Pretty Sinner (The Oligarchs)

He was a big bastard. It always surprised me whenever I saw him in person. Kaspar was muscular and lean, not quite wiry, but well-formed. His handsome lips were pulled into a frown, and his pretty-boy eyes stared lust at Penny like he was about to take her in front of me.

I’d probably let him. Hell, I’d watch. Penny was hot and so was Kaspar. I wouldn’t mind. They’d look nice fucking, his lips wrapped around her perky nipples, his thick cock pumping into her tight little rich girl cunt.

The thought made me wet, which was yet another proof that I was slightly more fucked up than average.

“You’ve been ignoring my calls,” Kaspar said, stating the obvious, the freaking troll.

“I don’t want to talk.” Penny looked toward the library. It was her salvation—Kaspar wouldn’t follow her into the brightly lit and crowded entry hall. “Please just let me go study.”

“Come out with me this weekend. There’s a party—”

“No, thanks. I need to study.” She went to move around him.

Kaspar grabbed her arm and nobody moved.

It was the first time he touched her. So far, his stalking was relatively innocent. Lots of calls, some creepy appearances at the dorm, that sort of thing, but he kept his hands to himself.

Now the smarmy bastard was getting handsy.

I kept my mouth shut and watched eagerly.

Penny stared into his eyes. “Let me go.” There was a fierceness to her that I hadn’t expected.

Which was good to know. When I went to kill her, she’d fight back.

“Have dinner with me.” His grip tightened. “I want to get to know you, Penny.”

“I don’t care what you want. Now let me go before I kick you in the fucking balls.”

I grinned. She never cursed. Good on her.

He released her arm. “You can’t deny whatever this is between us forever.”

“Get over it, Kaspar. Whatever you think’s happening is all in your head.”

“You want me as much as I want you.”

She shook her head. “I don’t.” And walked away.

Kaspar watched her go with a hot, fiery yearning that sent a chill down my spine.

If a man looked at me like that, I’d probably wrap my legs around his face and let him go to town.

As I followed her, Kaspar looked at me like he was seeing me for the first time. I smiled sweetly at him, batting my eyes.

“Better luck next time, lover boy,” I said, grinning.

“Why didn’t you help her?” he asked quietly as Penny reached the steps.

I felt a jolt and slowed down. My smile faded away. “She had things in hand.”

“She didn’t.” He cocked his head. “You stood there watching like you loved every second.”

“You don’t know me, shit brains.”

I quickly walked away, catching up to Penny.

But Kaspar was watching me as we disappeared into the library lobby, swallowed by light and sound and people.

We were safe, but that lingering stare from Kaspar left a shiver on my skin, and I wondered what else he’d noticed these past few weeks.

I’d have to be more careful. The man was obsessed—but he was smart and observant.

That might be a problem.

7

Penny

Present Day

Rome, Italy

I was in one of the most beautiful cities in the world and all I wanted to do was go home.

Funny how that worked.

I spent so much of my life dreaming of the outside. I wanted to go everywhere: London, Paris, Vienna, Tokyo. I scrolled through pictures of other cities for hours and hours, pretending that I was taking a tour and not stuck in the Servant Manor, surrounded by expensive, impersonal comfort.

Now, finally, I got out. And all I could do was think about getting away.

My first year at Blackwoods was similar. At first, it was like a dream. All through my childhood, I was shuttled between the main Servant Manor and our large apartment in Manhattan, and was never allowed to do anything on my own—there were always bodyguards and staff hovering around. My family was protective to the extreme, and that only got worse after Livvie died.

But Blackwoods was a refuge. For those four years while school was in session, I had freedom to live like an adult, make my own choices, and experience life the way everyone else got to live it. I could be normal for a little while, and I soaked that in during the initial few weeks.

Then I met Kaspar, and that lovely illusion began to fall apart.

Like with Rome, he managed to take something lovely and tarnish it with blood and terror.

I stretched out on a plush bed and stared up at the ceiling. I didn’t know how I could float from one beautiful room to the next, always taken care of, always given whatever I wanted, and yet still feel so empty. Because really, I had nothing—no skills, no job, no purpose.

If I ceased to exist, the world would continue on as if nothing had happened.