by Dani René
A High so Sweet
Thornes & Roses
Dani René
Contents
Newsletter Sign Up
Author’s Note
Preface
Playlist
Prologue
1. Cassian
2. Kalyn
3. Kalyn
4. Cassian
5. Kalyn
6. Cassian
7. Kalyn
8. Cassian
9. Kalyn
10. Kalyn
11. Cassian
12. Kalyn
13. Kalyn
14. Cassian
15. Kalyn
16. Cassian
17. Kalyn
18. Cassian
19. Kalyn
20. Cassian
21. Kalyn
22. Cassian
23. Kalyn
24. Cassian
25. Kalyn
26. Cassian
27. Kalyn
28. Cassian
29. Kalyn
30. Cassian
31. Kalyn
32. Cassian
33. Kalyn
34. Cassian
35. Kalyn
Epilogue
Sneak Peek - A Death to Seek
Sneak Peek - Cruel War
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Acknowledgments
Also by Dani René
About the Author
Copyright © 2021 by Dani René
Edited by Rebecca’s Fairest Reviews
Proofread by Illuminate Author Services
Cover Design & Formatting by Raven Designs
Cover Model: TommyDee
Cover Photographer: Michelle Lancaster
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Author’s Note
Dear Reader,
This story covers a few topics that could trigger readers. It’s not a dark romance, but I do make mention of forms of emotional abuse that could trigger some readers. This story also includes mention of drug use and a very painful loss.
Please take note of this warning.
I’ve tried to ensure that the story shows Kalyn’s strength in overcoming what she went through. In saying that, if you do decide to venture on and take this journey with Cassian and Kalyn, I hope you enjoy their emotional, and at times, steamy rollercoaster.
Mad love,
Dani, xo
Preface
We are all addicted to something that ruins us.
Quotes ‘nd Notes
Playlist
Run - Snow Patrol
Number - Carlie Hanson
Hard for Me - Michele Morrone
Let Her Cry - Hootie and the Blowfish
Too Much to Drink - ANTH
Fading Away - Ollie
Drinking About You - Ryan Oakes
You Broke Me First - Conor Maynard
Who Are You - SVRCINA
I Got You - Corvyx
Catch Me - Dxvn
Find the full playlist HERE
To those who’ve been in the darkness for too long.
To those who have felt alone all their lives.
To those who are convinced they’re broken.
You’re strong. You’re fierce. You’re worthy.
Prologue
Kalyn
Seventeen years old
One long sip.
One long draw on the joint.
Two long inhales, and it feels as if my head is sparking with electric currents, bringing a smile to my face.
Inhale.
Exhale.
As the buzzing in my veins overtakes the pain and fear, I lean back against the cool concrete of the tombstone. The noise coming from the rest of the kids doesn’t bother me anymore. And as the alcohol takes its hold of me, I sigh as my body tingles with the excitement of what’s to come.
Tonight is my last evening in this small town, the town where everyone knows your name, and if you don’t fit into their world, you’re shunned. There’s only one thing that I will miss about Thorne Haven, and that’s him. But he’s not here tonight. I know the Thorne brothers are off doing their own thing with their friends, and that’s okay.
Actually, it’s not okay.
I pull out my cell phone and unlock it. There are no messages from him. Not even a text to say goodbye. Scrolling through our chat, I ignore the sweet things he said, instead focusing on the fact that he hasn’t responded to my last message.
The one where I told him I’m leaving.
There’s nothing here for me—that’s what my parents said. Mom wants to move to LA, where she’s convinced that I’ll have more opportunities than this town can offer. Dad’s company was more than willing to provide him with a transfer to Hollywood Hills. And me, I have no choice but to walk away from everything I’ve known: school, a home I’ve come to love, and him.
“Hey, stop crying over that asshole,” one of the girls from my class, Brittany, says. She’s one of the popular girls, a cheerleader with big blue eyes and long blonde hair. She doesn’t always talk to me, but when she does, I can’t help but feel noticed.
I’m the loner in our class. And I’m happy with it that way. An emotionally distraught young woman with issues, at least that’s what the psychiatrist told my folks. With each kid I know going to see a shrink, I’m not all that different, but sometimes, I feel so out of my comfort zone when it comes to these parties that I may as well be from another planet.
“I’m not crying,” I tell her, tipping my chin in defiance. I take a long drag on my joint before flicking the butt and killing it with the heel of my Docs.
