


    I blink as I¡¯m met with blinding light.


    Once my eyes have adjusted, I realize that it¡¯s the headlights from the ck Range Rover parked a short distance away. The light from it is the only thing breaking up the ckness in the otherwise dark forest around me.


    Tilting my head back, I atst meet the gaze of my captor.


    Eli Hunter is staring me down with an unyielding expression on his face.


    A thrill races down my spine, and the irrational part of me that doesn¡¯t process emotions the way it should is kind of turned on by this whole situation.


    ¡°Get up,¡± hemands, his voice dripping with authority.


    I slowly climb to my feet while rubbing the tender skin around my wrists. My shirt is still half bunched around my waist, so I smooth it down so that it covers the top of my thighs again. A few crushed leaves fall from my shirt and flutter to the ground.


    With that hard look still in his eyes, Eli throws a shovel at me and then jerks his chin towards something behind me. ¡°Dig.¡±


    Since I¡¯m not the world¡¯s most coordinated person, I barely manage to catch the metal shovel before it ms into my chest. I shoot Eli a re as I straighten it in my hands. Then I turn to look behind me.


    Surprise flickers through me.


    There is a shallow grave behind me, no more than a foot deep.


    With my eyebrows raised, I turn back to meet Eli¡¯s gaze. Does he actually think this will scare me?


    ¡°Dig,¡± he orders again.


    I lift the shovel.


    And then swing it at his head.


    He yanks up his arms, blocking the strike with his forearm and using his other hand to rip the shovel from my grip. Lightning shes in his eyes as he locks them on me. I just grin back at him.


    For a second, he almost looks a bit impressed. Then he tosses the shovel at me again and pulls a gun from the back of his waistband. I catch the shovel while he raises the gun and aims it at my head.


    ¡°Dig,¡± he repeats yet again.


    ¡°If you want a grave, dig it yourself.¡± I throw the shovel to the ground before his feet. ¡°In case you didn¡¯t know, I¡¯m not a fan of manualbor.¡±


    Something flickers briefly in his eyes again, but then he lowers his gun to his side and scoffs. ¡°Fine, a shallow grave it is then.¡±


    Because of the cool night air, and since I¡¯m not wearing a bra, my nipples are hard and poking at the thin fabric of my shirt, so I cross my arms over my chest as I raise my eyebrows in an exasperated gesture. ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re overreacting a bit?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°It was just a little poison.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not about that.¡±


    ¡°Then what¡¯s it about?¡±


    Cold fury seeps into his eyes like ice. ¡°You dragged my brothers into it.¡±


    I frown at him. ¡°I didn¡¯t poison any of them.¡±


    ¡°You <i ss="calibre2">humiliated</i> them.¡± The carnal rage in his voice sends a pulse through my chest. ¡°You made them get down on their knees and beg.¡±


    Oh. So <i ss="calibre2">that¡¯s</i> the problem. Clearing my throat, I start a sentence that I don¡¯t know how to finish. ¡°I, uhm¡­¡±


    ¡°No one humiliates my brothers like that. No one disrespects <i ss="calibre2">my family</i> like that.¡±


    Aw, crap. I almost heave a frustrated sigh because I know exactly where he¡¯sing from. If someone had done that to Connor, I would have reacted in the same way. It¡¯s the entire reason why I¡¯m here doing all of this, after all. To protect my brother.


    Oh well. Toote for regrets now.


    As if his words alone had summoned them, another Range Rover pulls up next to Eli¡¯s. Car doors are opened and mmed shut. Then they¡¯re walking towards us, their bodies only dark silhouettes in the light from the headlights.


    ¡°So now you¡¯re going to kill me, huh?¡± I say, sliding my gaze back to Eli. shing him a smile, I lift my shoulders in a nonchnt shrug. ¡°Best get on with it then. Because if not, I have somewhere else to be.¡±


    ¡°Oh, princess.¡± A cruel smile curls Eli¡¯s lips. ¡°I¡¯m not going to kill you.¡±


    The words should have beenforting, but the expression on his face sends an involuntary spike of rm up my spine and tells me that I should be very worried. I let my arms drop back down to my sides, readying myself for whatever is about to happen.


    From the corner of my eye, I see his brothers arrive and nk him on both sides, but I keep my eyes on Eli because it feels like I¡¯m going to miss something important if I blink now.


    With that vicious smirk on his lips, Eli raises the gun again and points it to his right. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill <i ss="calibre2">him</i>.¡±


    I snap my gaze towards where he¡¯s pointing.


    My stomach bottoms out.


    Dread spreads through my limbs like cold poison as I watch Kaden and Rico force a tied-up and gagged Connor to his knees next to Eli. My brother¡¯s eyes are wide with shock as he stares at me.


    No, no, no. This can¡¯t be happening.


    My heart thunders in my chest, but I force my voice to remain bored as I look back at Eli and let a confused expression descend on my features. ¡°Why did you bring one of your ssmates here?¡±


    ¡°Cut the crap, Raina.¡± Eli cocks his head, a knowing glint in his eyes. ¡°Did you really think I didn¡¯t know who you are? That Connor here is your brother?¡±


    I swallow, but I remain silent because I don¡¯t know how to talk my way out of this.


    ¡°Why do you think I¡¯ve been calling you <i ss="calibre2">princess</i>?¡± Eli continues. ¡°You¡¯re Harvey Smith¡¯s daughter. That makes you practically royalty at ckwater.¡± His mocking smile is a sh of white. ¡°Even if you¡¯re shit at everything you do.¡±


    ¡°I, uhm¡­¡±


    ¡°I have to admit, it was a ballsy n. But did you really think I didn¡¯t know that you enrolled at ckwater and keyed my car on your very first day and messed with me on purpose every chance you got just so that I would forget about your brother ande after you instead?¡±


    My gaze darts to Connor. If I thought his eyes had been wide before, it¡¯s nothingpared to now. Utter shock and disbelief pulse across his entire face as he stares at me with eyes as wide as dinner tes. He tries to say something through the gag, but only muffled noisees out.


    ¡°Of course I knew,¡± Eli says, answering his own question. ¡°But I didn¡¯t mind. Because you¡¯re much more fun to torment and¡­¡± A sly smile tugs at his lips as he rakes his gaze up and down my body. ¡°<i ss="calibre2">Fuck</i> with.¡±


    My heart ms so loudly against my ribs that I can almost hear it echo through the dark forest around us.


    ¡°But you crossed a line yesterday,¡± Eli continues, his voice hardening. ¡°When you brought my brothers into it.¡±


    Panic shes through my chest, and I whip my gaze over the four men before me. Jace is standing on Eli¡¯s left with a wide grin on his face and a baseball bat on his shoulder. Kaden and Rico are on his right, standing on either side of Connor. Both of them keep one hand on my brother¡¯s shoulder, forcing him to stay on his knees.


    ns whirl through my skull, but none of them offer a clear solution for how I¡¯m supposed to fix this, so all I manage to do is to shake my head and press out, ¡°No. No.¡±


    ¡°And now, you will pay for that,¡± Eli finishes.


    Sheer terror crashes over me as he ces the gun against the side of Connor¡¯s head.


    ¡°No!¡± I scream.


    On the ground, Connor struggles against his bonds but Kaden and Rico just tighten their grip on his shoulders.


    I take a half step towards them, but Eli tuts and shakes his head at me while pushing the muzzle harder against Connor¡¯s temple.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Even I can hear the desperation in my voice as I plead with the devil before me. ¡°Do you want me to beg, Eli? Is that it? Because I will. I will do anything you want.¡±


    His eyes dance with wickedness as he holds my gaze. ¡°No, I don¡¯t want you to beg. I want you to <i ss="calibre2">grovel</i>. I want you to kneel and crawl and kiss our boots and grovel for our fucking mercy.¡±


    Connor shouts something and struggles hard, but I can¡¯t look at him because there is only one way out of this and we both know it.


    Throwing all sense of pride to the wind, I immediately drop to my knees and crawl up to Eli¡¯s feet. Then I kiss the top of his ckbat boot.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Moving my head, I kiss his left one as well. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± With my palms pressed against the ground, I keep my head bowed over his feet as I plead. ¡°I should never have involved your brothers. Please, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Then beg their forgiveness as well,¡± Eli deres.


    I move so that I¡¯m kneeling in front of Jace, and then kiss his boots as well. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°I said, <i ss="calibre2">beg</i>,¡± Eli orders, echoing my own words from that gun range yesterday.


    ¡°Please, I¡¯m begging for your forgiveness.¡±


    Above me, Jace chuckles. When he says nothing else, I take that as approval and move on to his brothers. Crawling over to Kaden and Rico, I kiss their boots and beg their forgiveness as well. Connor struggles and screams from behind his gag, but there is nothing he can do.


    Once I¡¯m done, I return to my ce at Eli¡¯s feet. Leaves and twigs stick to my bare legs, but I can barely feel it.


    Raising my head atst, I meet his gaze again. Smug victory glitters in his golden eyes, and a smirk stretches his lips. And if the bulge in his dark pants is any indication, he¡¯s extremely turned on by the absolute control he wields over me right now. If my brother¡¯s life hadn¡¯t been on the line, I might have been too. But with Eli¡¯s gun still against Connor¡¯s temple, all I can feel is dread and desperation.


    Challenge dances in Eli¡¯s eyes as he stares me down. ¡°Good. Now that you¡¯ve apologized, I suggest groveling for mercy.¡±


    ¡°Please, Eli, I¡¯m begging you for mercy.¡± I look up at him with pleading eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll do whatever you want if you let Connor walk out of here.¡±


    He arches a dark brow. ¡°<i ss="calibre2">If</i> I let him walk? Do you think this is a negotiation?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I shake my head furiously. ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry. Please.¡±


    ¡°You call this groveling?¡±


    I want to scream in frustration. I know that he¡¯s doing this on purpose. That he¡¯s finding fault in everything just to make me more panicked and more desperate. But it doesn¡¯t matter, because I will do whatever he wants anyway.


