"What does it feel like to be a heartless bitch?" "Cold." . . . Everyone loves Katherine Hartley - or at least, they love the illusion. Katherine reigns both on campus and at the elite ballet academy founded and owned by her father. She's every warning wrapped in silk. Elegance carved in ice, she's a girl raised to be disciplined, untouchable and most of all; perfect - a swan sculpted by years of brutal training and emotional isolation. Love was never meant for her. Especially not the kind that lingers - obsessive, aching... wrong. Especially not from the boy she's known since childhood. He's the one who sees through her mask, sees everything she tries to hide. And for the first time, Katherine starts to wonder what it would be like to fall - even if it ruins everything. He knows loving her may ruin him. But letting her go would destroy him. He's everything she can't want. And the only thing that makes her feel alive. She's the only thing he wants, but can't have.

ALEXANDRA He's supposed to house me for the summer, keep me in check from running wild. I am but a spoiled child in his eyes, nothing but a person who came to disturb his peace. He makes me work, watching my every movement even when I know he has better things to do, when I know he wants nothing to do with me. He's nothing like the boys in the city, then again, he's not a boy at all nor are we near the city. Everyday I feel myself going breathless with each touch from him. I feel my heart race as I see him working. I feel each order resonate across my body, making me ache in a way that I know it's wrong. I shouldn't want him, not when he's my father's best friend. HEATH He asked me for a favor, to house his daughter and make her see how harsh reality is. It was supposed to be easy when she's what I expected with her red shoes and quirky mouth. I shouldn't have an issue telling her what to do when all she does is get under my skin with each comment, when she's making my life harder than it already is. But with each passing day, it gets harder to ignore the way she makes me feel. I have to hold my breath each time I'm near her, stop myself from wanting to touch her and do things I shouldn't do. I'm not supposed to want her, especially not when I'm twice as old as her. All Rights Reserved ©solxr28 ©asj_28 June 10 2022