Deadly Secrets

Chapter 16: Cappuccino

Jasmine. Jasmine. Jasmine.

Her name was like a broken record, it just kept repeating itself over, and over, and over.

As he stormed away from his father's office, no coherent thought seemed to form in his mind. Maximilian was a fireball of imminent violence and destruction, enflaming his surroundings as the negative energy pent- up inside of his core ached to release itself in the most cataclysmic way possible. His right hand threw open doors as he crossed from one room to the other, while the left squeezed the life out of a mangled beige folder, one which held enough evidence to define the fate of another human being.

Various servants gasped in fright as the wooden doors slammed against the walls, leaving visible dents, but they didn't dare breathe a word in their regard. Instead, they quietly scurried past their master, careful not to make eye-contact with him. They then hurried to the scene of the incident, attempting to brush away the evidence of his anger. They knew very well what the consequences were if they disturbed him, as he wasn't the type to let you off with only a scolding as a punishment.

It was ironic how this time around the information Max held would be used to save a life, rather than destroy it. He detested that judicatory side of him, as more often than not, it would come back and bite him in the ass, kicking him in the head afterwards. Call it a sixth sense or gut feeling, but Max knew that this would be one of those cases.

He just hoped that all his impulsive decisions wouldn't catch up to him all at once.

At least, give me some time to breathe, Karma.

His anger slowly receded like waves from a shoreline as he trudged further and further away from his father's office. There was something about being in that room that made Max's blood boil in his veins, with his father's judgmental gaze being the trigger to his bloodthirsty thoughts. Meanwhile, Jasmine's domain was more inviting. Not because of the place itself, but because of the woman inside of it. Lust, the bittersweet sin it was, sat down on his emotional scale, tipping it over and sending all logic and reason flying over its shoulder.

Max was hungry now, and it wasn't for food.

His emerald-green eyes turned a shade darker with arousal as he neared his destination, his mind clouding over with lascivious thoughts as he ran his tongue over his upper lip. He turned the second-to-last corner and almost jogged to the end of the hallway, muttering profanities under his breath about the size of the mansion.

When he rounded the corner, however, he didn't like what he saw. At all.

Both Roman and Jasmine stood in the middle of the next hallway. Roman was waving his hands around while Jasmine's head was tilted backwards as she laughed delightedly, her arms wrapped tightly around her clipboard. He was probably telling her one of his stupid anecdotes for the millionth time, pathetically hoping that a bunch of bad jokes would give him the leeway to get in her pants. Max wasn't fooled by the charade, unlike Jasmine, who began to chatter away, flirtatiously tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

His arousal disappeared as quickly as it started.

Easy manipulation: one of the many reasons why Max never used women for anything other than pleasure. In all honesty, he hadn't expected anything better from Jasmine. It was now clear to him that in the end, under all those layers, women were all the same. Catch one at the right time, shower her with a few compliments and she wouldn't hesitate to jump into bed with you.

Disgusting, Max snorted.

He almost had second thoughts and was a breath away from turning around and walking the opposite direction. Max knew, however, that standing down was an act of active submission— one which was unacceptable for an alpha like him. He would take advantage of her services one last time, then throw her to his mongrels. She was no longer of use to him.