I blinked. “But how did you find it? And… why? Why were you looking into him in the first place?”
“Just had a feeling.” He shrugged.
“How’d you get into my building? And…” My head swirled with questions, and the alley began to narrow around us. I opened my mouth, closed it, and then tried again. “How long have you been watching me?”
His eyes somehow seemed to darken, but he didn’t look away. He was quiet for a moment, like he needed time to think of a lie. Something to explain the papers slipped under my door, him still possessing a key to my apartment, the way he’d gotten into my locked car undetected, and how he knew more about me than any normal person ever should.
“A while,” he finally answered. He shifted on his feet, his arms pressed against his sides and his hands still firmly in his pockets. “Still think I’m a ‘good man’? Or are you going to accept that I’m a monster?”
Neither of us looked away. All the noise in the background faded away until I could only hear the sound of our breathing. I looked straight into his dark eyes and waited for the fear to hit, but it never came.
Because the eyes staring into mine didn’t belong to a monster. They belonged to someone who decided I was worth claiming and protecting. I trusted he’d never actually harm me in any way. All thosemerciless and torturous things he did to me in my apartment were exactly what I’d asked for.
“You’re not a monster,” I whispered, my back pressed flat against the bricks.
Knox’s brows pulled together with a look of concern, or maybe even pity. Like I was broken. Hewantedme to be scared of him, and maybe there was a small part of me that was–but that fear was buried beneath an ache I didn’t quite understand.
“I’m fucked in the head.” Knox licked his lips, blinking down at me. “I’ve fantasized about raping you, Hallie.”
I sucked in a shaky breath and replied without hesitation. “That makes both of us.”
Finally, he broke eye contact, looking down with a sigh. He covered his eyes with one hand and shook his head. “Somewhere out there is a psychotherapist who’d make a fortune trying to fix whatever’s wrong with the two of us.”
He was right. I’d probably need years of therapy to unpack my fucked-up fantasies. But if “fixing” it meant giving this up, I didn’t want it.
“Sounds boring,” I muttered.
Knox’s hand dropped from his face, and he found my eyes again. “You’re supposed to be scared of me for this to work.”
“I guess–” I paused to swallow, my palms pressed against the rough brick behind my back. “I guess I trust you too much.”
He shook his head, either in disbelief or disappointment. Trusting him was irrational. We both understood that. He exhaled, running a hand through his hair before sliding it down his jaw, rubbing at his beard.
And then, with an exhale, he leaned closer, placing a hand on either side of my body on the brick wall so that I was caged in. “Youshouldn’t,” he said quietly. “Because everything I’ve done to you only scratches the surface of what I’m capable of.”
“I don’t believe you,” I blurted, daring him to prove it. I couldn’t fight the reckless urge to poke the bear.
The corners of Knox’s mouth lifted in a subtle, amused grin, and he brought one hand to my cheek. “Oh, Hallie,” he whispered, lowering his mouth close to mine. It wasn’t until that very second that I realized that we’d never once kissed. He’d had his tongue in places no one else had ever been and had made me come so hard I’d sobbed, but he’d never put his lips on mine. Now I could feel the heat from his breath on my chin as his thumb stroked my cheekbone. “You’re acting so brave now. Telling me I’m not a monster. Talking about what sounds ‘boring.’”
His thumb drifted down to stroke my lips, and then he lowered his hand to my neck. He kept his touch light, almost tickling my skin with his fingers.
“You’re going to beg for boring,” he said, applying more pressure.
My stomach flipped.
“Next time, you’ll beg for the life you had before you got involved with me,” he said, his thumb pressing harder against my windpipe. “You’re going to wish you’d given me more restrictions. You left so much on the table, didn’t you?”
The smoothness of his voice as his rough beard brushed against my jaw made my clit throb. His hand clamped harder around my neck, and my breath hitched in response. “What are you going to do?”
Knox’s grin turned absolutely wicked. With his forehead grazing mine, he let out a quiet, sinister chuckle. “Whatever I want,” he answered. His grip didn’t loosen. “If I told you, it’d ruin the fun, wouldn’t it?”
He held me there for a few seconds, long enough for my vision to blur at the edges. The pulsing in my clit matched my racing heartbeat. God, if my panties weren’t already wet from his wandering hand beneath the table, they were now.
Finally, Knox’s hand pulled away from my neck, and I feared my knees might buckle. I sucked in a big breath of night air as he took a step backward. A group of loud, rambunctious men walked past at the end of the alley, and he innocently shoved his hands back in his pockets. His brows furrowed as he watched them pass, and then he glanced up at the darkening sky.
“Get to your car,” he said, looking at me. “It’s not safe out here.”
I remained still, wanting to laugh at the absurdity of him warning me about my safety after having his hand around my throat seconds ago. I rubbed the side of my neck, opening my mouth to give him another bratty retort, but I didn’t get the chance.
