Chapter 1 - Yara #2
Xavier crowded me, his hand softly going around my throat then traveling to my nape.
My lips parted on a yelp when his fingers wrapped around my hair, fisting it, bringing my face closer to his.
"Open your fucking eyes, Yara," he spat out my name as if he couldn't bear to even have it on his lips.
"Open!" The thunder in his voice snapped me back, making me open my eyes, and I wished for the millionth time since he came back from Europe that I never came here.
I wished I could go back in time and convince my mother to leave me in any other town but here.
Violence shone in his irises, swallowing me whole until the noise in the house, the murmur of other people, ceased to exist, leaving only the two of us as the center of the Universe.
His fist tightened in my hair, bringing our faces closer, our lips barely inches away from each other.
My traitorous eyes ran over his face, over those arched eyebrows, high cheekbones and the lips that shouldn't look as inviting as they were.
They held the poison meant to destroy, and no one dared to create an antidote against Xavier Thornton.
"Are you scared, little lamb?" His voice was barely a murmur, yet I felt it in the core of my soul.
"Do you wish to be eaten by the big bad wolf?
" His words dripped with venom, his body hovering over mine, yet I couldn't find it in myself to push him, to try and get out of here.
There was no use in trying to get away from the man whose eyes screamed danger and whose touch caressed some fucked up part of my soul.
And that was the saddest part, wasn't it?
The fact that the sick, depraved part of me wanted this. I pushed his buttons to see this side of him. I pushed because he always seemed so poised, so well behaved, and knowing that I was the one person who could throw him off balance made me feel alive.
"Are you offering?" I bravely asked, licking my lips shamelessly, feeling his own parting and coming closer just as I closed mine. His eyes blazed, immediately latching on my mouth, then slowly dragging over my face, settling back on my eyes.
I held onto my fake bravado for as long as I could, feeling my heart thundering in my chest and hoping he couldn't feel it too. He made me feel small, insignificant, just like every other person in my life, yet it was his venom that actually made me feel alive.
I hated it.
I wanted it.
I craved it.
I wanted to run away far, far away, just to be gone from this place, not because Saint Bipal's was that terrible, but because it was home to the monster starring in every single one of my dreams and nightmares as of late.
He pushed away from me before I could collect my thoughts, pulling his hand back and letting me drop down on the couch. "You should have stayed where you belong, stepsister," he sneered. "There's a ditch not too far from here. I think it would suit you and your poor fucking ass."
His words sliced through me, reminding me for I don't even know which time, that I wasn't wanted, which shouldn't have surprised me. It was a moment of weakness, a slip of my mind, and instead of pushing up the walls like I always did, I allowed him to see it.
I allowed him to see the pain crawling through my insides, slowly spreading all over my body. His eyes wavered, those long legs stepped closer, but the last thing I wanted was to see the pity in his eyes. Even worse, I didn't want to give him more ammunition against me
The moment he stepped close I got up from the couch, pushing him back. "I don't want to hear it, stepbrother," I sneered. "If you don't mind, I'll just disappear into my room now, since I've done what was asked of me."
His eyes narrowed, but instead of the usual malice staring at me, something else swirled there, beckoning me closer. Only a fool would step freely into the viper's nest, and I was no fool.
At least not tonight.
"Yara," he mumbled as I sidestepped him, wrapping his long fingers around my forearm.
I refused to look at him, refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing me crumble.
I just wanted to retreat to my room and pretend that the world I was thrown into actually wasn't trying to destroy what little sanity I had left.
"Lock your doors tonight, stepsister," the fucker whispered, his hot breath washing over my ear.
"Or what?" I asked, daring to look at him.
I shouldn't have.
I really, really should have nodded and gone my way.
What I saw on that face froze my lungs. What I saw in those eyes had my heart hammering against my ribcage, and my mouth turning parched.
"Or I'd be tempted to show you a real welcome."
He let me go suddenly, making me stagger to the side. His words slowly registered in all parts of my mind and as he retreated toward the dance floor, smiling widely with no trace of that aggression he solely reserved for me, I found the strength I’d lacked in the last couple of seconds.
"Xavier!" I bellowed, louder than the people talking, laughing and singing. Almost louder than the music.
His shoulders stiffened, and like in slow motion he turned around, looking at me as if I was nothing more than a stain on the sole of his shoes.
My own lips turned into a smirk just as my right arm lifted and my middle finger popped up. "Fuck. You," I mouthed, smiling the entire time my hand was up in the air, feeling the eyes on me from every single girl and guy standing around.
Xavier didn't look as amused as I was, instead his jaw kept clenching and unclenching, but he truly could fuck himself.
I knew this would only spur him on and not stop him from coming after me, but as my hand lowered and as I started walking toward the staircase leading to the second floor where my room was, I caught Caleb Rechsteiner, Xavier's best friend, looking at me, laughing and slowly shaking his head.
My legs carried me toward him, feeling the burning heat on my back, from what was, no doubt, the glare of my darling stepbrother.
"Caleb." I nodded, slowing down.
His wide smile was enough to tell me that he knew I was full of shit, but I didn't care. Not right now. "You're playing with fire, Yara." Caleb tsked. "You know he's going to be even worse now."
"I know," I admitted, turning around to look at the man in question.
He was already across the room, leaning against the wall right next to the exit toward the pool, with two girls vying for his attention on each side of him, yet his eyes kept bouncing between Caleb and me.
I almost laughed, remembering the second day of university where he explicitly forbade me from ever even looking at his friends, not to mention talking.
Yeah, that wasn't gonna work. "But it was worth it," I added, winking at my stepbrother, feeling that warmth in the pit of my stomach when his eyes blazed with the familiar fire.
"I'll see you around." Turning around, I placed my hand on Caleb's chest, patting him.
He straightened, his eyes widening at something behind me, but whatever it was I didn't want to see it.
"Really, really playing with fire," Caleb murmured.
"Byeee," I laughed, running upstairs, and the moment I reached the top I turned back and looked down, only to see the angry face of my stepbrother, staring at me from the bottom of the staircase.
Maybe I should listen to him and lock that door tonight.