HAZEL STYLES POV Riven was crazy and so was the way he switched in an instant. One minute, he was smooth and charming, and the next, he was cold as ice. I didn't know how to react to the change.His words about my art still rang in my head. I didn't know how much I needed to hear that until he said it. My heart had taken a fucking nosedive, and up till now, I still couldn't breathe through the exhilaration of hearing that my art was good.But he was a bad person, and I just couldn't forget those words he said at that scene of the accident fifteen years ago. Did he know it was me? The girl he left to die. If he knew and apologized, would I be able to forgive him? Would he deserve it? My head was messed up. This was all Liam's fault. That bastard. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have crossed paths with Riven, and this wouldn't be happening right now. When this was all over, I was going to fucking hunt him down for what he did to me.His finger grazed my chin, and I flinched hard, my
HAZEL STYLES POV I felt trapped under his gaze. Was he really going to kiss me? Was I going to let him? He took a step closer, his piercing eyes making my heart beat frantically in my chest. "Riven," I called on a breath, my hand coming up to push at his chest, but he didn't budge. Why was he so ridiculously strong, or was it just me who didn't push hard enough? "Interesting" he murmured as his finger grazed my chin. "Do you really not want a kiss, Hazel?" He asked and I sucked in a breath. "Your eyes tell me you're conflicted, so why don't you just leave it all to me? Let me decide, Hazel. Let me give you what you want" He was so close, his warm breath danced across my face making my heart stutter. My gaze dropped to his chest, the proximity messing with my head. I flexed my hand against his skin, the rhythm of his heartbeat against my palm almost matching mine.He sucked in a breath and my gaze jerked up to his. There was a fire burning in their pits and it was consuming.His
RIVEN BLACKWOOD POV "I apologize, Victor. We were negligent and that led to you losing a lot of money, but rest assured, we will make sure to compensate with more than that which you have lost" The old man grimaced, the lines on his face deepening and making him look much uglier than before. I knew the words he was about to utter were going to piss me off, so I steeled myself."And why should I wait around to be compensated when I can take the matter into my own hands and find some other supplier? A more reliable supplier. Do you know what this means for my business? Do you know how much I am losing because of this" he got out, the anger in his voice palpable. I let out a sigh and raked my fingers through my hair. His narcotics order had been hijacked so I was sure he was beyond pissed, but he needed to watch his mouth.It was aggravating to listen to him whine, but Victor Vex was a major client and one of Father's close allies. Losing him wasn't going to be good for business. "Br
RIVEN BLACKWOOD POV "And you're so sure Hazel is going to fall for you" I grinned then turned to leave. "You can't go back just yet. Father wants to have dinner together tonight" I groaned. "Why?"Ethan shrugged. "How would I know? Maybe he heard about what happened with Victor's package, or maybe he just wants to have dinner""Does he have to do this every other night, though? If he has something to say, why does he not just use the goddamn phone he's always carrying around"Ethan gave me a tired smile as he walked past me. "Stop whining like a little boy, even though that's what you are"I grinned and bumped his shoulder. "Just because you're a year older than me doesn't mean I won't punch you in the face, Ethan""Like you did over Keira when Father made you the second in command and she commemorated it by letting me bend her over. You gave me a scar too," he said, pointing to where I'd slashed his face with a dagger. The scar was barely visible. That was because I hadn't cut as
HAZEL STYLES POV "Are you still getting creepy messages from that number?" Lena asked as we strolled through the clothing aisle. "Oh my, these dresses are gorgeous" "They are, aren't they?" I said as I felt the texture of a particular ivory-colored dress. "And no, I haven't gotten another message" Lena stopped in front of me. "You don't have to worry so much about it then. It was borderline stalkerish but since they already stopped, maybe they decided they were creepy after sending you that message" "I hope so. I really can't deal with any more problems. Riven is already plenty enough" Lena grinned. "True, but he's a hot problem," she said, adding a wink, and I shook my head."I see you've forgotten just how hard he tied you up the last time" Lena giggled. "I didn't forget, but since he's so generously offered you such a good deal, I think we should forgive him" "I still don't know his motive tho""I think he likes you and that's why he's doing all these. You said he told you h
HAZEL STYLES POV My gaze locked on those of Liam and he smirked, his smile stretching as he pulled the girl at his side closer, his hand splayed on her waist possessively. "Hi, Hazel. Fancy running into you here. Wait, don't tell me you're having one of your shopping episodes or did you miss me and decided to relieve old memories" "You mean those horrible shitty memories you ugly ass..." "Lena," I called warningly, and she glared at me. "He's the one being a dick" Lena pouted, her brows dipping in a frown."It's fine. I don't care, and you shouldn't either," I said, then took a deep breath. "We should go, or we are going to be late," I said, deciding to ignore him. I had been good to him but I could see that didn't mean shit to him. He wanted to hurt me. It was plain and simple. I was not going to give him the satisfaction."You don't have to be in a hurry to leave Hazel; you're just going to go back to your little prison, right, or to your therapist... You'll probably have a dr
