Tom's POV
The day had started quite normally. I had a hearty breakfast. Eve could be useless in a million other ways but she could make a decent meal at least. The eggs were a little bit overcooked but edible I supposed.
Before breakfast I had a major showdown in the bathroom wondering which side of my face had the best angles. I had seen the pictures the press had taken during the birthday party. And frankly, some of them were bastards. They had taken pictures of the side of my face that wasn't very flattering. What on earth? Weren't paps supposed to be skillful at this sort of thing?
To top it all, they had taken a picture of Adam's mother yelling her head off at me. To my despair, that picture grew viral. What in the world? How was that picture remotely appealing? People just loved drama and did not care where it came from or what exactly happened.
Not going to lie th
Eve's POV"T-Tom, Tom please listen-"It was too late. In a blink familiar hands clasped around my neck, grabbing and holding on to it, pressing down until it was hard to breathe."You bitch!" He screamed. "What are you doing here?!""I was just-" I wheezed, unable to continue. I couldn't speak with his hands clapped around my neck. I couldn't think of them choking me, restricting my air supply. I struggled, reached for his hands and tried to pry them off. "Can't... Breathe...""Can't breathe?! Bitch, by the time I am through with you, you'll very much prefer not to breathe."His threat sent my body into a frenzy. Oh no. I never should have come in here. What was I thinking about trying to play a hero? I was no hero. Hell I was in need of a hero myself.Tom would hurt me all over again and I had barely
Eve's POV"Come on Eve!"Something soft stroked my forehead and I frowned, trying to figure out where on earth I was."Eve?"That voice?My heart raced and I shook my head. It couldn't be. It couldn't be him."Evie honey,"Only one person called me that. If this was a joke then it was a cruel one. A very cruel one. "Come ! You know your mother's going to come out soon and she'll whoop both our butts!"I opened my eyes then, blinking as a lone tear fell down my cheeks. My eyes caught sight of butterflies whizzing away from me."Leave the butterfly alone will ya?"I blinked realizing the butterfly wasn't whizzing away from me, I was running after it."I
Tom's POVI walked into my study with a spring in my step. I had decided not to go to the office and work from home instead. Wanted to enjoy the new comfort my secure study brought. Getting the camera and the sensor was the best idea I'd had in a damned while. To think it was Eve all along. Well, it did please me to find out it was Eve. It meant I could have fun with her. And it had been very fun watching her crumple to the ground like a sack of heaped potatoes. That bitch was as spineless as hell. One hit and she would be all over the floor, screaming like a banshee. That was what she got when she decided to break my rules. The audacity. I had gone too soft on her, hadn't I? She would never have dreamed of this years ago. Eve worshiped my every step and followed my rules to the letter. Suddenly breaking them had to be motivated by something else. And what could that be? I racked my brain hard but arrived at nothing. The next time she messed with me, I'd do worse than dunki
Adam's POVGolden.Eve's sultry eyes stared right back at me, warming me up, making me hard as rock. Her lips parted as those slim fingers reached up for me, wanting to hold me. She was sprawled all over the couch, dressed in that maddening dress from Maxwell's ball.Well technically, undressed. The dress was beneath her lovely breasts, pushing the beauties up for me to see. Teasing me and driving me mad. My mouth watered.She belongs to another. She isn't yours to take. My mind repeated like a mantra somewhere far away.A taste, I told myself. Just another taste. Just another taste and I would be fine."What do you think about the showroom, Mr Stone?"I blinked and the image of Eve sprawled over the couch disappeared. There was just a blue couch with frills at the edges.&n
Tom's POV "Pick a place," What place? I bit my bottom lip unsure of what to say. This was business and frankly I was tired of meeting at restaurants. Besides if I ever summoned the courage to do what Barlow wanted, I needed it to be somewhere private. "How about your office?" I suggested and heard him grunt. "Sounds good. What time will you make it here?" I glanced up at the clock in my office and down at the numerous files on my desk. "Say in thirty minutes?" The rest of my work could wait until later. I needed to know what exactly was on Adam Stone's mind. It had been two days since Finn called and he had been on my mind over and over again. Well not him, his demands rather. Get Stone in on the business? There was no way he would consent to it. Bu
Eve's POV Water cascaded down my skin, running through my fingers and then down my body. I closed my eyes, trying not to tremble or lose my mind at the feel of water on my skin. I could see it all again. Could feel that emptiness pulsing through me, driving me crazy. I could hear Tom's laughter as he dunked my head over and over in the bucket. As the water sloshed around my head, rushed down my throat and forced me to gargle on my spit. My eyes flashed open and I gasped, wrapping my hands around my neck trying to breathe easy. No. No please, a part of me begged as the memory played on and on in my head. I could feel his hands in my hair again, grabbing, pulling and spitting in my face. I could feel every slap, every blow, every kick to the stomach. I hated him. "I hate him with every single part of m
Madeline's POV "You're late," John sat in a booth, a glass of brandy or some other dour alcohol sloshing around it, sat on the table. He had a stern look on his face as if he were training a bunch of soldiers. The jackass probably felt like he could talk to me however he wanted because I had allowed him to be part of the plan. Dumbass. He had better have a valid reason for calling me out here. I was here running around, trying to make sure things worked out as we wanted it to. As I wanted it to. This was my dream anyways and John was just privileged to be a part of it. He had nothing to go to if one thought about it. He had nothing to do but join me anyway. If he hadn't joined me, what would he have done? Make a living? Without this deal, he had no hope of being set for life. Without me he was nothing. He had to
Madeline's POV "That sounds like a great idea, John!" I told him, pulling away to see the smug look on his face. He leaned back into his seat and grabbed the glass of brandy. "Good right? No one loves a pity party more than rich folks I tell you," he said, raising the glass at me. "Especially the women," Oh he was not wrong. Isabella Stone could be the female dragon the business world knew her to be. She was crazy, fierce and had single handedly held back sharks from eating up her husband's Business. Smart woman. Adam's father had left them with almost nothing but a run down foundation and loans to pay. But there was the fame of the Stone Foundation and the authenticity. At least that was how some magazine had described it. Adam's father wasn't much of a good