Music blares from a car that pulls up, shining lights over us. A few of the girls standing around shriek before they fall into a fit of giggles when they realize it’s the football team. Creed Haven saunters up to Brittany, pulling her into his arms and stealing her lips with his. The guy is an asshole, but he’s hot. I guess in a way that makes him think he has every right to take what he wants.
“What’s up?” he greets me with a tip of his head, his eyes locking on me for a moment too long, and all I can do is shrug in response. I know he’s friends with Cassian, but I don’t ask the question that’s burning the tip of my tongue.
I push to my feet, holding onto the tombstone as I do because my head is spinning. I didn’t drink that much tonight. I’m sure of it. Glancing at the bottle I left on the ground, I realize it’s empty.
Shit.
“Are you okay?” Brittany a
sks, concern clear in her tone, making me giggle.
“Yeah,” I assure her before turning to walk off. But the moment I do, I slam into a body that’s solid steel. My gaze is slightly blurry, but there’s no doubt about who I’ve just walked into. At twenty, there’s no way you can call Cassian Thorne a boy any longer—he’s a man, and it shows.
“What are you doing?” he questions, his voice low, drenched in warning and disappointment, feathering in my ear when he speaks. “I thought I told you not to hang out here when I’m not around.” Even though he’s never touched me, kissed me, or made a move to show me he wants me, he’s always been there—watching over me like a protector.
“I’m doing what every other kid here is doing,” I bite back, anger surging through me when I look up into those familiar teal-color irises, and for a moment, it’s as if he’s spinning in front of me, but I keep my focus on his face. The anger dancing in those sparkling eyes is nothing short of fury.
“Get the fuck in my car,” Cassian growls, his hand gripping my arm as he pulls me toward the black Maserati sitting amongst the trees. I stumble over the uneven ground, almost falling against his strong, muscled back. The graveyard we tend to loiter in has a forest of beautiful oak trees. And amongst them are pathways and tarred roads that people use to drive up when visiting their loved ones buried here.
“Let me go,” I grit through clenched teeth as I attempt to pull free from his hold, but I know it’s no use. I’m not strong enough to fight Cassian.
“Hey man,” Creed’s voice echoes from where we’ve just left him and Brittany, which causes Cass to pause. “Don’t do anything I would.” He chuckles, and I notice how Cassian rolls his eyes at his friend. Just as we reach his car, a couple of guys walk up the road, and I recognize Finn, Cassian’s youngest brother, along with another guy I know is Creed’s brother, Brody.
“You leaving already, Cass?” Finn asks his brother, a salacious smirk curling his lips as his glance flicks between us, then lands on where Cassian’s grip on my arm never wavers.
“Yeah,” Cass responds but doesn’t offer any more information. He pulls open the passenger door and practically throws me into the leather seat.
“What’s going on? You really have it hard for this kid.” Finn chuckles, but Cassian’s serious expression has the laugh disappearing from his brother’s face.
“I’m taking her home, and then, I’ll be back.” He doesn’t realize I can hear him through the window, or maybe he does, but he makes no move to hide the fact that he’s pissed.
By the time he joins me in the car, I’m exhausted from the alcohol and the weed. The anger at my parents has eased. He doesn’t understand why I get high, why I drink. But I chose my path; I found a way to forget, to ease the burden.
“I don’t like when you do shit like this,” Cassian speaks as he starts the engine and glances over at me. “You need to be careful, Kaly; there are bad people out there.”
I laugh.
I can’t help it.
He sounds so much like my father right now, even though he’s nowhere near Dad’s age. “You don’t have to worry about me anymore, Cassian, we’re leaving tomorrow.” I can’t stop the bitterness from lacing my words, and I can’t bring myself to look at him; instead, I focus on the window as he pulls out of the cemetery and takes the turn back into town.
We ride in silence for a while before he speaks again, “I care about you.”
“Yeah?” I glance at him, taking in his profile. Sharp nose, angular jawbone, his hair is buzzed short, and his eyes, those fucking eyes that always seem to turn me into a mindless girl. He’s every girl’s fantasy and every guy’s hero. They want to be him. They all want to be a Thorne. But nobody comes close.
“You shouldn’t look at me like that,” he says, but he doesn’t glance my way, and I want nothing more than to climb into his lap and force him to make eye contact with me. To tell me why he doesn’t want me.
