Other nights it was the stranger’s accented voice.
Valerian.
I shuddered.
“You all right?” Breaker put his hand on the small of my back as we walked down the hall and out of the house toward the waiting black SUV.
The bosses had left separately, ahead of the kids, and as instructed, each family heir had to ride in his or her own car just in case.
This left me alone with Breaker since Ash was technically the heir to our family and had ridden ahead by himself.
The fact that he was even able to sit in an SUV by himself without anyone to travel to Claire’s funeral showed how strong he was and what he was capable of.
I scooted across the black leather seat and stared straight ahead as Breaker got in next to me and slammed the door. “You can go.”
The car immediately moved.
Techno music was playing in the background, making my stomach roll with nausea. That was always a trigger these days since that was what had been playing when I got kidnapped.
“Change the station, please,” Breaker said in a clipped voice.
I peered up at him. “Thanks.”
His jaw flexed like he was gritting his teeth. “You’re welcome.”
Maybe it was the funeral.
The utter sadness I felt for my brother.
Or my broken heart shrieking in pain, dying to be noticed or fixed by the only person it recognized who had the ability to do just that.
“Breaker?”
“What?”
I scooted closer.
His chest rose and fell in a fast cadence as he sucked in breaths and released them, his green eyes locked onto mine.
“Do you hate me?”
He flinched. “No, Violet, I could never hate you. Why would you think that?”
“Because—” God, why was I starting to cry? “You aren’t the same, and I know I’m not the same. Is it me? Did I do this to us? Did I mess up somehow and make it so that—”
“Shhhh…” He used his thumbs to wipe the tears from my cheeks. “You’re going to ruin your makeup, and I know how much that pisses you off.”
“I don’t care about my stupid makeup!”
His lips pressed into a small smile. “Says the girl who lost her damn mind when her new eyeshadow palette broke as if she can’t afford a new one.”
“There was a discontinued color in that one, and you know it,” I grumbled.
“Sure.” He smirked. “All right.”
“Don’t be an ass.” I glared.
“But it suits me so well.” His eyes lowered to my mouth and then back up.
And then suddenly, it was all I could think about.
Kissing him.
Losing myself in him.
Breaking the one rule our parents made for us when we were young.
No dating within the Family.
And definitely no sex.
I wanted to break both of them. Repeatedly.
With him.
It wasn’t like Serena and Junior were doing a great job of hiding all the sex they were having!
“What are you thinking?” Breaker asked. His lips looked delicious, plump, and I knew that Breaker was rumored to be not just incredible, but addicting in a way that made many a woman lose their heads.
I ran a few fingers through his messy hair, my nails scraping lightly against his skull.
He moaned as his head lulled forward. “If you’re trying to seduce me, it’s working.”
“Good,” I whispered.
His head shot back up. “What?”
“Wow, is that all I needed to do to get you to smile at me again?” I wondered out loud at his bright, happy expression.
“No. Yes.” He seemed confused by his own feelings, and like flipping a switch, he jerked away from me, his expression dark. “It’s—we… shouldn’t. There are rules, you know?”
“Rules?” I wasn’t giving up. “Trust me, I know all about the rules, all of us do, but I’m sick of it, I’m sick of all of this.” I willed him to look at me, but he kept his face averted. “And I know you are too.”
“I’m doing my job.” He repeated it to me, maybe more so to himself.
Fine, I could do this, I could take things into my own hands—literally. I just needed a bit more courage.
Where was Serena when I needed her? She was the bloodthirsty one who had no qualms about punching Junior in the face one second then sucking him off the next.
I swear fighting was their foreplay.
I pretended to look out the window, took a deep breath, and then without giving any more thought to it, placed my hand on his thigh and squeezed.
His eyes widened, and then he ground his teeth and looked away.
The minute we stopped at the stop sign, I hiked up my skirt and straddled him, shoving away any sort of protests with a heated kiss.
He went from being as still as a statue.
To being even harder than one as his hands dug into my hair and pulled, pulled my face against his as he deepened the kiss with a hunger that matched mine in its terror.