The Touch of a Villain: An Enemies to Lovers High School Romance (The Boys of Clermont Bay Book 1)

by Holly Renee

  I knew that.

  I wanted to destroy Lucas, but I had become just like him.

  “So, you’re some sort of saint?” she screamed at me, and I had never seen her so angry before. I reached for her hand, and she jerked away from me so fast it felt like she hit me. “What did I do to you?”

  She didn’t wait for an answer. Her voice broke as she screamed. “What the fuck did I do to deserve this?”

  My hands shook at my sides, and I was dying to touch her, to hold her against me and refuse to let her go until I could explain.

  I had no intentions of falling for Lucas Vos’s sister.

  That was never part of the plan, but as I stood there and watched the first few tears roll down her cheeks, I knew that I was a complete and total idiot.

  All while I was trying to ruin every piece of her, I was slowly falling for her. And she had given me the power to do so. She handed me the power to either destroy or love her, and I showed her exactly who I was.

  I showed her exactly what I was capable of.

  “You don’t deserve this.”

  “Then why?”

  “Because of what he did to Frankie,” I yelled back at her. “Don’t act like you don’t know what he did to her. There’s no way you can be that fucking dense.”

  She jolted back, and I hated myself more. I was doing nothing but pushing her farther away.

  This was exactly what he wanted.

  This was exactly why he had posted this. He knew that I would ruin myself.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Your brother, Josie. He…” I ran my hands through my hair because I could barely breathe, let alone think. “He fucking assaulted her.”

  She looked like she was going to be sick, but I couldn’t stop now. I hadn’t talked about what happened with anyone since those few weeks after it happened when everything was swept under the rug.

  “He and his friends assaulted her, and one of their buddies recorded it. He was my friend.” I slammed my hand into my chest. “He was my friend, and she was in love with him. She had been for years, and he fucking broke her.”

  She searched my face for the truth, but I had already obliterated every bit of trust she had in me.

  “So, you decided to break me?”

  “No.” I shook my head, but she was right. That was exactly what I was doing.

  “You made me fall for you, then you fucking crushed me.”

  “You didn’t fall for me.”

  “No.” She backed away from me until her hand was gripping the doorframe. “I can’t believe I was so stupid.”

  “Josie.” Her name had barely passed my lips when the door suddenly opened, and our fathers and Lucas pushed through the door with panic on their faces.

  It was clear from the look of us what had happened here last night.

  “What the hell is going on here?” Mr. Vos was furious, and I should have been happy. That was what I wanted all along. To smear his name. To make him feel like we had felt.

  I didn’t give a shit about him right now though. I only cared about Josie, and how big of a damn idiot I had been.

  Lucas moved to her side, and every part of me wanted to pummel him. I wanted to wrap my hands around his neck and watch the fucking life leave his eyes. He had taken so much from me, and this was just another move for him.

  I should have known that he wouldn’t fucking care about her. That doing this to his sister wouldn’t hurt him the way he had hurt me. He didn’t care about anyone but himself.

  I stepped forward, my body vibrating with anger, but Josie stopped me in my tracks.

  She moved toward him, and he wrapped his arms around her as she cried. I wanted to rip her from his touch.

  My stomach rolled, and I couldn’t stop myself. I couldn’t just let her fall into his arms like he was somehow going to protect her from me.

  As if he was the damn hero.

  I had been every bit the villain she thought I was, but I still wasn’t him.

  I was just the guy who pushed her straight into his arms.

  “Josie.” I reached for her, but Lucas tucked her tighter against him. She wasn’t even looking at me. She couldn’t see me through her anger and sadness.

  “Please, Josie.” I just needed to talk to her. I needed to make her understand.

  “I think you’ve done enough, Beck.”

  “Are you really speaking to me right now?” I stepped forward, to do what, I didn’t know. He held her between us. He was using her as a barrier because he knew I wouldn’t harm her. Not physically, at least.

  I had harmed her enough already.