RIVEN BLACKWOOD POV ‘Help me’Those two words lurked in my mind, Hazel's blood-drenched face flickering in my memory.I could still remember the fear that had crept Into her eyes when she saw me through the car window, yet she'd still asked for me to save her.Witnessing the death of Styles and his family had been satisfying, especially after what they did to my family through Julian, but then I'd locked eyes with Hazel and she'd reached for me to save her.Even back then, she'd had a vicious hold on me that I was unable to shake no matter how hard I tried. Walking away despite her plea had made me feel as if I was suffocating, and the feeling only intensified with each step I took. In the end, I had to dash for the burning car like a maniac to rescue her.Despite the bad blood between the Styles and the Blackwood, to me, Hazel had always been innocent. Too bad it had to come to this. She was Julian's weakness, and I was going to exploit it to get my revenge.Did she remember me? I
HAZEL STYLES POV "Julian" I gasped, my breath catching in my throat. "Julian. Julian, what are you doing here?" I stuttered. "What the hell do you mean what am I doing here" he thundered, his spit flying. "I saw the fucking news. How dare you go behind my back and do something like this, and then I come here to see you kissing that bastard?" he shouted, as he stepped closer.My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach, and I took a few steps back. "It's not what you think... I promise it's not what it looks like at all"His gaze was venomous, but they weren't trained on me, and before I could get another word out, he was throwing a punch at Riven. My eyes widened, a yelp escaping my lips as Riven grabbed his hand with ease and shoved him hard, a smirk on his lips."That's not a very nice way to say hi, Julian," he said, then suddenly punched him in the face. Julian roared and rushed at him; the sound of their fists driving into each other was sickening. I watched them fight in dread
HAZEL STYLES POV He watched me, his eyes dark and intense."Are you sure?" he asked, his voice a rough whisper. "I might not be able to stop if you change your mind in the middle, little rabbit" It was a warning. My stomach flipped. But I really wanted it. I needed him to touch me, I wanted him to do bad things to me. Fuck the consequences.My fingers caressed his cheek, my gaze locked on his. "I want you to make love to me" I whispered.He smiled, the smirk on his lips making my heart stutter in my chest."Good girl," he said and was going to kiss me, but then his eyes widened, and the next thing I knew was being shoved and hard.I slammed into the counter, my head blanking out for a few seconds.What the hell...I barely finished the thought when the windows exploded, shards of glass raining down on us as gunfire erupted, bullets flying into the room and shattering everything at the top of the counter. The sound was deafening.My instinct told me to run. I started to get up."Sta
RIVEN BLACKWOOD POV Hazel had cried for me. And I still couldn't wrap my mind around it.She'd shed ugly tears for my pain and kissed my scars as if they were the most beautiful part of me.I pressed the shover button, my head dropping against the wall as the water poured in torrents around me, beating hard against my neck and back.Hazel was killing me.She'd cried for me, and it wasn't just because she pitied me; no, I could tell by her eyes that she'd been truly hurt that I was hurt. She had seen my pain that everyone else chose to ignore, and it had broken her.My heart burned in my chest.I could still see her face in my head, the redness of her eyes, the tip of her nose, and the way her lips trembled as she said sorry repeatedly. I was sure that I was forgiven for lying to her. It should have made me happy.But I was selfish, and It wasn't enough for me. I wanted more. I wanted her to choose to stay with me, I wanted her to love me, with all my scars and fucked upness.The wat
HAZEL STYLES POV Riven's lashes were thick.I stared at him, my eyes taking in every minute detail of his features as he slept. This was the first time I had seen him so sound asleep, and it did things to my heart that it had no right to. Why was he still here? Most times, he was gone when I opened my eyes. I tilted my head, my bottom lip between my teeth as I watched him. He looked breathtakingly handsome.How could someone so beautiful be so fucked up.But wasn't I also fucked up since I couldn't get him out of my head? Riven was dangerous. I should be running for the hills, so why was I here, watching him. Why did I feel like if I left, I would be making a mistake?Every time he came near me, it was like my brain circuited. Sometimes, I couldn't even remember my own name. Sure, he was hot, but I've seen a lot of hot guys, so why was it with Riven, my brain absolutely stopped working.He said he saved me that night.Could I really trust his words? Was that even a question when I
