Blood. I’m covered in blood.
Alec catches my face in his hands again, turning my head back toward him. My eyes stay fixed on the body. “Don’t look,” he says sharply. “Focus on me.”
“He’s dead,” I say, voice completely monotone.
“Sydney. Don’t look at it. Look at me.”
But I can’t stop staring.
I should be emotional, right? I should feel something at the sight of a corpse lying on my living room floor. But I feel nothing. He broke in here to hurt me. He might have raped me, maybe even killed me.
“I’m fine,” I hear myself say, voice oddly distant. But I’m not. There’s a dead body on my floor. I’ve never been further fromfine. “I’m okay now. You can go.”
Alec swears under his breath. “You’re in shock. I’m not leaving you.”
I do look away from my attacker then, and finally, a spark of emotion lights inside of me. Lights, and then catches fire.
Rage.
“You’re notleaving me?” I repeat, glaring at him. “You haven’tbeen here.You don’t care about me! You can’t even behonest with me.”
I shove at his chest, but he doesn’t move. He just stares at me, his jaw tight and his eyes impossibly dark. He’s breathing quickly, chest rising and falling as he stares at me.
“Fuck it,” he growls.
He moves before I can react. One step, then another, closing the space between us as I stumble back away from him until my back hits the wall. He stops just inches away from me, palms hitting the wall on either side of my face, boxing me in.
“You want honesty,darling?” he spits, towering over me.
I glare up at him, so furious I’m shaking.
“You’reall I care about,” he continues. “You’re all I think about, night and day, every fucking second I’m awake. You’re in my dreams. I have beenhauntedby you for the last few weeks. Everything I see reminds me of you, and every breath I take when I’m not holding you is a waste.”
My breath catches in my throat. My pulse is suddenly racing again, my mouth dry. His face dips lower, his lips just above mine.
“Yes,” he says. “I killed that man for you. And I would kill a thousand more just for looking at you. And do you knowwhy?”
I swallow. “Why?”
His hand, still covered in blood, comes up to circle my throat lightly. He doesn’t tighten his grip, doesn’t squeeze. He just holds it there, fingers wrapped around my neck, eyes locked on mine.
“Because you’remine,”he says quietly, staring into my eyes. “From the day you came into my life, until the day I die. You belong to me.”
I tremble under his touch as his fingers tighten, my heart pounding in my chest. I slide my tongue over my lips.
“Prove it,” I whisper.
There’s no hesitation, no uncertainty. Still gripping my throat, Alec slams his lips to mine in a kiss so hungry I forget to breathe.
We fit together in a way that I’ve never fit with someone before. His lips against my lips, his tongue against my tongue. Our bodies recognize each other like we were made for one another.
Kissing Alec is like coming home.
“I never should have let you walk out of my penthouse. I shouldn’t have let you walk out of my compound either,” he says, hand moving to tug at my hair, angling my head so he can deepen the kiss. “I should keep you locked up with me so I can spend every second of my life with you.”
Frantically, I pull him to me, clawing at his shirt. I can’t get close enough to him. I need more. I’m running on pure adrenaline as my nails scratch down his neck. He groans into my mouth, and my self-control snaps.
I break our kiss just long enough to pull my shirt over my head.
