His entire face slips into a hardened mask. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean, huh?” He crowds my space. He’s a big guy too; he possesses more lean muscle than I do. My advantage is intelligence and patience. I know when to fuck off. Dude would easily win in a fight, but I never push him that far.
I hold his gaze. “You know exactly what that means.”
His lips curl into a sneer. “Fuck you, Zain. You are such a prick sometimes. If you wanna fuck the bitch and cut her into little bitty pieces, do whatever the fuck you want, but leave me the fuck out of it.” He shoulder checks me and rounds the corner before stomping up the stairs.
I frown and flip out my phone, checking on my songbird. Still at her daddy’s estate. I chuckle. Gotta release the pent-up anger, and I know just how to do it.
***
My back scrapes against the outcrop of jagged rocks along the sandy coastline. The only light is the dim flicker of the buoy in the distance. I peer into her balcony with a cigarette hanging from my lips. She’s chatting away with someone on the phone.
Probably that friend of hers Kieran is obsessed with.
The estate looks the exact fuckin’ same as I remember it. Last time I set foot in this place her mother, Amelia, was still alive. Pearson hasn’t done shit with it. Still the same stale, fake bullshit. These rich fucks and their image—means everything to ’em.
If my songbird thinks she can disappear and erase me from her life, she’s sorely mistaken. I meant every fuckin’ word when I told her I own her.Every last fuckin’ part of
her. I have stolen her innocence and have zero fuckin’ intentions of letting her slip through my fingers. Though I have no plan of making my presence known, curiosity gets the best of me. Seeing her here only heightens my anger.
You’re not good enough. You’re fucked-up. Problem child. Problem child. PROBLEM CHILD.
I pound my fist into the side of my head, begging my psyche to go silent. I reach into my hoodie and pluck out my medicine. The only way to numb the voices. I press the pill under my tongue. Instantly, my body knows it’s gonna get its fix.
My hoodie, damp from the ocean spray, clings to me like a second skin. Hours I’ve watched, waited. Her father keeps that tight leash on her, but that won’t stop me. Nothing will. His personal security doesn’t deter me. The guy is dense and oblivious.
I slink along the coastline and behind the hidden alcove. I scale the rocky steps and ascend up the slope along the cliff’s edge. My mind is locked on one thing—reminding her she’s entwined in the hands of the devil. The dull light shines through the frosted windows onto the cold damp ground.
Her room is on the top floor but no matter, I’ll scale the latticework. Silently, I climb.
Each step I take on the lattice, I grow hungry, and the resentment builds. Taking it out on her is the only way to right all the wrongs.
Her balcony door is ajar once I reach the top, as if she’s waiting for me. I grip the stone balcony railing and propel myself over. My bootsland softly on the stone breezeway. Gotta avoid detection. Can’t give myself away yet, where’s the fun in that?
I slink along the edge, molding myself against the stone pillars lining her balcony along with gargoyles, dragons, and other mythical shit. There, in the shadows I wait. I’m a patient fuck. The cold is welcoming. Might calm the raging inferno in my jeans. My cock throbs in anticipation. She’s not gonna like what I’m about to do, but I sure as fuck will. The lights dim, and I’m shrouded in darkness. My insides churn, full of trepidation.
When I know she’s asleep I lower my hoodie and stalk towards her door. I nudge it open with my boot. Like her dorm room, I know this room like the back of my hand. I start towards her bed, creeping slowly within the darkness until I reach the edge of her bed. She left the fireplace lit. Almost like an invitation. The flame dances over her sleeping form, lighting her up like a treat I want to devour. She’s covered in crimson sheets. I cock my head and inhale. The room smells faintly like her, though she hasn’t been here for months.
My cock jolts, ready to play. I slip out of my boots. My knife dances along my fingertips. I suck in a sharp breath and slip the blade between my teeth. I crawl forward over the silk sheets. My large torso blocks out the dancing firelight, making darkness fall over her body like a sinful devil. It’s too ironic.
Her smell slaps me the closer I creep forward, until I’m enveloping her entire existence beneath me. Her breathing is even, measured. Shallow breaths leave her lips. Her eyes remain closed, and I reach for the knife between my teeth. I’m salivating for her. I run the blade along her middle and slowly unwrap her like a gift. The silk sheets fall away from her, revealing her body to me. My offering.
Her body rustles beneath me, begging to be touched. Fucked. Marked. I want her fuckin’ soul. Her arms rest above her silky jet-black strands, and my eyes wander to her middle. She’s clad in an oversize T-shirt and white cotton panties.
She sighs softly, completely unaware she’s in the clutches of a monster who’s about to take every last bit of innocence and sense of security she’s ever owned. She dared to compare me to that sick fuck Jax. I recoil in disgust at the thought. The difference is she denies her want for me, but her body betrays her. She wants to be used and claimed by me.
Her eyes flutter open and her sinful green irises burn into me. I inhale along her neckline, then lick there, tasting her fear, her arousal, her fuckin’ terror on my tongue. She inhales sharply, ready to scream. The knife falls between us, and I’m careful as to not let the blade pierce her skin. I smother her mouth with my tattooed hand. Her body fights like a rabid animal dying to break free. My thighs nail her legs to the bed, and my free hand pins her wrists above her head. So helpless. So fucking delightfully fucked up.
“I’m gonna fuck you,” I whisper. “This time you’re gonna be present and coherent to feeleverythingI’m gonna do to you.” My voice drips with darkness.
Tears burst onto her cheeks, and I lick them. Her sobs make her entire body shatter. Zain?!” Her voice is muffled behind my palm, but I understand her well enough.
“Why? Expecting someone else? You let anyone else fuck you, and I’ll cut them until they bleed at my feet,” I growl. My teeth scrape along her jaw, and I release my hand.
“You’re sick! This is wrong! You’re just like him,” she cries, snapping her head back and forth. She sobs until her lashes darken.
I glower and lower my face until our noses touch. My words come out slow and measured. She’s awakened the beast. “What did I fuckin’ tell you about comparing me to that fucker?” My hand digs into her thigh where I branded her. I’m bettin’ she’s still sore.
She winces and slams her head against her silk pillow when I dig my fingertips in deeper.