“Why?” Curiosity is clear in my tone.
The corner of his mouth kicks up into an almost smile. That’s one thing about Cassian Thorne; he doesn’t usually show emotion. But with me, it’s there in those eyes. He may be angry, happy, or even turned on, and most people won’t know. But I do because he only gifts me with a window to his heart. And that’s what assures me there is something more between us.
“Because you’re too young for me.”
“Is that why you haven’t kissed me?” I challenge.
He doesn’t answer. Instead, he pulls up to my house, and my heart sinks into my stomach. I don’t want this to end. I want him to drive around forever, with me beside him. But I can’t be, and neither can he.
I’m not the princess that gets saved by the handsome prince.
I’m the girl who gets taken from her home and sent to a goddamned school for girls where they can make sure I behave myself. It’s all bullshit.
“Thanks for the ride,” I tell him, knowing he won’t give me what I want—him. Even at seventeen, I know what I need, what I crave; I’m not a child. But Cassian is a gentleman. He’s never going to break.
So instead of giving in, he holds onto his restraint. Instead of having the one thing I do want, a connection with him, a physical one, I push open the door and get out of his car. I lean down before closing the door and say, “Goodbye.” Then I slam it shut, not giving him a chance to reply.
I turn for the house, opening the small pedestrian gate, and step inside. I know his car is still there. But I don’t look. I don’t turn back to see him leave me, and as I blink, the emotion trickles from my lashes, wetting my cheeks.
By the time I’m in my bedroom, I’m a mess. I shut myself in my bathroom and open the cabinet, taking everything out to find the little box I need. Inside, I pull out the sachet of white powder and cut two lines.
The moment I inhale, I forget.
I forget my pain.
I forget my heartbreak.
I forget Cassian.
1
Cassian
Five years later
A party.
I’ve been looking forward to this night since last year. It’s the only evening where you can do anything or be anyone. There are events that happen throughout Thorne Haven, the small town we live in, the town we own, but our Halloween Gala is probably the most infamous.
Each year Dad hosts, and I know the moment I tell my father we should try something different, he’ll inform me that I’ve lost my mind. The thing about Thorne Haven is that there are rituals, customs that cannot be broken, no matter how much we want something new.
Every year, we have elaborate events because it’s part of the town’s history. Owned by two families, the Thornes, and the Havens, the town is built on a solid foundation that dates back to my ancestors. Most of the history is still hidden in the libraries of the Thorne and Haven mansions, respectively.
With my older brother Damien and his wife in London, Finn and I are left to pick up the slack. And my younger brother is not one who enjoys hard work. He loves to party hard, though, so as we get ready for this year’s Halloween Gala, he’s stepping in to help with the plans.
This year, we’re going all out. Each year, we have a little game, and I’m so ready to find a girl who’ll be able to take the edge off when I need it. I’m just not interested in the bullshit that comes with it. I loved once, but when she left, I was nothing more than a shell.
Shaking my head to clear the memories away, I focus on my closet. It’s been a long time since I saw her. Five long fucking years, and she walked away from me that night, not even looking back.
Call me a fucked-up romantic, but I always believed if someone truly cared, they had to look back before leaving. It’s a belief I stood by, but she didn’t. Instead, she walked away, leaving me to pick up the pieces of the lies she spewed while heading off to a new life in Hollywood. And not once did she try to contact me to apologize, which means all those years I was there for her, I was the fool.
Since that night
, I vowed to never allow anyone to make a fool of me again. No woman will ever get my heart. And no woman will ever make me love her. Because I already gave my heart away.
“What the fuck is this?” Finn’s voice comes from behind me, and I glance over my shoulder to find him holding up a long black cape with a white mask. It looks like something out of a horror movie.
I chuckle, shaking my head. “Not a fucking clue,” I tell him. “Maybe Dad’s going as the Grim Reaper.”
“That fucking sucks; I wanted to be Death,” he says, annoyance clear in his tone. He glances away from the outfit and looks at me. “What are you going as?”
I haven’t given it too much thought, so I shrug. “Not sure. Maybe I’ll just play around with that skull face,” I tell him. When I had a Skype call with Damien earlier, Nesrin said I should try getting that done for the party. It sounded like a good idea at the time since there’s no mask to carry around, and I can just wear a black shirt and a pair of slacks. No need for anything elaborate.