    Bending over, I slide my hands towards his boots and press my forehead to the ground before his feet. ¡°I¡¯m begging you, Eli. I¡¯ll do anything you want. Anything you say. I¡¯ll spend the entire night on my knees at your feet, licking your boots clean, if that¡¯s what you want. Just please, <i ss="calibre2">please</i>, let my brother walk out of here unharmed.¡±


    ¡°What are you begging for, princess? Say it. The exact word.¡±


    ¡°Mercy. Please, mercy.¡±


    Deafening silence falls over the dark forest. I keep my forehead pressed against the ground. The scent of grass and soil and crushed leaves fills my lungs as I draw in shallow breaths. My heart ms against my ribs and my pulse pounds in my ears as I wait for Eli¡¯s judgement.


    Atst, he snaps his fingers. ¡°Look at me.¡±


    I raise my head and sit back on my heels again. Dark amusement shines in Eli¡¯s eyes as he watches me in silence for another few seconds. He must have lowered his gun at some point because he¡¯s now holding it down by his side instead. Hope and relief flutter behind my ribs.


    ¡°Better,¡± he says eventually. Then a vicious smile spreads across his lips. ¡°But not good enough.¡±


    In a sh, he raises his gun to Connor¡¯s head.


    And pulls the trigger.


    ¡°NO!¡± The word tears from my lungs with enough force to almost shatter my vocal cords.


    I lurch towards my brother.


    But then freeze as time stops moving.


    For a while, all I can do is stare while silence roars through my ears like a deafening storm.


    Then reality crashes into me and time rushes to catch up again.


    Two steps away, Connor has barely finished flinching. He blinks hard several times while shock pulses across his features. Then he sucks in a sharp breath through his nose.


    I stare at him. No blood. No gaping hole in the side of his head. No brains sttering the forest floor.


    With stunned disbelief still nging through my whole soul, I drag my gaze back up to Eli. ¡°You¡­ You didn¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°Blow his brains out?¡± With efficient moves, he detaches the magazine and shows it to me. Empty. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡± Then he smiles and draws his hand along my jaw and under my chin in an almost loving gesture. ¡°Because you groveled so prettily.¡±


    I think I might have forgotten to breathe, because I suck in a desperate gasp.


    Eli ms the magazine back in ce and then presses the cold muzzle against my forehead. ¡°But if you evere after my family again, there will be bullets in this gun next time. Do you understand?¡±


    With shock still ringing in my skull, I nod jerkily.


    ¡°Answer.¡±


    ¡°I understand,¡± I blurt out.


    ¡°Good. Now, thank me for sparing your worthless lives.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for sparing our worthless lives.¡±


    Eli lets out a dark chuckle. He watches me for a little while longer, as if drinking in the sight of me this desperate and submissive. Then he turns on his heel and jerks his chin at his brothers.


    Without another word, the four of them start back towards their cars.


    Connor slumps forward the moment Kaden and Rico release his shoulders. I crawl over to him immediately and yank the duct tape from his mouth.


    He gasps in a breath. ¡°Raina.¡±


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I ask while scooting around him so that I can start untying the ropes around his wrists and ankles.


    Disbelief shes in his gray eyes as he turns his head to stare at me over his shoulder. ¡°Am <i ss="calibre2">I</i> okay? Are <i ss="calibre2">you</i> okay? You¡¯re the one who¡­¡± He trails off.


    Behind us, car doors m shut. The sound of it echoes across the forest. Then two cars are started.


    The light from the headlights shifts across the trees as Eli and his brothers reverse their Range Rovers.


    Then the forest is plunged into darkness as they drive away.


    I blink against the ckness while my fingers continue fumbling with the knots.


    For a while, neither of us speaks.


    ¡°That¡¯s why you enrolled,¡± Connor says atst. His voice shatters the fragile silence and sends a ripple through the woods. ¡°Not because you thought that I wasn¡¯t enough. Not because you were trying to take my ce.¡± He swallows thickly. ¡°You did it to protect me.¡±


    Suddenly, I¡¯m d that I¡¯m struggling to untie the knots because it means that I get to stay seated behind him so that I don¡¯t have to look into his eyes. Emotions well up inside me, ones that I can¡¯t handle because I¡¯m not good with emotions, and I don¡¯t want him to see that.


    ¡°Of course I did,¡± I reply softly. ¡°I would never be a good hitman. I will never be able to restore our family¡¯s reputation. But if I can be a shield for you while you do it, then that¡¯s what I¡¯ll do. You have been carrying our family¡¯s burden alone for far too long.¡±


    ¡°Raina¡­¡± There is pain in his voice.


    Atst, I manage to undo the knots. I gently slide the rope away from Connor¡¯s wrists and ankles, and then slowly get to my feet. But I remain behind his back while I try topose myself. My brother doesn¡¯t let me, however, because he immediately shoots to his feet and spins around so that he is facing me.


    Surprise pulses through my chest as he throws his arms around me and pulls me tightly against his firm body.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he says into my hair. ¡°I¡¯m so, so sorry, Raina. I¡¯m sorry for what you¡¯ve had to endure because of me. And I¡¯m sorry for being so fucking shitty to you.¡±


    Wrapping my arms around him, I hug him back. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Those emotions that I¡¯m still trying to get a handle on clog up my throat. ¡°I would do anything for you. You know that, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do.¡± He pulls back. Reaching up, he draws his fingers through my hair and hooks it behind my ears. ¡°And I for you.¡±


    I don¡¯t know how to handle the endless familial love in his eyes so all I do is swallow against the thickness in my throat.


    As if Connor can sense that I¡¯m struggling, he immediately shifts into a lighter tone as he shes me a smile and says, ¡°Did you really key Eli¡¯s car?¡±


    Relief flutters through me. After the night we¡¯ve had, I need some time to process all of my emotions. Connor probably does too. He almost died, for God¡¯s sake. So joking and teasing each other feels like the safer bet right now.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I say as I start forward. Since those bastards drove off and left us here, we¡¯ll need to walk back to campus on our own. ¡°I carved <i ss="calibre2">Small Dick Energy</i> into the side of it.¡±


    A genuineugh rips from Connor¡¯s chest, and he turns to stare at me withplete bafflement in his eyes while he falls in beside me. ¡°You did what?¡±


    ¡°The dude drives a Range Rover. I figured he¡¯s gotta bepensating for something.¡±


    Connorughs again and shakes his head before throwing his arm over my shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re crazy, sis. In the best possible way.¡±

 Alluring Darkness: Chapter 32

    Our kitchen is unnaturally silent as I walk down the stairs. Usually, I can hear Kaden and Jace arguing about something or other while they¡¯re eating breakfast. But not today. Part of me is d for that, because I¡¯m still trying toe to terms with what happenedst night.


    I broke Raina.


    To be honest, I¡¯m a bit disappointed. I had begun to think that she might actually be indestructible. That she could take whatever I throw at her and just throw it right back at me. But apparently, she is normal after all.


    And now that I hold her brother¡¯s life over her head, she is going to start acting like everyone else around me. Backing up and bowing down and being utterly fucking boring.


    With a sigh, I shake my head as I round the corner and stride into the kitchen.


    I trail to a halt and blink as I find thest person I ever expected to see in my kitchen today.


    Raina is standing in the space between the kitchen ind and the wall, and she¡¯s boxed in on all sides by my brothers. Kaden and Rico are standing on either side of her, blocking the way out on both sides, while Jace is sitting on top of the ind with his legs dangling over the side. All three of them watch her with suspicious eyes.


    My gaze shifts to what looks like a pile of wrapped sandwiches next to Jace.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Raina showed up.¡± Jace picks up one of the sandwiches and tosses it in his hand a couple of times. ¡°With these.¡±


    Raina shes me a smile. ¡°Peace offering.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t eat those,¡± I snap at Jace while I narrow my eyes at Raina. ¡°They¡¯re probably full of poison.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I said,¡± Ricoments.


    ¡°Yeah, I figured that out too,¡± Jace growls. ¡°I¡¯m not stupid.¡±


    I keep my eyes on Raina. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°To, uhm¡­ clear the air afterst night.¡±


    I snort. ¡°You mean you¡¯vee to make a deal.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re here to beg,¡± Kaden adds, a sadistic gleam in his eyes. ¡°Then you really should be on your knees.¡±


    Raina cuts him a rather impressive re before returning her attention to me. ¡°I¡¯m not here to beg. Or to make a deal. I¡¯m here to make sure that we both know where we stand now.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that.¡± I smirk at her before sweeping my gaze over my brothers. ¡°Don¡¯t eat or drink anything that she brought. You¡­¡± I lock eyes with Raina and jerk my chin. ¡°With me.¡±


    I start towards the study across the hall. Raina attempts to follow, but the path out from between the ind and the wall is blocked by Kaden. He remains standing firmly in her way for a few seconds, watching her with smug amusement. Then he steps aside.


    After shooting another re his way, she stalks after me.


    Hope res to life in my chest. Maybe I haven¡¯t broken herpletely after all?


    The study is probably the tidiest ce in the whole house since we rarely use it. But there is an elegant desk with a grand chair, and dark wooden bookshelves along the walls. I close the door once Raina has crossed the threshold as well. Then I move so that I¡¯m standing in front of her, trapping her between my body and the wall behind her.


    ¡°So, you wanted to know where we stand?¡± I begin. ¡°Exactly where we¡¯ve always been. I hold your life, and your brother¡¯s life, in the palm of my hand, and I¡¯ll continue to y with you until I get bored and decide to crush you.¡±


    No fear floods her face this time when I threaten her brother. Instead, she snorts and rolls her eyes at me. I take a step closer, pressing farther into her space.


    ¡°You think I¡¯m joking?¡± I demand.


    ¡°No. I just think you¡¯re delusional.¡± A sharp glint creeps into her green eyes. ¡°Because if you ever threaten my brother again, I will kill yours.¡±


    ¡°Like you tried to do with those sandwiches?¡± I scoff and shake my head at her. ¡°Did you really think they would be stupid enough to eat them?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. That¡¯s why I put the poison on the wrapping paper instead.¡±


    Coldness explodes through my chest, and deafening silence rings in my ears.


    Raina shes me a vicious smile. That smile that makes her look like a goddess of death. ¡°Their skin absorbed the poison the moment they took those sandwiches from me.¡± She shrugs. ¡°It should be making its way through their bodies as we speak.¡±


    Rage and panic and terrible fear m into me like a lightning storm. I made her think that I was going to execute her brother yesterday, so I wouldn¡¯t put it past her to take revenge for that. And she is insane enough to actually go through with it and kill three people without batting an eye. Cold sweat trickles down my spine. If she actually follows through on this and kills my brothers, I won¡¯t be able to survive it.


