a

inexplicably changed with our new roles in

wasn't even music playing. The city's nightlife had toned down by then, and there were fewer cars out

n my crush on him had become more intense and caused Jaxon to pull b

doff where bullets could go flying at any moment, not in a literal

that moment, though. I hadn't seen him th

he mad

question slipped out, but I couldn't take it back-wouldn't tak

u talking ab

u come to p

ghter from work?" he scoffed, grip tighten

s what we are anymore. You don't even

n spat, and I

making it hard to tel

sbehaving dog, and it would've gone quiet again if I'd just let i

hy

sounding like-like a

I thought I was your new t

ile I crossed my arms and looked away from him, bitin

than this-whatever THIS was, but that didn't

He couldn't tell me what the f*ck this was because he didn't know eith

ion, I had nothing-hell, I was his. I needed to know wher

n? Because I sure as h

tect you. That's i

it. Philanthropists doing things out of the goodness of thei

do you want me to s

u still didn't ha

ugged casually. "Don't t

en doing since I first had a crush on him. Though, admittedly, I was

picked me up because Ron was busy. That still

rgotten?" he said, giving me a pointed look. W

nough, so I won't. I would've

Sure. You know I don't li

with

ore," he stated, his

right now!" I readjusted my

position, the sooner you c

that you're not like I

ly think the head of the underworld wo

answer was yes, even though

rworld would have clean, blood-free hands. Now that I knew who he really

the underworld knew about, things not even Dad would have k

nks they kno

ike separate entities, Jaxon Deverioux, the publisher, and Jaxon Deverioux, the underworld king. O

real him, though

an always catch a ride. I'm sure Lauren's

k I'd done, but that one

creeched, practically flying out of

apped, ready to give him a piece of my mind,

end. In that persona, even when he was angry and exasperated, Jaxon would find my stubbornness amusing. No matter how

ng across from m

am. You're not stupid," he bit o

Jason was going to do or what he meant by that, so I bit my tongue and didn't speak. I

now I have you. What do you think happens if those people ge

competent, Jaxon," I said,

ive again. We weren't too far from the ma

e fast. Your father was tens of thousands of dollars in debt. I covered a lot of it. You don't even know how much he owed thos

uch?"

ead, not wanti

eally cost you, J

"'Bout a hundred grand." T

was cheap or not. Was that how much my life was worth? It was som

ars to pay that off. Jaxon wouldn't let me work that much though, and if he adde

just had to believe that I could. I'd been dealing with Dad's cr

as a long time, and anything could ha

pulled the car back into the mansion's driveway, swinging around to t

hen feel free to take one of my cars to work. They're equipped w

u doing thi

on me, penetrating through me,

him properly. He was driving me crazy, staring at me like

ent you're angry and look ready to kill me, then the next you're almost

in a breath as I slid out of my seat and right into his lap, placing my hands on his shoulders and

e gritted out, his grip

n this deep... might as

buying that this was out of the goodness of your heart. You're right, you're the leader

eply, telling me some lie; I was tired and sore and p*sse

e only reason guys 'owned' a gi

t Jaxon's, putting all my anger into it but

ght about what I had done. But by then,

on was kiss

ng the kiss, his tongue slipping into my mouth and making me

other was undoing my belt. For as nervous as I was, I couldn't

I was

about t

na