  “Beck, back off.” This was from my father. I looked up at him, and I had never seen such disappointment in his face. He was looking at me the same way he was looking at Lucas, and I wanted to scream.

  “Take me home,” she whispered to Lucas as her fingers dug into his shirt.

  I couldn’t stand another moment of it. I reached out and touched her shoulder as I said her name again. She startled as if she was burned by just my touch.

  And she had been.

  I had set fire to everything that we were, everything that we could have been, with the hopes of destroying her family. But the only thing I managed to destroy was her. I destroyed her and my own damn heart at the exact same time.

  I was nothing but the villain and had no chance of ever getting her back.

  Not after what I’d done.

  “That trash account has been taken down.” Her father’s voice shook against the walls. “But the damage has already been done.”

  “Let’s not pretend we haven’t been here before.” I pushed my hair out of my face, and I should have kept my mouth shut.

  “Beckham.” My father’s voice boomed as he stood in front of me and blocked my view of her. “That’s enough.”

  “But did you notice in this video that Josie was awake? Did you notice that she hadn’t had enough alcohol to kill her?”

  My father slammed his hands into my chest, and I stumbled back, shocked. My father had never put his hands on me.

  Lucas pulled Josie from the room, his arms still around her, and panic was taking over every part of me.

  If he took her with him, I would never make her understand. She would fucking hate me. It was what I had thought I wanted, but I was wrong.

  “Josie.”

  She looked up at me, and the look on her face devastated me. I had broken her. This room was full of men who had done so much wrong, and she was the one who had ended up hurt.

  She was the only one that mattered.

  “You stay the fuck away from my daughter.” Joseph Vos had the nerve to point his finger in my direction like he hadn’t just let her walk out of the room with a monster.

  “I won’t.” I shook my head, and my father huffed as if he couldn’t believe me.

  But neither one of them could keep me from her. It didn’t matter that she hated me. I would get her to listen to me.

  I had to.

  The thought of her walking away now, of me fucking this up so damn badly, it was too much to bear.

  I couldn’t deal with her hating me. I couldn’t handle the look on her face.

  Josie Vos was mine, whether she still felt the same way or not, and I wouldn’t stop until I had her.

  TO BE CONTINUED

  Josie and Beck’s story continues in The Fall of a God coming June 10th, 2021.

  Pre-order now!

  THANK YOU

  Thank you so much for reading Josie and Beck’s story! Their story will continue in The Fall of a God, and I cannot wait for you all to read more of this dynamic couple.

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  Acknowl
edgments

  Thank you for taking a chance on reading this book!

  I owe so many thanks to every blogger, bookstagrammer, and reader who shares, reads, reviews, and loves my books. I will never be able to express my gratitude.

  I have so many people to thank for having my back and being a part of the best team ever.

  I would like to think my wonderful family for always being so supportive and encouraging my dreams.

  A big thanks to my beta team, Megan, Katie, Rita, Aundi, Heather, Elizabeth, and Christina. This book would be nothing without you all.

  Thank you to Christina Santos who keeps me sane and feels like the backbone of my support. I will never be able to tell you how much I appreciate you!

  Thank you to Jen at Wildfire for how hard you work for me and how much you support me. I will be forever grateful for you.

  To Becca, Ellie, and Rumi, thank you for helping me turn this book into what it is.

  To my author friends who keep me sane and pushing forward every day. I love you all.

  And to the best street team ever, thank you for everything you all do! I am so thankful for you all!

  About the Author

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  Amazon Top 100 bestselling author of contemporary romance, Holly Renee brings readers a pinch of angst, an indulgence of heat, and the perfect amount of heart in every book.

  Born and raised in East Tennessee, she is a married mom of two wild children. When she's not writing, you can find her reading, pretending to be a dragon for the hundredth time that day, being disgustingly in love with her husband, or chilling in the middle of the lake with her sunglasses and a float.

  Holly is a lover of all things romance, Mexican food, Harry Potter, and yoga pants.