    My hand shoots out. Grabbing her by the throat, I m her up against the wall and hold her there so high that her toes are barely touching the ground. ¡°If your poison kills them, I will torture your brother to death.¡±


    She doesn¡¯t even try to fight back. Doesn¡¯t even try to get my hand away from her throat. Instead, she just looks back at me with that fucking death goddess grin on her face. ¡°But your brothers will still be dead too.¡±


    I tighten my grip on her throat, cutting off her airpletely. She doesn¡¯t panic. Only continues holding my gaze.


    Fear and panic rip through my soul. All I want to do is to just snap her skinny little neck, but she¡¯s right. If I kill her, or her brother, she won¡¯t give me the antidote.


    Using every ounce of willpower I possess, I release my grip on her throat and let her drop back down fully on her feet. But I don¡¯t step back.


    She brushes her hands down her shirt before looking up at me again and arching an eyebrow. ¡°So, are you finally ready to have an adult conversation?¡±


    The fucking insolence of this girl¡­


    I work my jaw a couple of times before managing to growl, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Good. Alright then, first things first. I didn¡¯t actually put poison on the wrapping paper.¡±


    For a few seconds, I can¡¯t process her words. So I just stand there and stare at her, dumbfounded.


    ¡°Or any part of those sandwiches,¡± she continues.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t?¡± I blurt out atst.


    ¡°No. So your brothers are not poisoned or hurt or dying. They¡¯repletely fine.¡± She lifts her shoulders in a shrug. ¡°I just wanted to make a point.¡±


    Relief crashes over me like a tidal wave. Staggering a step back, I draw in a deep breath to calm my thundering heart. Raina just stands there, watching me.


    Once that terrible storm of fear and panic has drainedpletely from my body, other emotions take their ce. Like fury, for tricking me into thinking that my brothers had been poisoned. But I¡¯m also impressed. Really fucking impressed, actually.


    Cocking my head, I study this dangerous woman before me. I have never met anyone like her. I have never met someone who challenges me the way that she does. Someone who doesn¡¯t shrink back in fear but instead steps up and hits back with equal insanity.


    ¡°And what point would that be?¡± I ask atst.


    ¡°That if you touch my brother, I will poison yours.¡±


    ¡°I thought I made it very clearst night that you do not threaten my family.¡±


    ¡°And this is me making it clear that you do not threaten mine.¡±


    Another wave of grudging admiration pulses through me, but all I say is, ¡°Connor tried to shoot me.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± She holds my gaze with serious eyes. ¡°Someone had tampered with his rifle.¡±


    I snort. ¡°Yeah, right.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. ident or not, he almost shot me. He deserves whatever I decide to do to him.¡±


    ¡°And if you do anything to him, I will poison your brothers.¡± She gives me a mockingly sweet smile. ¡°In case you hadn¡¯t noticed, I¡¯m an incredibly skilled chemist.¡±


    Despite myself, I huff out an amused breath. ¡°I <i ss="calibre2">have</i> noticed.¡±


    ¡°So where does that leave us?¡±


    ¡°At a stalemate, I suppose.¡±


    Silence falls over the study. Morning sunlight shines in through the windows, illuminating the dark wooden furniture around us and making Raina¡¯s intelligent green eyes glitter.


    The expression on her face sends a pang through my heart.


    Last night, I kidnapped her from her bed, tied her up and put her in my trunk before driving her out into the forest, putting a gun to her head and tossing her a shovel, and telling her to dig a grave. Most people would be pissing their fucking pants if that happened. But what did she do? She threw the shovel back at me and told me to dig it myself.


    Then I made her kiss our boots and grovel at our feet before I pretended to execute her brother just so that she would know what I will do if she ever so much as looks at me in a way I don¡¯t like. And how does she respond? Not with unconditional surrender, like any sane person would. No, she waltzes in here and threatens to kill <i ss="calibre2">my</i> brothers if I ever touch hers again.


    My whole soul aches as I watch Raina stare back at me with utter confidence on her features.


    Fuck, I can¡¯t let this girl slip through my fingers. She¡¯s mine. And she has been mine since the day she carved <i ss="calibre2">Small Dick Energy</i> into my car. She makes me crazy and not crazy and she is exactly what I need.


    ¡°But I can be persuaded to leave your brother alone,¡± I say before I can change my mind.


    She raises her eyebrows. ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°If you sleep here.¡±


    ¡°You want me to fuck you in exchange for my brother¡¯s life?¡±


    The hrious part is that she doesn¡¯t even look offended by, or opposed to, the idea. I don¡¯t know whether tough or punish her for that.


    Shaking my head, I reply, ¡°No. I meant exactly what I said. I want you to <i ss="calibre2">sleep</i> here. In this house. In my room. With me.¡±


    Her brows furrow in confusion as she stares back at me, bewildered. ¡°Why?¡±


    Since I don¡¯t want to exin to her that she somehow helps me sleep, I just flick my wrist and start to turn around. ¡°Fine, if you don¡¯t want my mercy then¡ª¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± She grabs my arm to pull me back. ¡°Alright, alright. Fine, I¡¯ll sleep here.¡±


    Turning back around, I shoot a pointed look down at the hand she still has wrapped around my forearm, and then raise my eyebrows expectantly.


    She rolls her eyes but then releases my arm. ¡°So we have a deal?¡±


    ¡°You will sleep here.¡± I hold her gaze. ¡°Every day. Unless I say otherwise.¡±


    ¡°And in exchange, you will leave my brother alone,¡± she finishes.


    I nod. ¡°Deal.¡±


    ¡°Deal.¡±


    My heart does an absolutely ridiculous backflip in my chest.


    And I swear I can see a satisfied smile lurk on Raina¡¯s lips as well.

 Alluring Darkness: Chapter 34

    My chest heaves as I lie in my bed, staring up at the dark ceiling. Raina is lying beside me, her body utterly spent as well.


    After I fucked her on my desk, I imed her against the wall as well, and then on the dresser. And then I fucked her two times on the bed after that too. But now, it appears as though we have both reached our limit. At least for tonight.


    Wrapping my arm around her soft body, I pull her firmly against me and rest my hand possessively on her hip. I will burn the fucking world down before I ever let this girl go.


    ¡°Why is it that you don¡¯t sleep?¡±


    I blink in surprise, takenpletely off guard by the question. Tilting my head, I nce down at Raina. She is resting her cheek on my bicep and she has her arm draped across my chest, but her head is tilted back as she watches me with curious eyes.


    ¡°Who says I don¡¯t?¡± I reply.


    ¡°You. And Rico.¡±


    I arch an eyebrow at her in silent question.


    ¡°Did you really think that I didn¡¯t notice your little exchange the first time I slept here? How shocked you seemed at having slept until sote and how happy Rico¡¯s eyes were when you told him that you had slept fine.¡± A sly smile lifts her lips. ¡°I wasn¡¯t entirely sure at first. But then when you made it part of the bargain, I knew. You see, it¡¯s because if you¡ª¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, I get it,¡± I grumble, interrupting her self-congrattory exnation. ¡°You¡¯re too smart for your own good.¡±


    ¡°There is no such thing as being too smart.¡±


    I huff out an amused breath.


    ¡°So¡­?¡± she prompts when I don¡¯t offer any kind of exnation. ¡°Why is it that you don¡¯t sleep?¡±


    Heaving a deep sigh, I tear my gaze from hers and instead stare up into the dark ceiling again. Outside the windows, a strong night wind whirls around the building, creating a faint howling sound. I adjust my position, pulling the soft cover up to our waists with my free hand while I continue resting the other on Raina¡¯s hip. She wiggles closer to me but continues to study my face as if she can read the answers there.


    ¡°Because bad things happen when I¡¯m not inplete control of everything and everyone around me,¡± I reply atst.


    ¡°And when you¡¯re asleep, you¡¯re not aware of your surroundings anymore,¡± she fills in.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Silence falls over the dark bedroom for a while. I keep watching the ceiling until her soft voice drifts towards me again.


    ¡°What happened?¡± she asks.


    My first instinct is to shut her down and refuse to answer. But for the first time since it happened, I feel like I actually want to tell someone about it. No, not someone. I want to tell <i ss="calibre2">her</i> about it.


    After drawing in a deep breath, I tear my gaze from the ceiling and meet her eyes again. ¡°You remember how I told you our family is connected to the Italian mafia?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Well, being a Morelli means you have a lot of power. It also means you have a lot of enemies.¡± I caress her hipbone with my thumb. ¡°When I was thirteen, I was kidnapped by a rival family. I spent a week naked and shackled in a concrete basement while they tortured me.¡±


    Her eyes widen, and then her gaze drifts to the map of scars across my bare chest and arms before it returns to the scar that cuts through my eyebrow and down my cheek. Fury roars to life in Raina¡¯s green eyes. It¡¯s so fierce, and so unexpected, that I momentarily lose track of what I had been about to say.


    I clear my throat in order to give myself a second to get my head back on track. Then I continue. ¡°They filmed me. Every day. While I was naked and helpless, they filmed as they tortured me and then sent it to the Morelli family.¡±


    Dread and embarrassment crash into me unbidden. That was the worst week in my entire life. The feeling of being sopletely at someone else¡¯s mercy almost broke me. After that, I swore that I would never let anyone else have even an ounce of power over me. And I started craving the feeling of taking other people¡¯s control away from them. Preferably by threat or by force.


    ¡°And the thing is¡­¡± I continue. A sigh escapes my chest. ¡°I wasn¡¯t even the target. Rico was.¡±


    ¡°Rico?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s¡­¡± I shake my head. That¡¯s not my secret to tell. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Anyway, they came for Rico but I happened to be sleeping¡­¡± I hesitate while trying to figure out how to exin this without divulging that Rico is not actually my brother and blowing his cover. So as to notplicate things, I settle for simply, ¡°In Rico¡¯s room. So when they broke in, they thought that I was Rico and took me instead. We¡¯re simr enough in appearance, and especially back when we were kids, that they never realized their mistake.¡±


    ¡°So they tortured you in his ce?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°And you never told them that they had the wrong person?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    She nods, her eyes full of understanding. The expression in them makes it clear that she would have done the exact same thing for her brother. It sends a pang through my heart. It¡¯s another thing I¡¯vee to love about her. She¡¯s incredibly, almost suicidally, protective of her family. Just like me.


