“No, princess,” I growled. “I’m going to take you myself.”I felt like a douchebag standing in front of her door in my custom-cut tux. I even brought her a goddamn corsage.
But the truth was, I just wanted Violet to have an amazing time. She would be forced to grow up all too quickly soon enough, and I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I deprived her of this simple pleasure she deserved as a teenager.
I wasn’t sure whether she told her dad I was coming, and I felt myself sweating as I pulled through their gates. Before I could even kill the engine in front of the Cabot Estate, the passenger door flew open and there she was. My princess.
“Hello,” she said, beaming at me as she got into the car. “Do you know where we’re going? Do you need directions?”
I took one long look at her in that sinful little dress and managed to say, “Get out of the car.”
“What?” Her mouth gaped open in shock. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“Just do it.”
We both got out of the car, and I walked over to the passenger side. Violet was holding herself, shivering in the cool evening air. She wasn’t wearing anything over her dress, and as I approached her, I shrugged my tux jacket off and placed it over her shoulders. She shot me a surprised look when I did it.
Is it really so hard to believe I can be a nice guy sometimes?
“Why are you suddenly being so nice to me?” she muttered.
Yes.
Yes, it is. Because it’s just not in my fucking nature.
“Maybe it’s because you look so pretty tonight,” I told her before I could stop myself.
She flushed at the sound of my words and I smirked at her before pulling out the red rose corsage I’d gotten her. Violet’s eyes widened as I approached her, wrapping it around her wrist. She was thrilled, I could tell, and I was glad I’d made all her dreams of a perfect prom come true.
“Back in the car.” My eyes were burning with the need to touch her.
She gave me a shy smile before getting back inside my red Porsche 959 Coupe. I put the directions to her school in my GPS and we drove in companionable silence interrupted by the sound of the music I had playing.
“I love this song,” she muttered, twisting the buttons so the car was drowned by the sound of the singer’s sexy, sultry voice. “I didn’t know you liked it, too.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” I told her with a grin.
“I wish I did,” she replied with a wistful smile. “We used to be so close, Devlin. What changed?”
I looked at her out of the corner of my eyes. She looked fucking breathtaking, but how was I supposed to tell her the truth?
You’re too young, and I want you too much.
“I’ve been busy,” I lied through gritted teeth. “You know my father wants me involved in the business.”
“Oh yes, I know,” she laughed out loud. “But since when do you listen to what Dominic Windsor wants, Devlin?”
She was right, so I rewarded her with an affectionate smile just as we pulled up in front of her high school. I parked the car and got out, opening the door for her. She got out, looking like a fucking vision in that sinful little dress, her excited, sparkling eyes meeting mine for reassurance.
“You’ll do great, princess,” I told her. “I’ll make sure you have a blast.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, beaming.
I led her into the school. The prom theme was ‘Heaven and Hell’. Who knows how the fuck that got approved with some of the religious freaks that were part of her private school. I now understood Violet’s black-and-red dress a bit better.
“I thought you’d go as an angel,” I muttered in her ear as we made our way into the building.
She looked up at me, sparks flying between us.
“You don’t think I can be a devil?” she asked flirtatiously.
“No,” I ground out. “I think there’s only room for one devil in this city, and that’s me.”SevenViolet“There’s nothing we can do?” I sat at the table across from Raymond, going over the court order that required me to vacate the Cabot Estate by the end of the day.
“No. I’ve called every judge I know—they don’t want to touch this at all. They are using the Patriot Act to keep from having to show us the evidence they have against your father. I mean, fuck the Constitution, right? Pardon my language.” Raymond sighed angrily. “All they have to do is say the word terrorist and suddenly everyone is afraid to get involved.”
“Yeah, most of my friends won’t even return my calls.” I stared at the documents and shook my head. “Even the ones that will have been quick to tell me that their parents don’t want them talking to them.”