The skull mask is still clenched in her fist, irrefutable evidence of my sin against her…
I wait in the midnight shadows of her apartment. Abigail will come home from the bar at some point, and I can be patient. Every moment that passes sharpens my senses, heightening my awareness of the world in a way I’ve never known before.
The thrill of hunting my pretty prey is the most addictive feeling I’ve ever experienced.
Abigail wants this. We’ve been exchanging dark fantasies for months.
Our desires are perfectly matched.
But I’m tired of keeping things virtual.
She’ll find as much pleasure in this twisted encounter as I will. I’ll make sure of it.
“You liked it,” I say, even as my stomach lurches. “You came all over my hand.”
She looks up at me like I’ve betrayed her on a level she never could’ve imagined.
The knife in my chest twists, an awful, shredding sensation.
“I knew we were meant to be together,” I continue, as though I can salvage this. “That’s why I came into the café and asked you out. You were meant to be mine.”
“I’m not yours!” The words are wrenched from her chest on an anguished cry.
I wrap my arms around her, caging her in an unbreakable embrace. “You are. Nothing will change that. You love me.”
She does love me.
She has to.
“I’m scared,” she whispers. “You’re scaring me. Let me go.”
“I can’t do that.” It’s a rough statement of fact.
I’m incapable of letting her go.
She writhes in my hold, and she opens her pretty mouth to scream.
I harden my resolve. If she sees me as her villain, then that’s what I’ll be.
I spin her around and clamp my hand over her mouth before she can cry out for help. My other arm captures her throat, applying pressure to her arteries.
We’ve played like this before, but this time, it’s not a game.
Her fingernails rake red lines into my forearm, but I don’t feel them any more deeply than a tiny kitten’s claws. She’s every bit as fragile as I’ve always said.
My breakable pet.
My little dove.
Her tears stream over my hand where it covers her mouth, and unlike her painless scratches, the tears scald me. I grit my teeth and force myself to maintain my ruthless hold on her delicate body.
She softens in my arms, and I catch her sagging, unconscious weight. I cradle her close to my chest and brush a kiss over her motionless lips.
“I’ll keep you safe, Abigail,” I swear. “I will do anything to protect you.”
I will do anything to keep her for myself.
She said she loves me.