    ¡°Is that why Rico is so protective of you?¡± she asks eventually.


    ¡°We¡¯re protective of each other. But yeah. He mes himself for what happened, and for the¡­ issues I developed as a result of it.¡±


    ¡°They kidnapped you while you were sleeping.¡± It¡¯s more of a statement than a question.


    ¡°Yeah. Like I said, if I¡¯m not in control of my surroundings, bad shit happens. So after that, it¡¯s as if my body refuses to let go of control and go to sleep because I should be keeping watch in case something like that happens again.¡±


    Her eyebrows crease slightly. ¡°But you sleep when you¡¯re with me.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I heave a deep sigh and caress her hip with my thumb again. ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because, for some reason, when I¡¯m with you I feel¡­ safe.¡±


    The moment the words are out of my mouth, I regret them. I snap my gaze back to hers, waiting for herughter.


    It neveres.


    Instead, her eyes fill with such warmth that my heart almost shatters.


    ¡°You do?¡± she asks, her voice barely more than a whisper. As if she¡¯s worried that I¡¯ll take it all back if she says it too loudly.


    For a few seconds, I do actually consider taking it all back. For no other reason than the fact that saying something like that out loud gives her power over me. But I force the instinct away because, with a jolt of shock, I realize that I actually want her to know this.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I reply, holding her gaze. ¡°I think it¡¯s because¡­¡± Trailing off, I draw in a breath while I try to sort through the strange emotions inside me. ¡°Because you¡¯re like me.¡± A smile tugs at my lips. ¡°You¡¯re absolutely insane. You don¡¯t y by any of the normal rules, and you do things few people would even consider. And I guess my soul somehow recognizes that and rxes when you¡¯re with me, because it knows that if something happens, there are no limits to what you would do to stop the threat. So when you¡¯re here, I can sleep. Because I don¡¯t have to keep the world at bay alone anymore.¡±


    The emotions that well up in her eyes make my heart constrict. I swallow against a sudden thickness in my throat.


    Raina tightens her arm around me, holding me closer as she whispers, ¡°Did you know that you¡¯re the first person to make me feel as if there is absolutely nothing wrong with me? You¡¯re the first person who has seen all the fucked-up sides of me and still not looked at me as if I¡¯m defective in some way. The first person to make me feel as if being insane is an asset, not a liability. To make me feel as if I don¡¯t need to be fixed.¡±


    ¡°You <i ss="calibre2">don¡¯t</i> need to be fixed.¡± The words tear from my lungs with enough force to make Raina blink at me. I raise my free hand and draw it over her hair, smoothing it down and hooking a few loose strands behind her ear. ¡°You¡¯re perfect exactly the way you are.¡±


    Her lips part slightly and her eyes shimmer with emotion.


    My heart constricts again and then beats twice as hard as I hug her body tighter against mine.


    I am <i ss="calibre2">never</i> letting this girl go.

 Alluring Darkness: Chapter 36

    My gaze drifts across the canteen again. Even though I know that all first-years have been out on the fields doing training exercises all morning, which means they arriveter for lunch than the rest of us, I still can¡¯t help but look for her.


    Raina Smith.


    I did not see thising. At all. When she first keyed my car and inserted herself into my life, my only n was to y with her like a doll until she broke and then throw her aside.


    But she never broke.


    She saw all the violent and vicious and downright fucking monstrous parts of me, and she just grinned like a goddess of death and met me on the same level. Never flinching. Never backing down. Never allowing me even a second to purge her existence from my system like the drug it is. Instead, she just kepting anding. Battering at my walls and breaking them down until she is all I can see, all I can hear, all I can feel.


    And yet, I have never felt more calm and in control in all my life.


    After telling Raina about what happened, and after sleeping through the night with her by my side every day, I¡¯m starting to feel like I can finally breathe again.


    I never thought that someone would understand me and all the dark and fucked-up things I crave. But she does. And she not only followed me into that alluring darkness, she also carved her name all over it.


    ¡°Iing,¡± Rico murmurs from the chair opposite me.


    His gaze glides to someoneing towards us from behind my back, but I don¡¯t turn around to look. If it had been a threat, Rico would have made that clear. Kaden, who is sitting next to me, just keeps eating as well, but Jace tracks the person with his eyes from where he¡¯s seated beside Rico.


    A few secondster, a girl with dark brown hair pulled up in a tight ponytail stops next to our table. She¡¯s wearing a tight-fitting ck outfit and proper boots, and she looks like someone who can hold her own in a fight. I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s a second-year, but I don¡¯t know her name.


    Leaning back in my chair, I slowly turn to face her fully while flicking my gaze up and down her body nonchntly. ¡°Are you lost?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she replies in a surprisingly calm and steady voice.


    My eyebrows shoot up as she casually pulls out the empty chair on my left and slides into it. I cast another assessing look over her. She¡¯s ballsy at least, I¡¯ll give her that.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember inviting you over, Shelley,¡± Rico says, his tone the epitome ofzy arrogance.


    One exchanged look between us confirms that he said that for my benefit, so that I would know her name.


    ¡°I know,¡± Shelley replies. Shifting in her seat, she turns so that she is facing me directly. ¡°But I have a proposition that I think will benefit both you and me.¡±


    I arch an eyebrow at her. ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°The tournament is this weekend.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m aware.¡±


    ¡°Which means that this is thest chance to make changes to any teams.¡±


    ¡°Why would I want to make any changes?¡±


    She gives me an incredulous look. ¡°Because you have Raina Smith on your team. Look, I¡¯m not a first-year, but even I know that she¡¯s the most unskilled person at this entire university. She can¡¯t shoot. She can¡¯t fight. She can¡¯t climb. She can¡¯t run. Hell, she can¡¯t even hide properly.¡±


    Rage roars through me, and my hand moves as if to grab her by the throat and snap her fucking neck. But before I can so much as lift it off the table, Kaden reaches across me and grabs the salt from the other side of my te. The move makes his arm slide over mine, keeping it down on the table.


    He pulls back and then shakes some salt onto an empty part of his te. I flick a nce at him. He just watches me with eyes that see too much. That understand too much. He probably knows who this girl is, since he is also a second-year, and has decided that it would create too much trouble for our family if I killed her in front of a cafeteria full of witnesses.


    I dip my chin a fraction in acknowledgement.


    ¡°You will never win if you have someone like that on your team,¡± Shelley says,pletely oblivious to the fact that she was one second away from dying just now. She flips her ponytail back over her shoulder and levels serious eyes on me. ¡°My team is shit. I¡¯m not. Kaden and Rico can attest to that.¡±


    Both of them give me a shrug as if to admit that she is indeed pretty good.


    ¡°So, here¡¯s my proposition,¡± she continues when neither of them contradicted her. ¡°Swap me into your team. Everyone knows that you¡¯ve got sway over the instructors. Make them pull Raina from your team and put her on mine, and then put me on your team instead.¡±


    Ballsy. Very ballsy indeed.


    I arch an eyebrow. ¡°And how would that benefit me, exactly?¡±


    ¡°It would secure your win.¡± Sitting forward, she moves her hand towards me while locking eyes with me. ¡°And I know that winning is as important to you as it is to me.¡±


    Right as Shelley ces her hand on my arm, Raina Smith strides across the threshold and into the canteen.

 Alluring Darkness: Chapter 38

    Raina just stands there, watching Shelley as she slowly lowers the knife after drawing it across her throat in a threatening gesture. I¡¯m just about to shoot out of my seat and stalk over there to show Shelley exactly what I do to people who threaten my girl. But before I can, Raina starts towards her table instead. I turn in my seat so that I can see them.


    The crowd around us, who had finally gone back to eating, quiets again. Everyone seems to be holding their breaths as Raina walks across the floor and thenes to a halt opposite Shelley. A grin pulsing with challenge spreads across Shelley¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Are you that eager to get your teeth knocked out?¡± Shelley taunts.


    Raina just stands there, her hands in her pockets, and looks back at her with an almost apologetic expression on her face. It makes me frown. Deeply.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    My eyebrows shoot up. As do Shelley¡¯s. And quite a few other people¡¯s too.


    Blinking, I stare at Raina. Did she just <i ss="calibre2">apologize</i>?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she repeats, and lifts her shoulders in an almost bashful shrug. ¡°I overreacted. I shouldn¡¯t have insulted you like that.¡±


    It takes Shelley another couple of seconds to recover. But once she has, she leans back in her seat with a smug, victorious expression on her face. ¡°No, you shouldn¡¯t have.¡±


    Raina leans forward over the table and holds out her hand. ¡°Truce?¡±


    ¡°Truce?¡± she scoffs. Then the smirk on her lips turns even more vicious. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re worried now, aren¡¯t you? That I really will slit your throat while you sleep.¡± She shoots a disgusted nce down at Raina¡¯s hand and then jerks her chin. ¡°Get lost.¡±


    Raina stares back at her in silence for another few seconds. Then she slowly pulls her hand back. Turning around, she starts back towards us without another word.


    I flex my hand underneath the table.


    To be honest, I¡¯m a bit¡­ disappointed.


    I didn¡¯t do anything to push Shelley¡¯s hand away from my arm when Raina walked in because I wanted to see what she would do. How she would react.


    If I had seen some guy put his hand on Raina¡¯s arm like that, I would have broken the motherfucker¡¯s wrist and every one of his fingers. Raina is mine. And no one touches her but me.


    So I had wanted to see what she would do if the roles were reversed. I had kind of hoped that she would be equally territorial. But instead, she¡­ apologized for overreacting?


    Confusion and disappointment still swirl around inside me as Raina reaches us. She drops into the empty chair next to Rico instead of the one that Shelley was sitting in. Without a word, she reaches across the table and grabs my tray.


    I watch with raised eyebrows as she slides my te towards her and then promptly starts eating.


    All three of my brothers cast me uncertain nces.


    ¡°You okay?¡± I ask.


