Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 80643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Until he crosses a line with me, and we’re pulled into a twisted, chaotic game.
Noah is straight. Preppy. Rich as sin. Everything I’m not.
When I catch my stepbrother rifling through my belongings like a stalker, it sparks something inside me I can’t shake.
Let the frat boy stalk me a little. I’m going to stalk him right back.
One night, the mutual hatred sparks between us. We collide, and he gets a taste of me he can’t quit.
What we’re doing is bad. Wrong. …Completely consuming.
But I witness something I shouldn’t one night when Noah is attacked by a violent man.
When a stranger lays a hand on my new obsession, I explode.
Protecting him is my salvation.
Now we’ve crossed a line forever, and there’s no chance I’m losing this game.
No one can hurt him. Mafia ties run deep in Onyx Society, and we’ve stepped on the wrong rival’s shoes.
Noah is broken. Vulnerable. I see the sea of emotion behind his perfect exterior.
He claims he still despises me, even when we’re close. But with his life under threat, I risk everything to defend what’s mine.
When he says I’m crazy, I say:
I am. And you are, too.
Because I know we’ll both do whatever it takes to win this forbidden game
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Prologue
TORIN
From the first day I meet Noah, it’s obvious that he’s the type of person who always gets what he wants.
Noah Vancliff.
Son of Phillip Vancliff II.
Grandson of Phillip Vancliff I.
I already know his bloodline, his net worth, his legacy, before I ever look him in those sleepy, deep blue eyes.
And when I do, I know he can’t stand what he sees.
I don’t belong.
Just because his father is fucking my mother, does that mean Noah owes a single thing to me?
I’m a threat to that stable, generational legacy, like a Molotov cocktail chucked straight into his family tree.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get a twisted satisfaction when he sees me for what I am: someone who will never give him everything he wants on a gilded platter like the rest of the world does.
If we’re cursed to become stepbrothers, then I’m going to play this like a fucking game.
Noah Vancliff always gets what he wants… but me?
I always win.
1
Noah
When things are going a little bit too well, that’s when I know something catastrophic is coming.
Like here in this gleaming, grand hotel lobby.
I could dip, but skipping your own father’s wedding to your lovely new stepmother would be frowned upon in my family, to say the least.
So would screaming my lungs out.
And setting myself on fire.
And murderous intent.
All things that have crossed my mind since this day began.
“Yo,” Wes says, waving his hand in front of my eyes. “Earth to Noah. You okay?”
I take a sip of the strong macchiato I’ve been nursing for too long. “Other than feeling like there are crosshairs on my back? Like I’m prey being hunted for slaughter? Besides that, I’m peachy.”
And there’s a good reason for that.
“Dramatic,” Weston says, gingerly reaching for the paper coffee cup in my hand. “How many shots of espresso have you had today?”
“Two,” I tell him. “Plus another three, but those were hours ago. The light espresso roast they have at this hotel absolutely fucks.”
“So maybe the reason you’re feeling ‘hunted’ is because your veins contain more caffeine than blood at this point? Give me that.”
I clamp my fist around the cup as he tries to pry it from my hand for a moment, before deciding he’s probably right and giving it up.
I pull in a long breath. “Can you do me a favor, Weston?”
“Anything.”
“Punch me right here repeatedly,” I ask, pointing to my temple. “Maybe I can be unconscious for this wedding.”
His expression is so kind it gives me a guilty pang in my chest. “I’d rather give you a hug, dude. Hey, what’s the Latin word for how you’d describe today?”
Weston loves the fact that I can recite things in Latin, and I’m happy to provide the entertainment. I search my brain for the right one.
“Calamitas.”
“Calamity? Noah, it’s not going to be that bad.”
I exhale. “You know exactly how bad it’s going to be.”
Wes gives me a sympathetic look. “Don’t let the fuckface win like that. Just make it clear to Torin that you’re not going to let him push you around. Easy.”
Hearing his name makes my jaw clench.
Torin Jensen is about to become my stepbrother, the moment my dad gets married today.
On paper, Torin is perfect.
That’s how he likes it to seem.
But he’s made it his job to fuck with my sanity since the moment Dad started dating his mother four years ago.
It’s like he’s been auditioning for the role of angelic stepson with my dad even before the wedding was planned. He just got back from a one-year volunteer position where he built tiny homes from scratch, one by one, with a charity group that my father donates millions to every year.
Perfect.
Torin is so good at woodworking that he was also featured in a photoshoot on Lumber Depot’s Instagram page three months ago. Shirtless, of course. Hauling two-by-fours over his shoulder.
People in the comments called the shoot “10 Things I Hate About Shirts,” saying he looked like a young Heath Ledger.
Fucking.
Perfect.
The company page got thousands and thousands of thirsty comments, and they raised many thousands for charity, too.
Just hang a halo over his big, blond head.
“How long do you think it will be before someone here asks him for a selfie?” I ask Weston.
Weston snorts. “Torin would probably eat that shit up.”
“Of course he would. He loves attention.”
“I mean, the photoshoot was for a good cause. Even if it ended up being a showcase for his abs.”
I lift my eyebrows. “You’ve seen the photoshoot?”
Weston scratches the back of his head. “I mean, it was all over the internet for a few days. At least… my corners of the internet. I’m pretty sure everyone saw it at least once.”
“Lovely. Maybe everyone in the frat has seen the shirtless psycho, too.”
Weston exhales, giving me a sympathetic look. “Okay. I’m just going to say it. We all looked at it. Multiple times. We just didn’t want you to know about it because you and Torin are so…”