DEREK COLLINS was going to look at me like crazy after I kick his balls if he calls me "Angel" one more freaking time.

Sighing, I place the fruity drink back on the table, sliding it away from me as I'm afraid I might hurl it on him. When he started talking about his plans after school, I tuned him out.

I look over my shoulder to see the town's beautiful upscale country club full of people talking among themselves. The place screams prestige and wealth hence all the privilege families in town are present including the Mayor whom my father are close friends with. My parents prefer to keep their heads above ground, planning parties, making sure everyone attends Mass on Sundays, going to charities and monthly dinner parties. And today, he invited the Collins for a friendly golf match after the morning mass. It would be a beautiful day to sneak into the hidden butterfly garden behind the cathedral if it was not for Derek's persistence to attached himself beside me.

As my gaze travel around the vast sitting room, I did my best not to look at Kade. I really tried. But he was such a striking figure that almost everyone at the dining hall stares at him. Every woman in a hundred-yard radius is suddenly compelled to smooth their hair and check their lip gloss.

He stood just outside the alfresco, holding a glass of bourbon as he chats away with my father and the town's Mayor. He is dressed in an expensive business suit with a black tie and his hair tousled in a sexed-up kind of way that makes him look devastatingly handsome. He glances over, and for a second, our eyes meet.

My heart skips a beat and I go still, like a deer in a freaking headlights. His eyes are dark pools that draw me in until I feel as though I'm drowning. He looks away, and I snap back into the present, realizing that for the past few seconds, I've forgotten to breathe. My body was throbbing.

I wanted him. Badly.

I missed him.

I was aching because I couldn't go there.

I couldn't do that because of Arabella. The thought of her was like a cold shower hitting me, and the lust that he'd ignited was doused to a slow, smoldering fire.

Derek suddenly grabs my hand and I jump from my seat. "You okay?"

Looking at him in alarm, I flinched away, trying to pull my hands but his grip tightened. He smiled darkly, shaking his head and I almost threw up when he runs the pad of his thumb against my palm before loosening his grip.

"I'm fine." I snapped. He smile nonchalantly and it only spur my irritation.

"Well don't you two make a cute couple," says a female with a high-pitched voice. I turn towards the voice and see Arabella approaching our table, and walking beside her is a pretty tall blonde with overly done makeup and a skin-tight navy blue dress with the neckline way too low walking towards us.

"I'm Freya, Arabella's friend." says the tall blonde.

I turn to greet her and am stunned at the strong scent of her perfume that goes instantly up my nose.

"Hi, I'm –" I'm cut off before I can introduce myself.

"Derek, I get that she's young, but didn't you prefer blondes?"

"Excuse me?" I'm thrown off at Freya's comment.

He smiles, then winks at her. "It's been a while, Freya."

She smiles at him and sultrily says,"I missed you when you went to Long Beach last summer. You could've text me."

He chuckled, shaking his head in amusement, and clearly loving the attention. "We both know where that would lead."

A flirtatious smile growing on her face, followed by giggles. Derek turns to me, "This is Ayla."

Freya's eyes swung back to me, and she frowns. "Yeah, Arabella told me about you. You should consider coloring your hair." she said haughtily and then turn to Derek. "We should hang out. I'm here for a month."

I shoved back from my seat, the sound of metal chair scraping against the tile floor makes the people sitting nearby turn their heads in our direction.

"It was nice meeting you, Freya. You three seem to have a lot of catching up to do." I finally managed to reply and because my simmering rage are about to burst, I also felt oddly compelled to reciprocate with, "Oh, and next time, try to use a perfume that doesn't makes you look like a walking toilet air freshener."

With that, I stood and make my way to the restroom as anger ripples through my body.

I heard Arabella laughs, "Don't mind her. She's just being a weirdo."

I know I should just keep quiet and not say anything like I usually do, but I am tired of being stepped on by my family and now I have to hear it from some stranger I just met. I stepped outside just as my phone chimed in.

2nd floor, last door. Now.

Lust and fear started to buzz under my skin as I read his text. We have never done it here before. The risk of getting caught is too high and there were cameras in the hallways. I told Owen that I'm going to end it and here I am walking up the steps that would lead me to Kade. I don't know what the hell was I thinking. Or perhaps my brain has ceased to function anymore.

I was already lost in a cloud of wanton lust unlike any I'd experienced before as I open the door. I held my breath as I stepped inside and shut the door quietly, the sound of lock engaging fills the stock room. The sunlight was bright outside, shining through the curtains of floor-to-ceiling windows and spilling into the room, casting light and shadow at the same time. The moment my eyes landed on Kade, I was a goner. He saw me long before I saw him. But his eyes were angry, dark and glittering with malice. His jaw clenched tight.

He was leaning back against the wall beside the window, both hands inside the pockets of his tailored pants. He look drop-dead gorgeous in the sunlit room, the light glowing gently on his pallid skin. So stunning that it only increases my distrust of him. Nobody that beautiful can be good, it's impossible.

and yet I was hooked

"Come here." his voice was grave.

Not breaking our gaze, I took a step forward.

Another step. He held my gaze the whole time.

Awareness spread through me, making every cell in my body alert. The air in the room was... it was... I couldn't place it, but it felt more. It felt beyond us, as if something were wrapping around both of us, bringing us together.

When I reached him, intense desire bit at my insides. There was some space between us, but not much. But enough for me to feel the heat pouring from his body. I braced myself, but he didn't touch me. His breath in my cheek, his eyes taking me in, scanning my face and mine is lost as I moved over his face, falling to his own mouth. I just wanted that on me, anywhere, everywhere.

"Kiss me." he said quietly, his voice firm.