    Around us, the murmur of people talking and the clinking of utensils against tes start back up again.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Raina replies while she continues eating the rice and chicken stew from my te. She hasn¡¯t looked me in the eye since she returned. ¡°Though I¡¯m a bit confused as to why you were just sitting here like a useless lump of muscle, doing absolutely nothing.¡±


    ¡°I wanted to see what you would do,¡± I reply truthfully. ¡°I didn¡¯t want her at our table and I didn¡¯t want her hand on my arm, but I didn¡¯t push her off because I wanted to see how you would react.¡±


    Now, she looks up from the te. I try to decipher the emotions in her intelligent green eyes, but the unreadable mask on her features makes it impossible to know what she¡¯s thinking.


    While holding my gaze, she sets down the fork and leans back in her chair. But all she says is, ¡°Huh.¡±


    ¡°I have to admit,¡± I continue. ¡°I am a little surprised that you apologized to her.¡±


    She says nothing. Only continues watching me with those unreadable eyes. The very air between us feels charged with electricity.


    ¡°Help!¡± The cry splits the air like a gunshot. ¡°Help! She can¡¯t breathe!¡±


    Chairs scrape and clothes rustle as everyone whips towards the sound of the voice. I turn around as well, and my eyes widen as I find Shelley clutching her throat while her face is quickly turning an rming shade of red.


    ¡°We need to get her to medical!¡± the girl next to Shelley screams.


    Two people immediately rush forward to help her lift Shelley up from her chair.


    I turn back to Raina and raise my eyebrows.


    Atst, that unreadable mask cracks and a sly smile blows across her lips.


    ¡°This was you,¡± I say. Half statement, half question.


    She nods towards Jace. ¡°Like your brother says, you never know when you might need a good bat. Except¡­¡± She lifts her hand and shows us a tiny bottle in her palm before it disappears back into her sleeve. ¡°You never know when you might need a good vial of poison.¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡± Jace calls, and points at her. ¡°I said that!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, she just said¡­¡± Rico begins before heaving a sigh and shaking his head at Jace. ¡°Never mind.¡±


    ¡°You poisoned her?¡± I say, keeping my eyes on Raina.


    With that smirk still ying over her lips, she lifts one shoulder in a nonchnt shrug.


    A short distance from us, three people are holding Shelley up and hurrying towards the door.


    ¡°How did you even do that without anyone seeing?¡± Kaden asks.


    Raina slides her gaze to him and shes him a sly smile. ¡°The same way I keep stealing your knives.¡±


    He narrows his eyes at her.


    She just grins wider before shrugging again. ¡°I¡¯ve been handling dangerous chemicals since I was ten.¡± The empty poison bottle appears between her fingers for a second before disappearing again. ¡°I have very steady and very careful fingers.¡±


    ¡°Will she survive?¡± I ask, nodding towards where Shelley is being hauled across the floor.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Wickedness glitters in Raina¡¯s eyes. ¡°During the next two days, while the poison slowly leaves her body, she¡¯ll just wish she hadn¡¯t.¡±


    An amused breath escapes my lungs, and I slowly shake my head at her. But in my chest, my heart is swelling.


    Raina never intended to apologize to Shelley. She never had any ns to back down. Quite the opposite. She went for the kill shot before the war could even start, tricking her enemy into thinking that she had won and then pouring poison into her drink.


    Themotion dies down as the small group gets Shelley out the door.


    Deafening silence descends on the room instead.


    For a few seconds, no one moves.


    Then, as one, they all turn to stare straight at Raina.


    ¡°You should have waited and poisoned herter instead,¡± Kaden says in a low voice from my right. His eyes are on Raina as well.


    ¡°Why?¡± she asks.


    ¡°Because now, everyone knows that it was you.¡±


    ¡°I know. That was the point.¡±


    We all watch her as she picks up my ss and holds it out in front of her. The entire cafeteria stares at her in silence. A viinous smile curls her lips as she sweeps her gaze over them and raises the ss in a slow salute.


    ¡°I wanted them to know that it was me so that they would understand¡­¡± She slides her gaze back and locks eyes with me. ¡°That no one touches what belongs to me.¡±


    My heart flips and fire floods my veins.


    Fuck, I think I love this girl.

 Alluring Darkness: Chapter 41

    My heart is pounding so loudly in my ears that I¡¯m surprise the entire forest doesn¡¯t hear it too. Keeping my head down, I try my best to stay silent while I follow the Hunters as we make our way deeper into the woods.


    They move like fucking wraiths through the trees. I didn¡¯t think it was possible for people like them to move as quietly as they are. Not only are they all tall and muscr, they also normally exude this enormous presence that can be felt from miles away. But right now, they slink across the forest floor like ghosts. Making no noise and leaving no trace.


    I frantically scan the ground while I hurry after them, checking so that I¡¯m not about to step on a twig that will give away our location.


    Fuck, why did they have to drag me into this? I would¡¯ve much preferred to stay in the chemistryb, mixing some delicious poisons instead. Or even at their house, going through all of their drawers while they were upied.


    Though I have to admit that I did like the way Eli said <i ss="calibre2">you¡¯re mine</i> earlier. I might even let him get away with forcing me into this annoying tournament just because he said that.


    Eli stops and holds up his hand. He does it so abruptly that I almost crash into him. His brothers, however,e to a halt swiftly and efficiently. Drawing my eyebrows down, I scowl at him as he twists his head towards us.


    He makes a few hand gestures and points up ahead and to the left. Rico, Kaden, and Jace all nod as if those flicks of his fingers made perfect sense. My frown only deepens.


    Then a twig snaps close by.


    It takes everything in me not to start at the unexpected sound. While remaining perfectly still, I squint in the direction of the noise.


    Understanding floods my mind.


    Oh, so that was what Eli was saying.


    Another team moves through the trees a short distance from us. Two women and three men, all with athletic bodies and careful gaits, sneak across the forest floor, but none of them appear to have spotted us yet.


    Eli shes more hand signals to his brothers, who yet again nod. Then he slides his gaze back to me. Holding up his palm, he gives me a very simple gesture.


    <i ss="calibre2">Stay</i>.


    A hint of embarrassment flickers through my chest because I know that I am practically useless in this damn tournament. Actually, I¡¯m worse than useless. I¡¯m a liability. If I were to follow Eli and his brothers to ambush that other group, I would no doubt mess it up so that the entire attack fails. It makes a cold weight settle in my stomach, but I try to ignore it as I nod in acknowledgement.


    For a few seconds, Eli only watches me with perceptive eyes. It looks like he wants to say something else, but then he simply nods back. Turning to his brothers, he spins a hand in the air.


    <i ss="calibre2">Move out</i>.


    They all split up and sneak away between the trees.


    I remain where I am, not moving a muscle in case that would somehow make noise, and watch as they disappear. Even though I know what I¡¯m looking at, and <i ss="calibre2">where</i> I¡¯m supposed to be looking to see them, I still find it hard to spot them after a while.


    Damn, they really are good at this.


    The other group continues moving slightly diagonally from where I¡¯m standing. I¡¯ve lost sight of Kaden and Rico, who I assume are approaching from the other side, but I can just barely spot Eli and Jace between the trees if I strain my eyes hard.


    A gentle breeze rustles the leaves above our heads. I nce up at it. The canopy this deep into the forest is so thick that barely any light makes it through. And the sky today is already gray and overcast, which makes the entire forest feel dark and gloomy. It¡¯s still warm, though. Or maybe that¡¯s just me after the fast pace we¡¯ve kept through the woods. Beads of sweat trickle down my spine and temples, and I have to resist the urge to wipe them away lest I make any idental noise.


    Standing perfectly still, I watch the Hunters draw closer to their prey.


    Then they stop.


    For a few seconds, nothing happens.


    I squint, trying to figure out what they¡¯re doing.


    The other team still hasn¡¯t spotted them. They just continue moving in formation with sure steps.


    More seconds pass.


    I resist the urge to hold my breath.


    They move.


    As if on some hidden signal, all four Hunters step out of their hiding ces at the exact same time. The other team doesn¡¯t even have time to whirl around before it¡¯s toote. A cry of rm rips from one of the guys as the five of them find themselves with a gun to the back of the head. Or rather, four of them do. The fifth has a knife across the throat from behind.


    My heart pounds in my chest, and a throbbing starts at my core, as I stare at the scene before me,pletely transfixed.


    ¡°Tough luck,¡± Jace says, a mocking note to his voice as he pushes the muzzle harder into the back of his captive¡¯s skull. ¡°Hands.¡±


    The guy immediately raises his hands. As does the woman who Rico is holding a gun to. The man with the de across his throat growls something underneath his breath, which just makes Kaden force the knife higher up under his chin, tilting his head back and exposing his throat. Only then does he reluctantly raise his hands.


    I watch Eli.


    Since I¡¯m standing herepletely useless, there are only four of them to the five on the opposing team. But Eli solved that by pulling two guns on the remaining couple. With one gun in each hand, he presses them against the back of their heads while he stares them down from behind. Both of them raise their hands.


    Heat floods my cheeks and my pussy throbs. Fuck, he¡¯s hot when he¡¯s armed and in control.


    ¡°Kaden,¡± Eli says.


    His brother clicks his tongue and then begins walking his captive over to Rico. The guy exchanges a look with Rico¡¯s prisoner, but she shakes her head at him as if telling him not to fight.


    Rico pulls out another gun and levels it at the guy¡¯s forehead. Once it¡¯s in ce, Kaden removes his de.


    I watch withplete interest as Kaden then pulls rope from his pack and starts tying everyone up while the others keep their guns pointed at them. Kaden works swiftly and efficiently. One person at each tree.


    They discreetly test the strength of the knots when they think no one is looking, but the ropes don¡¯t give an inch. Kaden is skilled at that. Which I know from personal experience.


    When two of the five are secure, I finally release a long breath. Eli technically told me to wait, but there is no need for me to keep out of sight any longer. They already have their captives at gunpoint, so there is nothing for me to screw up.


    Rolling my shoulders back, I take a step forward.


    A hand is pped across my mouth from behind.


    I try to cry out, but any sound is muffled by the leather glove pressing against my mouth and holding it firmly closed.


