Beauty of a crystal

CHAPTER 19

To understand this part, please go back to Chapter 7 paragraph 16
Other than that enjoy.
This chapter was not proofread

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PAST

CRYSTAL'S POV

"Mona was ecstatic, jumping up and down with excitement. "A BALL!" she exclaimed, holding up a dress in front of her. I was sitting on the couch, trying to relax after a long day at work.

"Mona, please quiet down. You'll get us kicked out if you keep shouting like that," I said, feeling annoyed.

Ignoring me, Mona continued to giggle and dance around the room, holding up the dress in front of her. "Do you even realize how expensive this thing is?" she asked, twirling around in the dress.

I sighed. "Yes, Mona. I realize it's expensive. But it's just a dress."

"It costs ten times more than your rent, Crystal! Can't you get excited about anything?" Mona said, still twirling around.

"I'm excited for you, Mona. But please, keep it down," I said, trying to calm her down.

Mona just laughed, but our conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. I stood up and walked over to answer it, wondering who it could be.

"Miss Davenport?" a man asked, looking at me.

"Yes, that's me," I replied, feeling uncertain.

"I've been sent by the Mancini Brothers. I have been instructed to take you to their penthouse. There has been a slight change of plans," he said.

I was confused and suspicious. "What change of plans?" I asked, feeling uneasy.

"I'm not at liberty to say. But they want to speak with you urgently," the man said, looking serious.

I hesitated for a moment but then decided to go with him. I kissed my sister goodbye and followed the man out the door. Looking back, I regret not asking more questions and being more cautious.

it was a shit idea honestly

~♤~♤~♤~♤~♤~

Matthew complimented me on the quality of the document I had just delivered, saying "You did a better job than I had expected." However, the process leading up to this moment had been quite stressful.

I had been working on it for four days straight, enduring constant nagging from my friend Chris, my sister, and two of my psychic colleagues. To make matters worse, a bird had been watching me the entire time, which only added to my anxiety.

In the midst of all this, I had received several bouquets, though they had stopped coming in. The ones I had received still remained in my room, perfectly preserved and with not a single petal out of place.

As I stood in front of Matthew, he appeared calm and collected, while I was silently pleading for him to finish with the document so I could leave. However, as usual, they kept me in the room longer than necessary, keeping a watchful eye on me until I broke down and ran away.

Why, you may ask? Because. I'm in a state of constant arousal, all the freaking time.   It's like, ever since I left that mansion, they cursed me.

Nothing works. Despite my attempts to satisfy myself, it only made things worse. I dealt with an unbearable tension, fighting every instinct to relax, but it only got worse. It was like I was being challenged tenfold every single time I fought that elusive mate bond thing.

I couldn't distance myself from them, as if my body was tethered to theirs. It escalated to such a point where I almost lost control during an important meeting with Xavier.  How mortified I felt! And damned if Xavier didn't just smirk and leave me stranded in the wake of my embarrassment.

I remember muttering, "I hate them," as my hand brushed against Matthew's. As he handed off a document, a jolt of electricity traveled through me, causing me to drop the papers in shock.  As I knelt down to gather them, I found myself dangerously close to Matthew.

"If you hate me so much," Matthew murmured, tracing my cheek softly, "then why do I sense your arousal, little heart?" I could only shake my head as his hold on me tightened.

Matt's demeanor towards my attitude was unnerving. "When you know exactly how you feel," he whispered, his hand tracing a path over my breast.

“Matthew,” I managed to whisper as he continued his exploration, pushing the boundary of intimacy. At my protest, "Not here," he simply challenged, "Why not?" Not one for subtlety, he proved his dominance once more, pushing me further towards the edge of desperation.

The teasing was enough to drive me crazy, pushing me closer and closer to the edge of oblivion. "Soon," he calmly promised, fanning the flames of my arousal. But as I stood on the verge of ecstasy, to my shock and disappointment, he pulled back.

His next words left me teetering on the edge of pleasure and pain. I clung onto his shirt, as waves of unexpected pleasure crescendoed through me. Our moment was interrupted by a knock, and he warned me not to move.

His challenge paired with an icy glare frozen on his face should've scared me, but it only drew a smile from me.  I allowed myself to rest, my head on his chest, his arms around me, our bodies intertwined perfectly.

"Nothing is more important than you, little heart," he whispered, sealing his words with a gentle kiss, another bittersweet memory flashing across my mind. Deep down inside, his undivided attention terrified me, yet also fulfilled me.

They both scare me. But somehow, his hold over me was so intoxicatingly comforting, even if it was wrong.

The memory of that moment is still vivid in my mind. I remember how he and I stood in the middle of the dance floor, surrounded by other couples swaying to the slow rhythm of the music. I could feel his hand on my waist, holding me close to him, as we moved in sync with the music.

But then something changed. I suddenly felt a sense of unease creeping up my spine. I turned my head slightly and saw  Xavierv was standing nearby, watching us with a strange look in his eyes.

"You're scaring me. Both of you are," I whispered to Matthew, trying to keep my voice low so as not to draw attention to us. His hold on my waist got tighter, and I could feel his breath on my neck as he leaned in closer. I placed my hands on his biceps, trying to push him away from me, but he didn't budge.

"You can't resist me," he whispered with a smirk, and before I could react, he pushed me against Xavier's hard chest. I felt trapped, with no escape.

"Why are you crying, princess?" Xavier whispered in my ear, his voice mocking. I wanted to scream, to push him away, but I was frozen with fear. I knew I had to get out of there, but I didn't know how.

I gazed down at his hand that was wrapped tightly around my waist, and a whisper of horror escaped my lips "You killed him" It felt like a snake coiling itself around my body, suffocating me with its grip. The hand that used to make my heart race now made me feel paralyzed with fear.

The two people I had an unbreakable attraction to were nowhere to be seen. The weight of the situation slowly dawned upon me, and I realized that he had killed someone. The realization made my stomach churn, and I wondered if I should run or stay and face the consequences.

"Well, he touched what was mine."  

The tension in the air was palpable as I looked at him quizzically. I tried to explain myself, "He was just helping me tie my damn shoe!" But it was too late, he had already turned me around. Even though he had cleaned his face, I couldn't shake the image of the blood trailing down his chin from my mind.

"Nobody touches you, princess." His voice was deep and husky in the sexiest way possible. "No one except us"  he kissed my forehead.  The action itself was lovely but I knew better. "Not even you can stop us, princess"