Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

PETAL

"Who let you get that dress?" I spin around to see Vaughn. Or as I call him Valen. I think I'm the only one that would dare call him a nickname. The loneliness and sadness that had settled in evaporates. How can I be at a party with over fifty people and feel alone? I'll never understand, but it's always that way when I'm back here. A house that has never been my home.

"I didn't think you were coming." I rush over toward him.

He's in a tux but the bow tie is undone—or maybe he never tied it to begin with. To be honest, it only adds to his appeal. I launch myself into his arms. I know he told me to stop doing that a few years ago, but I don't care. Valen catches me, the same way he always does.

"I wasn't going to." He holds me for a long moment. His nose grazes my neck. I swear he breathes me in, or maybe it's only me doing that to him. The smell of him is always comforting. It reminds me of home and so many other things from my childhood.

"I missed you." That is the understatement of the year. I've more than missed him.

"I saw you a few days ago." He had on Christmas. I always get to see Valen on the holidays. The only reason I come back for them is because I know he'll be there. It's the only time he comes over to my aunt and uncle's place. He and his parents. They've made sure to remain in my life.

Valen's parents are closer to me than my own family. I never understood why I was left in the care of my father's brother. We weren't close to them. In fact, I can only remember seeing them a handful of times before that.

I could only guess it was because my Uncle Cooper had two kids of his own, and my parents thought it would be better for me to grow up around kids my own age. Still, I know David and Judith Valentinus aren't my blood, but they have been in my life more than anyone else. That meant Valen had been too. At first, he was like an older brother to me. That was until I grew up and started looking at him differently.

Our parents owned ValenScott Corp together. Both our fathers created the telecommunication services business decades ago. I suppose now I own it with the Valentinuses. Really it's Valen that does everything when it comes to ValenScott. He wasn't given much of a choice after the accident.

He had big shoes to fill after my parents died. His own parents barely made it out alive themselves. It took David three months to wake up from his coma. It had been a miracle that anyone survived that crash.

I bear my own scares from the night that changed all our lives. The only one untouched was Valen. He hadn't been with us. He'd still been making the trip back home from college to meet us all for an event hosted by our moms. He had come home most weekends back then. His college was only an hour away.

I don't remember any of it. One second I was in a vehicle, and the next Valen was standing over me, the sounds of beeping machines all around. Valen might have come out untouched physically, but he was thrust from being some college kid to full-on adulthood in the blink of an eye. It wasn't only us he had to think about. He was now the head of a company with over a hundred thousand employees.

I don't blame him for not wanting to be in this house. I don't care to be around my aunt and uncle either. My Uncle Cooper's resemblance to my dad can be hard to deal with. I think if I loved my uncle, I might feel differently. He might resemble my dad, but he is nothing like him.

He and his wife are always comparing me to my cousin, Tia. She's a grade-A bitch but no one else sees that but me. She is very good at hiding it. Everyone think's Tia is perfect. On the outside, she is. Her modeling career is proof enough of that. Too bad her inside doesn't match. She's rotten to the core.

"Yeah, but before that it had been forever."

"Thanksgiving," he reminds me.

"Whatever," I huff. He slowly puts me back on my feet, but I don't let him go. "Where have you been?" It's New Year's Eve. It's almost midnight. "Another party?" I bite the inside of my cheek. Why put on a tux to come to a New Year's Eve party right before the party is close to ending? Unless you'd been at another party before. The thought of him celebrating with someone else threatens to sour my mood.

"At home. I got caught up working."

"Are you lying to me?" I drop my head back to stare up at him.

"I was working."

"You're always working. You could have been spending your night with me." I rise to my tiptoes and kiss his cheek. "Will you kiss me?" I whisper next to his ear. I can't help but tempt him.

"Petal." He breathes my name.

"It's almost midnight." I lick my lips. His eyes drop to them. "I bought the dress for you," I admit. It's not something I'd normally wear. It's tight and shiny. It draws more attention than I care for unless it draws his. My shoulders are bare, the faded lines of some of my scars from the accident showing. "You told me to stop hiding." Normally I made sure to cover them up.

Valen closes his eyes. I'm never sure where he and I stand. "We shouldn't," he finally says, opening his eyes. I can see the conflict in them. People start to count down.

"Are you really going to make a girl beg for her first kiss?" I tease. People are still counting down.

"No." He kisses me before they reach one. His mouth presses hard against mine. I melt into him. Valen's tongue slides across the seam of my lips. I part them for him, and he deepens the kiss. I moan into his mouth.