    Panic pulses through my body as a strong arm is wrapped around my middle and I¡¯m hoisted up. I kick my legs in the air but there is nothing I can do to stop it as the unknown attacker hauls me away.

 Alluring Darkness: Chapter 43

    Pain shoots up my elbow and ricochets through my arm as I¡¯m thrown face first down on the hard stone floor of the cave. I barely had time to raise my arms to stop myself from smacking my head into it, which is why my elbow took the hit instead. I grit my teeth as my forearm and fingers tingle from the lingering pain of it.


    I fought the entire way here, but my captor didn¡¯t budge. He kept his hand firmly across my mouth and his arm around my body as he ran through the forest until he reached this cave. I couldn¡¯t even turn my head to look at the bastard¡¯s face. But now, it appears as though we have reached our final destination. I can feel him looming over me behind my back.


    Pushing myself into a sitting position, I rub my elbow in an effort to make that prickling sensation in my arm stop. With my back still to him, I try to decide how to y this. I only have a few seconds at best before my captor no doubt loses patience. So I make a snap decision.


    One second, I¡¯m sitting there rubbing my elbow. The next, I¡¯m whirling around, jumping to my feet, and darting in the direction we came. All at the same time.


    Air explodes from my lungs as a fist crashes into my stomach.


    The force of the punch is strong enough to send me flying backwards, and more pain res through my body as I smack back first into the cave wall before crumpling to the ground. Wrapping an arm around my stomach, I curl in on myself while trying desperately to suck air back into my lungs.


    A contented sigh sounds from above me. ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to do that for weeks.¡±


    The voice is familiar. But for a second, I can¡¯t ce it. After forcing a few breaths into my lungs, I blink to clear my vision from the haze of pain that is clouding it. Then I raise my head to atst face my captor.


    For a few seconds, it¡¯s as if my mind can¡¯tprehend what I¡¯m seeing.


    ¡°Gabriel?¡± I blurt out.


    My ssmate Gabriel towers over me where I¡¯m still lying on the ground, and he is staring at me with such hatred, such contempt, that I lose all sense of what the hell is going on.


    His easy smiles are gone, and his all-American boy-next-door look has been twisted almost behind recognition by the rage now pulsing across his features.


    ¡°Raina Smith,¡± he replies, his voiceced with venom.


    ¡°What¡¯s¡ª¡±


    Pain erupts in my side, cutting off my words, as Gabriel ms his boot into the side of my ribs. The kick is hard enough to make my body slide the short distance to the wall before crashing into it. I gasp again, feeling as though fire is licking my side.


    ¡°Did I give you permission to speak?¡± Gabriel demands above me.


    Since I still haven¡¯t been able to catch my breath, I just lie there, sucking air into my lungs instead of replying. When I¡¯m able to breathe somewhat normally again, I start pushing myself up on my knees and then climb to my feet.


    My knees have barely left the ground before Gabriel rams his fist into the left side of my face. More pain pulses through my jaw and cheekbone, and my head snaps to the side as I copse back to the ground.


    ¡°Stay on your knees,¡± Gabriel orders.


    ck spots swim in my vision. I blink hard and work my jaw for a few seconds. Then I drag furious eyes up to the bastard above me. ¡°Would you stop hitting me and just tell me what the fuck is going on?¡±


    In hindsight, I should probably have worded that better. Or better yet, not said it at all. But I was already running dangerously low on fucks to give before this damn asshole decided to drag me into this cave, and now I simply cannot muster a single fuck anymore.


    The moment the words are out of my mouth, Gabriel¡¯s blue eyes turn colder than the arctic ocean in the middle of winter. I see the hiting, but it doesn¡¯t matter because there is nothing I can do to stop it.


    My cheek smacks into the stone as the punch to my jaw sends my entire body crashing to the ground as if I¡¯m nothing but a puppet with my strings cut.


    Then he starts up a merciless assault.


    I try to disassociate from the pain as much as possible, but I can¡¯t block it all out as he continues to punch and kick me.


    When Gabriel is atst satisfied, he steps back again. Agony blooms all over my body. I drag in a rattling breath.


    Gabriel releases another contented sigh. ¡°Ahh, that felt good.¡±


    Fucking asshole. I am going to poison him and watch him die screaming if it¡¯s thest thing I do.


    My limbs tremble as I force myself to push my body off the ground again. But I¡¯m not sure if my bones can handle another beating like that, so I stay on my knees this time. After drawing in a deep breath, I tilt my head back and meet Gabriel¡¯s eyes again.


    The fury is still there, but he looks smug now too.


    Holding my gaze, he pulls out a gun and levels it at my forehead. The muzzle is cold as the metal meets my skin.


    I just continue looking back at him.


    He narrows his eyes. ¡°You should be terrified right now. Staring at me with wide eyes and begging me not to shoot you in the head.¡± He presses the gun harder against my forehead. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you?¡±


    <i ss="calibre2">Because I¡¯m messed-up in the head in ways that you will never understand.</i>


    But I don¡¯t tell him that. Instead, I reply, ¡°Because the safety is on.¡±


    To my absolute shock, he actually turns the gun slightly and looks down at the safety. Which is of course off.


    A genuineugh, full of bafflement and smug satisfaction, rips from my chest. I can¡¯t believe he fell for that.


    Theugh is abruptly cut off as he hits me with the butt of the gun hard enough to snap my head downwards. Blood trickles down from where the strike must have broken the skin. It runs down my forehead and slides down my temple.


    Raising my head, I lock eyes with him again and sh him a mocking grin. ¡°Worth it.¡±


    He draws back his hand as if to hit me again, but right then, noisees from the mouth of the cave.


    I turn towards it.


    And dread washes through my body like ice water.


    Two people walk into the cave. Or rather, a woman holds a gun to the back of a handcuffed man¡¯s head while she marches him into the cave.


    ¡°How do you think you¡¯re going to win if you waste your time abducting me like this? It makes no sense. And how did you even get my own team to betray me like that. It shouldn¡¯t even be possible if¡­¡± Connor trails off as his eyes meet mine. ¡°Raina.¡±


    ¡°Con,¡± I breathe.


    ¡°Took you long enough,¡± Gabriel says.


    The woman behind my brother scoffs. I drag my stunned gaze to her.


    Shelley.


    It¡¯s Shelley. The girl I poisoned in the cafeteria earlier this week.


    ¡°Can someone tell me what the fuck is going on here?¡± I snap, all of my restraint nowpletely gone.


    Gabriel hits me with the butt of the gun again.


    ¡°Touch her again and I¡¯ll¡ª¡± Connor growls while he moves as if to take a step towards us, but he¡¯s cut off before he canplete the sentence.


    ¡°Finish that step and I <i ss="calibre2">will</i> shoot you in the head,¡± Shelley deres.


    Connor pauses, his foot still hovering in the air. His worried gray eyes meet mine. I shake my head.


    Gritting his teeth, he slowly returns his foot to the ground where it was before.


    ¡°Good,¡± Gabriel says. And there is a vicious glint in his eyes as he looks between me and Connor. ¡°We¡¯ll get to the shooting partter.¡± He locks his gaze on me. ¡°Get up.¡±


    Before I can so much as begin to push myself up, he buries his free hand in my shirt and forcibly hauls me to my feet. Pain pulses through my battered body when I move, and I have to clench my jaw to stop a gasp from escaping my throat.


    With his fist still gripping my shirt, Gabriel moves us across the cave floor until we¡¯re standing right opposite Connor and Shelley. After shifting so that he is standing behind me, he releases me and instead puts his gun firmly to the back of my head.


    ¡°Now that we¡¯re all here,¡± Gabriel begins. ¡°Let¡¯s get down to business, shall we?¡±


    ¡°What the hell is going on here?¡± Connor demands, his voice bing sharper and his gray eyes hard as stone. ¡°You¡¯re a first-year, aren¡¯t you? Do you have any idea about the consequences your actions will have?¡±


    ¡°Ironic. You lecturing me about consequences. And I know exactly what I¡¯m doing. The question is, do you? Do you even know who I am?¡±


    ¡°Should I?¡±


    A snarl rips from Gabriel¡¯s throat. And I have to admit, I am impressed by the utter disdain and nonchnce in Connor¡¯s voice when he said that. As if he can somehow read those thoughts in my mind, Gabriel pushes the muzzle of his gun harder against the back of my head.


    ¡°Ah, I really wish that crazy fucker Eli Hunter had tortured you to death,¡± Gabriel says. ¡°That would have been so entertaining to watch.¡±


    Realization crackles through my body.


    It¡¯s mirrored in Connor¡¯s eyes too as he says, ¡°You. You¡¯re the one who messed with my rifle that day.¡±


    His words are half statement, half question. But Gabriel answers anyway. ¡°Yes. I had hoped I could get the Hunters to take care of you for me. It would¡¯ve been poetic, in a way. But since you have somehow managed to get him off your back, I guess I have no choice but to get my hands dirty. If you want something done, you have to do it yourself. Isn¡¯t that what people always say?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I demand,pletely befuddled. ¡°Why are you doing this? I hadn¡¯t even met you until a few weeks ago. And I¡¯m sure Connor hadn¡¯t either. What could we possibly have done to make you hate us this much?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re Harvey Smith¡¯s children.¡±


    Stunned silence pulses through the cave.


    I blink. In my position, I can¡¯t see Gabriel¡¯s face, but I could hear the venom that dripped from his voice when he spoke our father¡¯s name.


    ¡°What does that have to do with anything?¡± Connor eventually asks, sounding as confused as I feel.


    ¡°Everything!¡± Gabriel screams. ¡°It has everything to do with this! Fuck, you really are his children in every way. Never caring about anyone other than you and your own fucking family.¡± He grips the back of my neck while shoving the muzzle against my head over and over again. ¡°Did you really think that your father¡¯s failure only affected him?¡±


    Connor, who was staring daggers at Gabriel for how he¡¯s manhandling me, blinks in surprise. I do too.


    ¡°If this is about the inconvenience to the Morelli family,¡± Connor begins. ¡°I hate to break it to you, but we¡¯ve already paid¡ª¡±


    ¡°This is not about the fucking Morelli family,¡± Gabriel snarls, jabbing the gun so hard into my skull that I have to bow my head forward slightly. ¡°My father is dead because of you!¡±


    Ringing silence descends on the cave. It¡¯s so potent that I can almost feel it pressing against my skin.


