Mr. Heartbreaker: Black Mountain Academy

“Then your aunt is a fool,” he says and he pushes hair behind my ear again, his thumb brushing along the side of my chin.

“Can you stop this, Mike?”

“Stop what?” he asks, and he looks genuinely confused.

“Being nice to me when we both know you just want one thing here.” I grumble, reminding myself, more than him, that I can’t trust him. I can’t let Mike’s actions hide the truth from me.

“And what would that be, Violet?”

“To fuck me. This show is nice and all, Mike, but I prefer you just being your asshole self.”

“You think I’m only being nice to you for show?”

“Of course, I do. You’re the same guy who is blackmailing me,” I point out.

“Angel, if you let me, I could make sure you like the way I’m nice to you,” he says, and his face drops down like he’s going to kiss me.

In that moment, I really want his kiss. I want it and I know I shouldn’t.

“And with that we’re done,” I mutter. I’ve got his door opened and I’m outside before Mike can even pull away from me. I slam the car door and start walking toward the drive. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I get there, I just know that I have to get away from Mike Huntington.

Mike rolls his window down and calls out. I don’t turn around, but I stop walking, close my eyes and wish the ground would swallow me up where I’m standing.

“You can keep running from me Violet. That’s okay, because I wouldn’t expect you to make it easy for me, but you need to know that I’m not going anywhere. I’m not going to allow you to run away from what’s between us, either.”

It’s similar to shit he’s said to me before. It’s a good line, but I know that’s all it truly is. For whatever reason, I’ve captured his attention. That will wear off soon enough, and when it does, Mike will move on and find another woman to torture.

“What’s between us is the fact that you’re forcing me to spend time with you. It’s nothing more and nothing less,” I snap, and then I walk up the driveway. I get to the door and wonder how I’m going to bluff my way out of this, but I shouldn’t have worried. Mike takes off before I make it up to the top step. I guess I finally managed to piss him off.

Thank goodness.

I’m praying he’ll leave me alone now that he knows I’m not going to be an easy mark. I don’t have much hope, but a girl can dream.17MikeI watch from a distance as Violet jogs back down the driveway. I knew right off that she was lying about the house being her aunt’s. That house belongs to Kiera Sheppard from school. I’ve had a few classes with Keira. She’s cute, although a little too sweet for my taste, so I’ve never tried to tap her. Besides, rumor around school is that she’s hung up on Reese.

It’s the classic storybook romance, good girl in love with a boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Too bad Mr. Sheppard would never agree to it, or maybe that’s his wife. Mr. Sheppard owns the Black Mountain Savings and Loan in town, and while he seems like a good guy, his wife constantly walks around with a glass of wine in her hand while reminding everyone of her husband’s money. I don’t know for sure, but I figure Keira might be as miserable as I am when it comes to her parents.

I decide to follow Violet and see exactly what she’s hiding. For some reason, she doesn’t want me to know where she lives. That annoys the shit out of me, but soon Violet will learn that I’m going to know all of her little secrets.

She walks down to the bus stop we passed on the way here. I keep my distance, parking on the street a good distance away from her. I’m confused as hell. How far does she live from town? Why wouldn’t she let me take her home? I would totally have driven her home, not caring if it was hours away, which is highly doubtful, since she goes to school at Black Mountain.

I follow the bus and get more upset by the minute. She’s headed toward that damn strip club. The closer we get, the more pissed off I get. I don’t want her dancing and letting men put money in her G-string. I don’t want them fantasizing about her, and I sure as fuck don’t want her giving them material to use when they go home to jerk off. I’m going to have to put a stop to her dancing there. If she wants to rebel against her aunt or some shit like that, then she can be my private dancer.