Valen's arm wraps around me and pulls me close. My heart is beating so quickly that it feels as though it's going to come out of my chest. The hard outline of his cock pressing against my stomach only makes it worse.

"More," he groans, his mouth leaving mine to travel down my neck. My eyes flutter open to only find darkness. I don't remember moving, but Valen must have led us into another room. "I'm going to need to taste way more."

It's not a question. Not that he needs to ask. I'm Valen's. I've always thought of myself as his. I never listen to other things I hear about him from people. Gossip in these circles can be terrible, so I do my best to stay away from it. Being away at a boarding school can help with that to a degree. I choose to believe Valen sees himself as mine as well.

"Valen." I gasp when I feel him drop down in front of me. My back hits a wall as he pins me to it.

"So damn soft." His fingers glided up my legs, pushing up my dress.

"Oh God," I moan when he pulls my panties to the side, his warm breath teasing my clit. Damn, I wish the lights were on. I want to see him so badly.

"You're turned on. I can smell you."

"You do this to me. I always get this way when I see you." He lets out another groan before burying his face between my thighs, pulling one of my legs up onto his shoulder. I brace my hand on his other, needing to cling to something as his mouth devours me. "Valen," I moan.

I can't believe he's doing this. How long have I wanted this? Dreamed of it even. Valen is finally acting on our unspoken feelings for one another.

A groan rumbles from him when he pushes a finger inside of me. His tongue first circles my clit before latching on to it. It's shameful, but that's all it takes to push me over the edge. I cry out his name as the orgasm rushes through my body. The pleasure is beyond anything I ever could've imagined. I should have known it would be this way with him.

"Pet." Valen slowly lowers me until my one foot is back on the ground before he rises to his feet. His mouth meets mine in another kiss, giving me a taste of my lingering orgasm on his lips. I want to give him the same pleasure he gave me. When I reach down to touch his cock, I gasp, not realizing he already has it out.

Valen presses it against my clit. A grunt leaves him as he strokes himself a few times against my slick folds before groaning my name, his warm release hitting my clit. He doesn't stop there, though; he continues to rub the head of his cock up and down it, sending me into another orgasm.

I let out a gasp when the head of his cock sinks into me. He jerks, and I feel him come more inside of me.

"Fuck," he mutters, his cock slipping from me before he pulls my panties back into place, both of our releases soaking them. The cotton material makes them stick to my sex. "We shouldn't have done that."

"Don't say that." His words immediately bring me back down to reality.

"Petal, you're in high school." My eyes have adjusted somewhat to the darkness, but it's hard to make out more than the outline of his face. Not that I need to. I know what expression he has on it. I've memorized every detail of him.

"I'm eighteen," I point out.

"High school," he grits out.

Valen pulls my dress down and back into place. The sound of his zipper is loud in the room even with the party in full swing feet away. His phone starts to vibrate. Valen pulls it out, glancing at the screen.

"They're looking for us."

"Who?"

"My parents. You go out first. I'll follow behind in a few minutes."

"No, you go first. I need a second." He takes an audible breath.

"Fine." He brushes his mouth against mine in a feather-like kiss. I go to grab him and pull him back, but he's gone before I ever get the chance.

I stand there for a few minutes trying to collect myself. My heart is still racing. I might have orgasmed twice, but still my body wants more of him. When it comes to Valen, I never get enough. He's been so distant since I requested to be sent to boarding school.

I might be under my uncle's care, but there are a few things I got to choose, and boarding school was one. I hated being in this house. The reminder of why hits me the second I step back into the party to see Valen standing with his parents and my aunt and uncle. Of course my cousin Tia is there fawning all over Valen. The same way she always does.

I hate it. I hate her.

She is only a few years younger than Valen. They went to the same university together. More than once she's talked about how the two of them have hung out. It drove me insane. I know she tells me on purpose, and that's what really gets to me. It's part of the reason I chose to leave here. If I wasn't here, there would be no reason for Valen and his parents to visit. They are my family, and I'll do whatever I have to in order to keep it that way.

Tia notices me first and smirks, placing her hand on Valen's arm. I have the urge to go over there and rip it away, but I control myself. I watch as Valen glances down at her. There isn't one flaw to Tia's perfect skin. Not wanting to watch the show Tia is going to put on, I turn and leave, going back up to my bedroom.

I remind myself that freedom is closer than it ever has been.

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