    Behind me, Gabriel is breathing hard. But he has pulled back his gun a fraction, allowing me to raise my head fully again.


    ¡°My father was sent on the same mission as yours,¡± Gabriel grinds out. ¡°And because your dad fucked everything up, <i ss="calibre2">my</i> father died too.¡±


    From across the cave, Connor and I stare at each other. I hadn¡¯t known that. And based on the surprise flickering in Connor¡¯s eyes, he hadn¡¯t either.


    ¡°But Harvey Smith also got himself killed,¡± Gabriel continues. ¡°So I can¡¯t make him pay for my father¡¯s death, which means that you have inherited his blood debt. And now, it¡¯s time to pay it.¡±


    For the first time since I was dragged into this cave, true terror pulses through my body. Not for my own life. But for Connor¡¯s. Licking my lips, I cast frantic nces around the cave in an effort to find something that can somehow get us out of this.


    ¡°What about you then?¡± I ask, stalling for time, as I meet Shelley¡¯s gaze. ¡°You¡¯re not Gabriel¡¯s sister or something, are you?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± A cold smile stretches her lips as she locks eyes with me. ¡°But you made an enemy of me when you poisoned me in that cafeteria. And I always settle my scores, which is why I was more than happy to provide my assistance in this little revenge plot when Gabriel approached me about it.¡±


    Fuck. Maybe poisoning her in front of everyone like that had been a bit too ballsy. Even for me. Oh well, toote for regrets now.


    ¡°Enough talking,¡± Gabriel snaps before I can reply. ¡°Give him a gun.¡±


    Confusion and disbelief wash through me as Shelley keeps her gun to Connor¡¯s head while pressing another one into his handcuffed hands. But before I can open my mouth to ask about it, Gabriel shoves a gun into my hands as well.


    My first instinct is to raise it and shoot Shelley in the head. But even if my aim wasn¡¯t terrible enough that I would never hit her, even from this distance, the problem is also that she¡¯s standing right behind Connor. To hit her, I would need to shoot through my brother.


    Connor flicks a nce between me, Gabriel, and the gun in his hands. And I know that he is considering the same thing. Connor has perfect aim and would definitely hit his target from this distance, but the main problem remains. Gabriel is standing right behind me, which means that my body is blocking the shot.


    As if he realizes that too, Connor simply shifts the gun so that he is holding it properly, but makes no move to raise it.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to try to shoot me?¡± Gabriel taunts.


    ¡°No,¡± Connor grinds out.


    ¡°Good. Because if you shoot me, I shoot your sister.¡± He once more pushes his gun harder against the back of my head as if to truly drive the point home. Then he tells me, ¡°And if you try to shoot Shelley, she shoots Connor.¡±


    My brother grits his teeth. ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°I want you to feel what I feel.¡± There is a savageness in Gabriel¡¯s voice that cuts through the air like a de. ¡°I want you to feel the pain I¡¯ve felt every fucking day since that night when your dad killed my father. He was my best friend. My family.¡±


    ¡°What. Do you. Want?¡± Connor forces out between gritted teeth again.


    ¡°I want you to choose who gets to live.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    My heart drops into my stomach and ice sweeps through my chest because I already know where he is going with this. Inside my skull, my mind is screaming. I don¡¯t want to hear the next words that I know wille out of his mouth. But he speaks them anyway.


    ¡°One of you will shoot your precious sibling. The one who shoots first and kills the other gets to live. If you refuse to shoot, I will kill you both.¡±

 Alluring Darkness: Chapter 44

    My heart pounds in my chest as I run through the forest. But it¡¯s not because of any physical exertion. No, my heart is thrashing for one reason and one reason alone. Raina. If the bastard who took her has touched a single hair on her head, I¡¯m going to fucking tear him apart. In fact, I¡¯m going to do that regardless. Because he dared to put his filthy hands on her at all. She¡¯s mine. And no one touches what belongs to me.


    ¡°Left!¡± Jace suddenly screams from behind me.


    I barely have time to whip my head to the left before a man crashes into me from that direction. A jolt shoots through my bones as we collide.


    The speed with which he¡¯s moving,bined with mine, sends both of us toppling to the ground. Pain shes through my shoulder as I m down on a root with the guy on top of me. Rolling sideways, I try to shove him off me before he can get the upper hand.


    He cracks an elbow into the side of my jaw, snapping my head to the right and mming my cheek into the ground. While blinking to clear my vision, I blindly swing at where I assume his head is. I¡¯m rewarded by a grunt as my fist connects with his cheek.


    All around us, chaos is unfolding.


    From the corner of my eye, I can see my brothers fighting three other people as well.


    Rage and frustration sh through me. Why the hell did we have to get attacked by another team <i ss="calibre2">now</i>? And I didn¡¯t even see theming. I had been so focused on those tracks before me, and on that terrible thought that someone might be hurting Raina right now, that I hadn¡¯t even noticed that another team was closing in. Hadn¡¯t even been paying attention to my surroundings. That was dangerous and stupid. But Raina has a habit of making me dangerous and stupid.


    I m my elbows down into the crook of my attacker¡¯s arms, making his hands shoot downwards instead right before he can wrap them around my throat. He lets out another grunt of pain, but doesn¡¯t falter.


    Because of how wended, he is straddling my chest and trapping my body underneath him. It also makes me unable to reach my guns. I need to get out of that vulnerable position. Fast.


    Twisting my hips, I throw all of my power into a punch to the side of his ribs.


    Air explodes from his lungs, and he sways to the side while pain flickers in his brown eyes. But the bastard still doesn¡¯t topple over. I draw back for another strike.


    Right then, he lunges forward and locks his hands around my throat.


    My breath gets stuck in my lungs as he squeezes hard.


    rm crackles down my spine.


    Fuck. He intends to choke me out. If I pass out, I will lose. And if I lose, I won¡¯t be able to get to Raina.


    I ram my elbows down into the crook of his arms yet again, trying to break his grip. But he¡¯s ready for it this time. Gritting his teeth, he weathers the pain and keeps his arms straight as I pound my elbows into him. My lungs protest as he tightens his grip on my throat.


    Switching tactics, I drop my arms to the ground, as if I don¡¯t have the strength to keep going. Victory sparkles in his eyes, pushing out some of the pain. With my hands on the ground, I blindly reach for the knife in my thigh holster.


    In order to keep his attention on me, I blink repeatedly as if I¡¯m fighting to stay conscious.


    Atst, my fingers close around the hilt of the de.


    I yank it out.


    And ram it into the side of his chest.


    He cries out in pain, and his hands disappear from my throat as he snaps his gaze down to his side.


    I yank out the knife and then plunge it towards him again.


    Panic shes across his features.


    Throwing himself sideways, he barely manages to escape the hit.


    While sucking in deep breaths of air, I shoot up from the ground and roll over while raising my other hand. My attacker hasn¡¯t even gotten back to his knees when my fist connects with his temple. His eyes roll back into his head for a second, and he crashes down on the ground.


    I swing my leg over his body and straddle his chest while he¡¯s busy blinking stars from his eyes. And before he can recover, I m my fist into his jaw again.


    Another grunt rips from his lungs as his face snaps sideways. I hit him again. And again. And again. Until blood bursts from his split lip and pours from his broken nose.


    He raises his hands as if to protect himself.


    I ram my knife into his shoulder.


    A cry tears from his chest, and his right arm drops back to the groundpletely limp after I no doubt severed some important tendon.


    ¡°Stop, please,¡± he presses out in a strained voice.


    ¡°Eli,¡± Rico¡¯s voice suddenlyes from my left.


    I blink, remembering that I¡¯m not alone here, and turn towards him. One of the people they were fighting is lying knocked out cold by Jace¡¯s feet. The other two are on their knees while Rico holds them at gunpoint. Kaden is standing next to them, watching me with those observant eyes of his.


    The rage roaring like wildfire inside me banks a little.


    Dragging in a deep breath, I try topose myself as I study the faces of the people who attacked us.


    Surprise and confusion rece the fury as I realize who they are.


    ¡°This is Connor Smith¡¯s team,¡± Kaden says, echoing my exact thoughts.


    For a second, I just stare between the four people who are now at our mercy. Yes, this is indeed Connor¡¯s team. But he is not among them.


    What the hell is going on here?


    I turn back to the guy panting in agony beneath me. ¡°Where is Connor Smith?¡±


    Defiance res in his eyes as he res up at me.


    Holding his gaze with hard eyes, I twist the knife that is still buried in his shoulder. He cries out in pain. I twist again.


    ¡°Not here!¡± he calls. ¡°He¡¯s not here!¡±


    I keep twisting. ¡°Then where is he?¡±


    Only screams answer me.


    ¡°Shelley has him,¡± another voice blurts out.


    I stop twisting the knife and turn towards the source of the voice. One of the people in front of Rico, a girl with loose brown curls and brown eyes, looks back at me.


    ¡°She took him in that direction.¡± She nods towards where I know a cave is located. ¡°Only a few minutes ago.¡±


    ¡°Then why are you attacking us instead of going after them?¡± Rico asks, nudging her head with his gun.


    ¡°Because she paid us a ridiculous amount of money to betray him.¡± Guilt flickers in her dark eyes. ¡°And to stop anyone trying to follow her too.¡±


    Rico groans and then slides his gaze to me. ¡°Shees from a very wealthy family.¡±


    And Raina poisoned Shelley just a few days ago. This can¡¯t be a coincidence. The tracks from the person who abducted Raina lead here, and now Shelley has taken her brother in that same direction as well. Whatever is going on cannot be good.


    Fear stabs through my heart. I have to find Raina. Now.


    ¡°Where did she take him?¡± I grind out.


    I already know about the cave because I¡¯ve spent a lot of time training in these woods. But I need to know if she is going to tell me that as well or if this is some kind of borate ambush for us.


    ¡°There¡¯s a cave a short distance that way,¡± she says, jerking her chin towards where the cave is located.


    I yank my knife out of the guy¡¯s shoulder. He moans in pain while I use his shirt to wipe off the blood. Then I brace my hands on his chest and push to my feet while sliding the knife back into its sheath.


