Caindale (In works)
an excerpt

I watched him get dressed from where I lay on my bed. “What were you doing in Las Vegas?” I asked. “It did have something to do with my brothers, didn’t it?”

Nick smirked, adjusting the collar on his jacket. “Ah, Isabel,” he sighed. He sat on the edge of my bed, running his fingers down my spine. His attitude faltered just slightly and I saw a brief hint of vulnerability. “You truly do know me better than anyone.”

Knowing it was likely an act, I just scoffed.

“What reason would I have to lie to you about that?” he asked. “What’s the point? I know you, just as well as you know me. No one in the world can read me like you do.”

I just shook my head a little and closed my eyes, feeling his fingers trail along my back.

“It’s a perverse catch twenty-two, isn’t it?” he continued. “You attract and repel me at the same time. If you were any different, I wouldn’t come near you. But because you cling and cry the way you do, I can never truly be with you. I could love you, Isabel…if you didn’t disgust me so much.”

The small piece of my heart that he’d warmed with his body shriveled back into a cold, hard lump with his words. “We all have our little problems, don’t we?”

“Yes,” he admitted. “But right now, you have more problems than most.”

“Thanks for telling me. I never would have known without your guidance.” The last word was a sneer.

“I have to admit, I’m a little surprised. I thought you would be smarter by now and not let me in like this again.” He grabbed a handful of my hair, making me gasp with surprise. “Hell, I didn’t even have to threaten you with Maggie like I did that egotistical ass Gabriel.”

“M-Maggie…?” I was confused and he was craning my head back so my neck bent painfully. “What have you done, Nick?”

“Don’t worry, sweet,” he purred into my ear. “I’ll make sure you stay safe. I detest this connection between us but it rather seems like a force of nature, doesn’t it?”

“Go to hell,” I hissed.

He clicked his tongue and shook his head. “You’re still not to the point where you can mean that.”

Talon grabbed my chin with his free hand and wrenched. I felt something snap and then everything went black.