I’m kicking his head and chest and ribs. Blood is splattering everywhere, coating my shoes and black jeans. Under any other circumstances, one look at our attire and the bouncer at Rapture would have slammed the door in our faces. Tonight was an exception.
I think I may have unhinged his jaw, his teeth are flying left and right with bits of his flesh spraying the high end black tile floors.
“Tanner?”
My chest heaving and my breaths sounding like dragons live in my lungs, I stop and look up. Our eyes lock, and for the first time in as long as I can remember, Berkleigh has fear swimming in her wide, blue eyes.
If she deliberately occluded the fact that I’m a diagnosed psychopath from her mind, then this moment is quite the reveal.
“I just remembered what he said and it pissed me off.” My teeth are gritted and I’m trying my best to control the air that flows in and out through my nose.Breathe, Tanner.Fucking Christ, sometimes I think I may need anger management classes. Then I remember I’d probably—literally—kill those fuckers if they even looked at me with a side eye. Not worth going to jail over. Although, they’d have to catch me first.
“Well, he probably won’t be apologizing for that, so…” She lets her sentence hang as she shrugs and turns on her heel, not bothered in the least that I’m this close to decapitating a dead man in a night club owned by the New York mafia.
Birds of a feather and all that shit.
Standing in the entrance to the bathroom, Berkleigh crosses her arms at her lower abdomen and pulls her blood-stained shirt up and over her head before throwing it behind her like a siren tempting an entire crew at sea. My heated gaze follows the movement then homes in on Berkleigh’s naked back like a missile finding its target. That’s my cue. I don’t have the restraint of Odysseus. And thank fuck for that.
But first, I need to make sure this worthless excuse for a human is out of my sight by the time we’re done with the shower.
“Turn the shower on and get naked. Do not go inside the stall until I get there.” I don’t need to look at her to know she’s huffing and puffing. Following directives is not her strong suit.
Meanwhile, I take out my burner and send a message to J, no doubt a burner phone she’ll throw out as soon as she responds.
Me:We’re done here. Taking a shower, door’s closed. You can do your thing.
Her response is immediate, as though she’s been waiting for this all night. I glance at the time and it’s been just under an hour. I guess severing a penis takes time and energy.
J:On our way.
As I pivot for the bathroom, I swing my leg back and give Reginald one last farewell by way of a size twelve shoe to the face. When the jaw fully comes off, I sigh with satisfaction and strip out of my clothes, leaving them on the floor. Going commando means the clean up crew won’t have to deal with personal shit. Berkleigh’s panties I’m keeping. No fucking body is looking at them. Ever.
By the time I step into the bathroom, I’m pumped full of adrenaline and ready to put this part of our lives to rest. Slamming and locking the door behind me, I trap my bottom lip between my teeth and take my time perusing every inch of Berkleigh’s skin, from the tips of her polished toes to the bloodied mess of hair falling to her chin. She’s never looked more stunning, and even though the idea of her wearing someone else’s blood makes me murderous—which is fitting, given the circumstances—I’m proud of her and I’m turned on like a motherfucker.
“That looks painful.” I don’t need to glance down at my cock standing high and proud to know she’s referring to it.
“Wanna help take care of that?” I take a step forward and she takes one back.
“Yes.”
I grin at her one word answer. It’s the exact one I was hoping to hear.
“Good girl.”
“But first…” The grin on her face as she steps into the shower stall has mischief written all over it. “I want you to try these.” I frown, not sure what the hell she’s talking about, and follow her line of sight.
“Try wha—” My question dies right on my tongue as my eyes land on a pair of black handcuffs bolted to the tiled wall. My grin is slow and deadly with every filthy intention running through my mind. “Oh, Sweet Bee. We are one hundred percent putting those to good use.”
The shower is on with hot water raining down from all sides and it feels like we’ve stepped into a tropical forest with how dense the fog is getting. Minus the jungle wildlife, thank fuck.
Berkleigh doesn’t move, she doesn’t speak, her eyes are trained on me and her head tilts back the closer I get to her. Chest to chest, I raise my hands to her face and bring my forehead to hers as the water falls like a summer storm above us.
“You’re perfect, you know that?” My voice is just above a whisper but it’s enough for her to hear me. To hear my sincerity.
“I feel perfect when you look at me.” I shake my head because that’s ridiculous.
“Don’t do that. Don’t make it about me. You’re perfect…period. With or without me, you’re the reason the sun rises and the moon rests.”
On the other side of the door, the faint sound of people moving about filters in but I ignore it all and concentrate on Berkleigh, on the trust written in her eyes and the need buzzing across her skin.