    ¡°If you follow, you die,¡± I announce.


    Without even bothering to check if they nod in acknowledgement, I pull a gun from the back of my belt and start in the direction of the cave. The sound of footsteps behind me inform me that my brothers are following as well.


    I don¡¯t know what the hell is going on here, or who the guy is who took Raina, but I know one thing for certain.


    Whoever they are, they¡¯re going to pay in blood.

 Alluring Darkness: Epilogue

    My hands are steady as I use a small brush to spread poison across the synthetic skin that covers Eli¡¯s palms. He leans his hip against the white marble counter beside the sink, his eyes fixed on the door to the small private bathroom we¡¯re currently upying. Light from the goldenmp in the ceiling casts his face in a warm glow and makes him look even more handsome in his sharp ck suit.


    I¡¯m just about to dip the tiny brush into the vial of poison again when a buzzing sound interrupts. Raising my eyebrows, I nce down at the phone in Eli¡¯s pocket.


    He sighs. Tearing his eyes from the door, he looks down at his hands, which he can¡¯t use right now, and then back up at me.


    ¡°Want me to check it?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Yeah. It might be the Morellis. If they¡¯re calling off the hit, it would be good to know that before we kill him.¡±


    I chuckle. ¡°Agreed.¡±


    After carefully setting down the brush on the small lid to the poison bottle, I slide my hand into Eli¡¯s pocket. And just because I¡¯m a wicked little bitch, I brush my hand over his cock on the way. A shudder rolls through his body.


    Narrowing his eyes, he fixes me with a pointed stare. ¡°Careful now, princess. Just because I can¡¯t touch you right now doesn¡¯t mean that I can¡¯t still fuck your brains out right here in this bathroom.¡±


    I snicker and wiggle my eyebrows in challenge. But before either of us can do anything about it, I pull out the phone and look down at the name visible on the screen.


    Worry blows across Eli¡¯s face. ¡°It¡¯s Rico.¡±


    ¡°Want me to answer it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Kaden told me that, with me having graduated and the new first-years who have arrived, the Petrov family apparently outnumbers our family back at ckwater this year. And those crazy Russian fuckers have apparently beening at them hard. Something might have happened.¡±


    Sliding my finger across the screen, I answer the call and then put it on speaker so that Eli can hear it too.


    ¡°Hey, Rico,¡± he says. ¡°You¡¯re on speaker because Raina is currently spreading poison across my hands.¡±


    ¡°Eli, I¡­¡± Rico begins but then trails off. ¡°Wait, what? Poison? Do you need help? Is she trying to kill you?¡±


    ¡°I heard that,¡± I mutter.


    Eli chuckles. ¡°No, it¡¯s for a hit. We¡¯re out of state for another stealth mission since Connor and that forgettable face of his is still stuck in New York for that other high-profile job.¡± He smiles at me, knowing how relieved I am that our family¡¯s reputation has now been restored. But then worry etches his face again as he focuses on the phone. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Is it the Petrovs?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Rico replies, sounding very distracted. ¡°Oh, the Petrovs. No, we¡¯ll handle those morons. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°Then what is it?¡±


    ¡°I found her.¡±


    Eli¡¯s eyes widen. ¡°<i ss="calibre2">Her</i> as in¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. The girl who saved my life that night.¡± Even through the phone, I can hear the stunned incredulity in his voice. ¡°She¡¯s here. At ckwater.¡±


    ¡°Do you want me toe back? To help you¡­ do something? Anything?¡±


    ¡°No. No, I, uhm¡­ I just wanted to tell you because¡ª¡± He stops and instead lets out an exasperated groan. ¡°Aw, fuck. The Petrovs are here. I¡¯ll call you back.¡±


    Before Eli can answer, Rico ends the call.


    I raise my eyebrow in silent question, but Eli just shakes his head. ¡°He¡¯ll call backter. And besides, we have a man to kill.¡±


    ¡°True.¡±


    After slipping the phone back into his pocket, I finish coating the synthetic flesh with a thinyer of poison. It¡¯s the kind of fake skin that actors use, so it will hold up well enough for our n.


    ¡°Alright, done,¡± I say while screwing the lid back on the small bottle. ¡°As soon as you brush your hand over some part of his skin, the poison will start to take effect. I rmend the back of his hand, since you can get away with bumping into that without raising suspicion, but any part of his body works. After the poison begins seeping into his skin, the clock starts ticking. He¡¯ll be dead after about three hours, give or take.¡±


    ¡°By which time, we will be long gone.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± I smirk back at him. ¡°Aren¡¯t you d I dropped out of ckwater to be your partner in crime?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re my partner in <i ss="calibre2">everything</i>, not just crime.¡±


    ¡°Aww, aren¡¯t you sweet.¡±


    Mischief glitters in his golden eyes. ¡°And besides, you sucked at everything back at ckwater and failed every ss, so they practically begged me to take you off their hands.¡±


    ¡°Watch it, asshole.¡± I narrow my eyes at him, but can barely suppress the amusement in my voice. ¡°Don¡¯t forget I¡¯m the one with the poison.¡±


    He holds up his hands and shes me a sly smile. ¡°Except now, I have it too.¡± Before I can retort, he chuckles and then jerks his chin. ¡°When we get back to the hotel, I will be showing you exactly how d I am that you dropped out of ckwater to be my partner in crime. But for now, get your ass up on that counter.¡±


    I raise my eyebrows at him. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because we need a usible excuse for why we¡¯ve been in this bathroom for so long. So I want you to look freshly fucked when we walk back into that g.¡±


    Heat ripples through my stomach at his words and at the look in his eyes.


    After putting the poison and the rest of my equipment back into my small purse, I brace my palms on the white marble counter and lift myself up so that I¡¯m sitting on it with my legs dangling over the edge.


    ¡°Pull your dress up, princess,¡± Eli orders.


    I curl my fingers in the smooth green silk and slowly slide the skirt of my dress up my legs until it¡¯s bunched around my waist.


    Desire res to life in Eli¡¯s eyes as his gaze travels up my bare legs. Then something flickers across his face as he reaches my pussy. ¡°No panties.¡±


    His words are both question and statement and usation all rolled into one.


    I just grin back at him in challenge.


    ¡°How am I supposed to concentrate on my mission now that I know you¡¯re walking around next to me with no fucking panties on?¡± Eli demands, his voice a low growl.


    My grin widens. ¡°I don¡¯t see how that¡¯s any of my problem. My part of this mission is already done.¡±


    ¡°Oh, the things I will do to you when we¡¯re back at the hotel.¡±


    A thrill races down my spine.


    ¡°Spread your legs,¡± Elimands.


    Adjusting my position on the counter, I lean back on my elbows and spread my legs wide for him. His eyes darken. My heart skips a beat at the sight.


    Even after an entire year, Eli¡¯s feelings for me still haven¡¯t dimmed in the slightest. In fact, they seem to grow stronger every day. Every time he looks at me, his breath catches a little and his eyes pulse with both insatiable lust and unending love. It¡¯s an incredible sight.


    I suck in a gasp as Eli drops to his knees and draws his tongue over my pussy. He chuckles, making his warm breath caress my sensitive skin. A shudder rolls through my body as Eli swirls his tongue around my clit before taking it into his mouth.


    Pleasure washes through me, and I let out a moan.


    Leaning back, I rest the back of my head against the mirror behind me. The pleasure inside me grows as Eli rolls my clit between his lips and then slides his tongue down to my entrance.


    A whimper spills from my mouth, and I curl my fingers on the cold marble as he pushes his tongue inside me.


    Closing my eyes, I breathe deeply through my nose as he licks and sucks and nips at my clit and my throbbing pussy until I feel as though my brain is going to explode. Tension thrums inside me, begging to be released.


    ¡°Oh, fuck,¡± I gasp out, my thighs clenching and my pussy aching with need. ¡°Eli.¡±


    He swirls his tongue around my clit again.


    I suck in shallow breaths as I soar towards that orgasm.


    One more second. One more stroke. One more¡ª


    He stops.


    Pulling back, he gets to his feet.


    I blink, feelingpletely disoriented by the loss of his lips and the release that never came.


    When I raise my eyes, I find Eli smirking down at me like the fucking viin he is.


    ¡°Eli¡­¡± I say, my voice low and full of warning.


    ¡°Yes, princess?¡±


    ¡°Finish what you started.¡±


    ¡°I might. Back at the hotel room.¡± His eyes glint and the devilish smile on his lips grow. ¡°If you beg me for it.¡± Chuckling, he jerks his chin towards the door. ¡°Now,e on, princess. We have a mark to kill.¡±


    With my eyes narrowed, I re at him while I slide off the counter and smoothen my dress down over my legs again. Turning around, I face the mirror. My cheeks are flushed and my hair is slightly messy from where I leaned against the mirror. I do actually look freshly fucked.


    Huffing out a half amused, half disgruntled breath, I pick up my purse and start towards the door. Eli follows since he can¡¯t touch anything right now.


    ¡°I hate you,¡± I announce as I reach for the lock. ¡°Bringing me to the edge like that and then not letting mee is cruel, you know.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well, you should¡¯ve thought about that before you decided to torture me by not wearing panties tonight.¡± He shes me a wicked smile. ¡°And you know you love me.¡±


    A softugh escapes me. Shaking my head, I unlock the door and pull it open. After moving across the threshold, I hold it open for Eli as well so that he won¡¯t have to touch it. The people outside take one look at my flushed face and exchange knowing smiles.


    ¡°Yes, unfortunately I do,¡± I reply as Eli falls in beside me and we start back into the glittering ballroom. A smirk tugs at my lips as I nce up at him. ¡°But not as much as you love me.¡±


    Eli matches the sly smile on my face, but his eyes are pulsing with deep emotions as he brushes a kiss against my temple. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    Joy sparkles in my chest as we turn back to the elegant ballroom before us. People wearing shimmering dresses and expensive suits fill the entire space. We drift through the room for a while before we spot our target.


    After exchanging a look, we start towards the man we¡¯re about to kill.


    From the outside, we look like any other couple in this room. But we¡¯re not normal. And we never will be.


    A ruthless hitman and an unhinged chemist.


    We are a match made in hell.


    But thankfully, hell is our kingdom.


    And we love it here.


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