My eyes widen and my heart picked up speed, banging wildly against my sternum. This was new. He's always been the one who started things. I take slow breaths to ease the nervousness forming in my stomach and glance over the window and I can make out the dining hall outside through the tan curtains. If I pulled it aside, I'd probably see Derek, still in his chair, or my family milling outside.

Looking back at Kade, his placid face shows no reaction, but I'm certain he knows that I'm nervous, that I'm sweating, that I'm shaky with lust and fear.

No, I need him. I need more—and I need it now.

I lifted up on my toes, grasp the front of his suit and touched my lips to his. Our mouths met as I sighed. It was an outbreath of need, of eagerness, of relief, of frustration. When he remain stoic and impassive after a moment, I pulled my lips away and look up at him nervously. I searched his eyes and see the fury lurking beneath them.

"Kiss me the way I taught you, Ayla. I don't need your fucking wet, hesitant kisses." he sneered.

It was then I realized what is he mad about. He probably witnessed what Derek did earlier.

I bit my lip. "It wasn't like that."

He finally move and pressed into me, his eyes wild, on the edge of control. "Prove it." His breath was hot on me. He bent down, his eyes glittering now.

With my heart in my throat, I wrapped my arms around his neck and press him until his back is against the desk in the corner. Stark hunger flashed in his eyes, as I hoisted myself up and wound my legs around his waist. I shifted, pressing against him, and both of us groaned from the contact. I lean down, hold his face in my hands and kiss him hard, urging him to open his mouth. Somewhere in the back of my mind, an alarm bell goes off—but I ignored it. I kiss him like he kissed me the first time—like I'll eat him alive.

Goosebumps spill down my body when his mouth finally takes over mine. The sudden ferocity of his kiss startles me and sends my adrenaline into overdrive. I cling to the front of his shirt. Kade's arms snake around my body, pulling me tightly against his chest as his lips ravage mine. Rolling my hips, I pressed against his chest and coil my fingers in his hair. He lets out a breathy moan that arouses me further. When his tongue darts in my mouth, taking mine hostage, I allow it. Inviting the taste of bourbon that still lingers on it. Wetness flooded me, and I started to throb.

I wanted him. So fucking bad.

His hand goes between us to release himself. I quiver with anticipation, my heart fluttering against my ribs. I need him so bad. I can't think of anything else I've ever needed this much—not even oxygen.

In the next second, he reached under my skirt, ripped my panties off and thrust into me. I groaned, my head falling back. All the thoughts in my head flutter away, leaving behind a hazy cloud of lust.

This feels good. Too damn good.

"I'll fucking kill Collins." His teeth bared, tasting my neck, sucking there as he bounced me up and down. I was writhing around, trying to move with him. My mind was incapable of thinking beyond the risk, beyond his words, and beyond the assault on my sensory system. Kade's lips suddenly move away. He stops touching me entirely. I whimper without meaning to, like an addict denied her fix.

"Look at me." I look up and his eyes hold that look of lust and desire. Wide, dark, and fully dilated.

"Let that fucker touch you again and I will leash a hell upon you the likes of which you have never seen." he seethed and I frozed, but my heart started beating wildly. My mouth is dry and I can't tell if it's from fear or arousal. I swallow hard.

I should run far away from him. I know this, rationally. Yet I want the exact opposite. I'm fascinated by him. Drawn to him in every possible way: physically, mentally, emotionally. Instead of answering him, I lift myself up until I can only feel his tip at my entrance before lowering slowly, sheathing him inside me. I did it again, hoisted myself up, and this time, slammed down into him hard and soon I'm bouncing on his cock, breaths coming shorter and faster, and I cling on for dear life as the pressure of another orgasm builds deep in my belly. And all the while he's not moving, just staring at me like I'm a painting he's trying to memorize.

"Jesus. You're so fucking hot." he growled. A darkness flashed in his eyes, and suddenly, he picked me up as he stood. He slipped out, spun me around, pressing me against the window. He grabbed my hips, holding me still, and rammed into me.

Panic crashed over me when he reach over and pulled the curtains to the side, giving us the full view of the dining hall. My knees buckled and my stomach lurched as I saw my family outside. It would only take one lift of Arabella's head and look in this direction and she will see us.

"No. No, Kade. Stop. They're gonna see us!" I began flailing around him, trying to release myself from his arms that caged me against the window.

His menacing voice cut through me with an amused bite.

"I."

Thrust.

"Don't."

Thrust

"Fucking."

Thrust.

"Care."

I was lost. All the sounds, laughter, whatever they did outside, it was gone. Kade kept moving in me and it was just him and me, his hands roaming against my body.

God.

The sex was hard, almost violent between us.

"Someday, I'm going to get us caught, when you scream my name so loud that everyone can hear." he growled against my skin. I gasped, arching my back. My neck was exposed, and with a groan, Kade dropped his mouth down. He was licking, tasting me, and he began moving harder, faster, then pounding until the climax ripped through us both. It sent me over the edge and I yelled out before his hand clamped down on my mouth, but he let out a long and shuddering moan of his own before slumping down over me.

After I come down to reality, I pushed back, twisting my head around to glare at him. His eyes were laughing, and he smirked, his thumb caressing my hard nipples through my dress. "The windows are tinted," He paused, then tilted my chin up, his mouth finding mine. His eyes were still heavy lidded with the kiss when he leaned back, looking down at me. I opened my mouth, gaping.

"Remember what I said. Am I clear?" He dipped his chin, lips thinning into a hard line.

I swallowed. "Crystal clear."

He spoke into my mouth, his lips hovering over mine, but not kissing me. "Good girl. There's a stair case at the end of the hallway that leads to the back alley. There'll be a car outside waiting for you. Go home and rest."