Kiss Me, Damnation

III

Adrian

Genius. That was what they called me. Rowan, the boy who never lost, never stumbled, never broke.

And yet today, in front of everyone, she had the audacity to make me falter.

Evelyn Hart. I had finally known her name. Her name tasted like fire in my mouth. Sweet and bitter all at once.

Dick got me her name and personal information last night. Apparently, she stayed with her uncle, her parents had split when she was young and her father kept her with his brother because he was busy.

When I cornered her last night after following her. She looked scared but she still acted brave.

My Stupid Little Sheep.

But something was wrong here, I just couldn't put my finger on it.

Today in class, I challenged her in front of everyone. She was supposed to cower when I pressed her, supposed to break under the weight of my logic like a good little sheep would. Instead, she stood taller. Her sharp mind cut through mine like a blade, her voice steady, unshaken.

No one had ever done that to me before. No one dared. Not even d**k.

I told myself to let it go. To shove her into the box I kept for distractions and lock the lid. But then Rowe happened.

Daniel Rowe—golden boy, class favorite, captain of whatever team I couldn't care less about. He leaned close to her after class, whispering things that made her lips twitch, made her eyes light up in a way I hadn't seen before.

Daniel Rowe.

The golden boy. Perfect hair, perfect smile, perfect jawline. And he had the audacity to look at her like she was something he could have.

Well, he couldn't have her, not now and not ever.

She was mine. A sheep only had one master and that was me.

I watched the way Evelyn's cheeks flushed as he leaned closer, whispering something that made her lips twitch upward in the smallest smile. She never smiled at me like that.

The pencil in my hand snapped clean in two.

I didn't hear another word Professor Langley said after that. All I saw was Rowe, sitting too close, speaking too softly, daring to exist in her orbit like he belonged there. And Evelyn—my Evelyn—letting him.

It wasn't jealousy. Jealousy was too small, too petty. This was rage in its purest, sharpest form. An urge to wipe that smug grin off Rowe's face and remind Evelyn who she belonged to.

She didn't even know yet, but she would.

When the bell rang, I didn't rush. I watched her leave with Hannah and Carla trailing beside her, laughter spilling in their wake. I waited, patient as a predator, until her friends pulled her in another direction and she chose to walk home alone.

Perfect.

The sun was bleeding into the horizon by the time I found her. She walked briskly, lost in thought, her bag bouncing against her hip. I leaned casually against the lamppost at the corner of the street, waiting.

Her steps faltered when she saw me. Her eyes narrowed.

"What do you want, Adrian?"

I pushed off the post, closing the distance between us. Slowly. Carefully.

"To congratulate you," I said, voice smooth, masking the storm inside. "You won today. Must feel proud."

"Not proud," she shot back. "Just... satisfied."

Her defiance was a blade, sharp and gleaming. God, I wanted to taste it.

"You're playing with fire, sheep. Don't think standing up to me makes you untouchable. In the end, a lost sheep always returns to its master."

"I am not a sheep." She said.

Something snapped and before I could talk.

She scoffed, crossing her arms and added. "What are you going to do? Debate me to death?"

I stepped closer, bracing one hand against the lamppost above her head, caging her in. Her scent hit me—clean, maddening, addictive. She tilted her chin up, fearless.

I ignored her and asked her about Rowe.

"It's none of your business, you psycho."

"You don't know me," I murmured. "You don't know what I'm capable of."

Her eyes didn't waver. "And you don't scare me."

The defiance in her voice sent a shiver down my spine. Perfect. Perfect.

"You should be scared, Little sheep." I whispered, leaning closer, letting the threat coil around her.

But before I could savor it, she shoved me back. Hard. The impact made me stumble a step, and for a split second, I was stunned. Then... I laughed. Loud, dark, thrilled.

Run. Run my little sheep. You are not getting far.

She thought she'd pushed me away. All she'd done was seal her fate.

I watched her storm off, her back stiff, her stride quick. She didn't even look back. But I didn't need her to.

Because I knew, in that moment, she was mine.

And no one—not Daniel Rowe, not her friends, not the entire goddamn world—was going to take her from me.

******

Hope you guys are enjoying my book. Don't forget to vote and comment guys. I love reading your comments it's makes me so happy.