After dinner, I give Matthew a bath and get him ready for bed so Ebony can have some time to herself. We have a dance party to get his wiggles out, then we wind down with some books and soft music. Soon, he’s passed out in my lap. I lay him down so he’s nestled into his pillows, press a soft kiss to his forehead, and turn on his nightlight.
I stand at his door for a moment and watch him sleep. Something in my heart tugs at the sight, at the innocence of him resting.
Despite how I’m feeling after what happened last night, a part of me still wants to see the masked man again. But I won’t allow him to hurt my family, which means he can’t come here.
Even though I still don’t know him well, something tells me he wouldn’t do anything to them, but still…
If he was capable of such brutality, who knows what lengths he’ll go to get to me?
CHAPTER 29
DANTE
TWENTY MINUTES EARLIER
I killeda man for my flower. Now, there’s no one in my way to claim her. She’s finallymine.
I grit my jaw in pain as I lay into the punching bag with Evan’s face on it. He’s gone now, but I have enough anger for him to follow him into the seventh circle of hell.
Each slap of my knuckles against the leather echoes off the walls of the otherwise silent gym in the firehouse. Essence’s beautiful face fills my head: dark brown eyes and curls, full lips that are just begging to be sucked, and a body any man would kill for. Just thinking about her perfectly round ass and full breasts is enough to make me a dripping mess. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve jerked myself off to the image of fucking those perfect tits.
I’ve been worried about her since last night, but she’s smart. Wherever she is, I know that she’s safe. Right now, I want to give her some space to process everything that’s happened, but I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to live without her. Lunchbox has been sad, and I know it’s because he misses her, too.
I’ll give it one more day, and then I’m going to find her. She’s most likely at her sister’s house, so I’ll check there first. In the meantime, I imagine my flower on her knees before me, beautiful face streaked with tears, lips red and swollen and dripping with my cum.
How fucked up I must be to be thinking of something like this after I brutally murdered a man.
Thinking about Essence distracts me, and on the next punch I completely miss the bag and nearly fall to the floor. I catch myself, but my lighter falls out of my shorts pocket from the misstep.
Taking off my gloves, I pick it up and get the strongest urge to do something I’ve never even thought about doing before…
“How deep is my love for her?” I ask myself quietly as I walk to the restroom. I shut the door behind me quickly and flip on the light. As soon as I do, I’m instantly taken aback by my appearance.
First of all, my new haircut will take some getting used to, and my stomach flutters nervously at the sight of it because I’m not sure how Essence will feel about it. She loved running her fingers through my hair when it was long, but will she still find pleasure in it now that it’s shorter?
Second, I have a pretty gnarly bruise on my cheek from where Evan punched me in my mask last night, and my nose is still a little swollen from running into the tree when I chased Essence.
My cock instantly hardens when I flick the switch of the lighter. I flick a finger through the tiny flame and hiss from the pain, but smoothing my tongue over the small hurt quickly soothes the area. I do this a few more times to prepare myself for what I’m about to do next.
Holding down the switch, I grit my teeth as I drag the flame over my forearm. The pain is also pleasurable, and I can’t helpbut wonder what it would be like to burn Essence’s flawless brown skin.
My cock is throbbing from the thought of doing that to her, and the pain of the flame as it burns my skin nearly finishes me.
I clamp my teeth down onto my tongue so hard I draw blood. It hurts like a bitch, but it’s the only thing to keep me from coming too soon.
When I’m finally finished, I run my arm underneath some cool water and admire my handiwork.
“Fuck,” I grunt. I can’t wait anymore.
Dropping my shorts, I grip my aching cock in a fist andgrind my hips, fucking my own hand until I’m coming all over the sink and restroom floor. My breath is labored as I quickly clean up the mess I made and leave the restroom to grab my things.
“Hey, Dante!” Tommy says, clapping me on the shoulder. “Ready for another round?”
I quickly pull my hoodie on and lift the hood over my head. “Sorry, man. I need to get home to my girl.”
“You’ve been talking about Essence for six months now and I still haven’t met her,” he says as he takes his shirt off and drapes it over the ropes of the boxing ring. “I’m starting to think she doesn’t exist.”
I know he means well, but the thought of introducing Essence to him or anyone else at the firehouse makes me want to rip their eyes out.