ETHAN BLACKWOOD POV "You should stop contacting me Asher, I told you, that was the only help I was going to be rendering""What the hell are you talking about. You gave your word that you were going to help us destroy Riven"I scoffed. "And you believed that. You must be more stupid than I thought. Did you really think that I was going to destroy my family business just because I hate Riven"There was a pause and I smirked just imagining the look on his face."Then why the fuck did you help us. You were the one who provided us with that video"I grinned, staring at my phone. "I was just trying to spice up Riven's relationship because he seemed to be very into it and wasn't doing much about it"I could feel him start to get angry."Don't fucking play me around you bastard, I know that's not why you did it""And what else would be my reason, Asher? I was just bored and needed a little distraction. I've had my fun, so I have no need for you any longer. Don't call this line—""The fuck y
RIVEN BLACKWOOD POV "Are you going to eat that, or do you need me to feed you?" I asked as she played around with her food."I don't need you to do anything for me" she snapped without looking up at me.I watched her, my fingers twitching as I waited for her to meet my gaze. She didn't. It wasn't surprising. Hazel was stubborn like that.My hands trembled as the ache in my chest grew. Not having her attention was starting to get to me.It hadn't been this bad before, but since last night, my obsession had gotten worse, and how could it not? Her taste still lingered on my tongue like an aphrodisiac and I could still feel her heart pounding beneath my palm, driving me insane with the urge to touch her, to claim her, to make her totally mine.She looked up at me, the frown on her face making her brows dip inward. "You want to have sex with me, don't you? That's why you keep staring at me"I grinned, my brows arching. Could she see into my head now? "Yes," I answered, my gaze dropping to
HAZEL STYLES POV I lay on the edge of the bed, blindfolded, wrists bound, waiting for him to make his next move.Soft music suddenly filled the room making it hard to pick up his movements."Riven," I called, then gasped as he suddenly clasped My thighs and spread my legs wider.My heart skittered in my chest, my breath coming in shallow bursts and then it was the waiting game all over again and this time it went on for much longer Anticipation gnawed at my insides, twisting them into knots. Was Riven not doing anything because he didn't like what he saw. All the shit Liam always said about my body and how unattractive it was suddenly hit me from all directions.Was that what was happening right now? Riven looking at me and finding me unattractive.I clenched my hand.Was he considering walking away, leaving me aching for a release he was too disgusted to give.Humiliation burned my chest, filling my veins with fire. I started to pull myself up, then gasped, the fire in my veins
HAZEL STYLES POV We were in the middle of nowhere. I stared at the tall trees that spawned for miles in front of me, my heart pounding hard in my chest.Just where the hell had he taken me."Do you like the view?" Riven asked, and my gaze snapped to his? He had a smile on his face and it only got wider as I glared at him. "You have to admit that it's such a pretty view even if you're mad" My head throbbed. How the hell was I supposed to get out of here. Staying with him for days was already messing with my head.It had been so hard to convince him to let me get out of the house; if I'd known that this was going to be my view, I wouldn't have bothered. God damn it why was everything so hard in my life."You don't like it?" he asked, his brows furrowing.I glared at him, "How am I supposed to enjoy the view when I have this on" I bit out and pointed to the collar on my neck. "Are you taking your fucking dog on a walk? Is that what this is"His gaze dropped to my neck, the smile on hi
JULIAN STYLES POV "Where is she?" I asked, getting up from my seat as Asher walked in. "Tell me you have even an inkling as to where that bastard took her"The look on his face told me everything I needed to know. There was still nothing.I clutched at my hair, the stinging pain on my scalp doing nothing to lessen the anxiety gnawing away at my heart.God, I was losing my mind. Just how many days has it been? Three, four, five... Five fucking days."You need to calm down Julian. We just have a few more of the BlACKWOOD properties to check out. If you'll just be patient...""Do I look like I have the patience? I am so sick of hearing you throw that word at me. It's been five days. Five days of her locked up with that maniac, and you tell me to be patient""There is nothing else to be done, Julian. It's Riven Blackwood we are talking about here. Do you think he would make it easy to find him""If he can't be found then I have no choice but to force him out. Tomorrow morning, I'll make
HAZEL STYLES POV He was looking straight at me. Not at the knife I was holding, just straight up staring into my eyes. He really didn't care that I could kill him. Or maybe he did. There was no telling what went on in his head. This was probably all a game to him I gritted my teeth and then brought the knife down, my eyes clenching shut.Breathing hard through the lump in my throat, I slowly opened my eyes and met his gaze, the rage in my chest lessening.Russet eyes met mine and I let out a rough exhale before yanking out the knife from the bedding where I'd stabbed into.He watched me, his eyes tracing my face."I am not someone who gets off on the pain of other Riven. I won't be playing your fucked up games," I breathed and tried to move off of him when he suddenly grabbed me by the waist and flipped us over.My back hit the bed, disorienting me for a second. Heat washed over me as I stared eyes wide at him in surprise. Was I just tossed around like I weighed nothing?His body