“My nipples were achy this morning. It was like a pulsing inner warning, and the first person I thought about was you.” He points his green-polished nail at me.
“I once killed a guy in a crowded space without anyone noticing.” I let the threat register and calmly take another sip of brew.
“No need to brag. But can you teach me?” He sounds excited.
“I can show you right now,” I threaten him. I can’t be more direct than this.
“Crikey. I got it. So narky!” His pouty mouth would have stirred thoughts of a blowjob in the café bathroom, but all I want to fuck right now is Sully’s still virgin throat.
“What are you doing here?” I ask again.
“You should work on your manners, mate. And of course I’m here. Sully-doo is like a brother to me. My bestie freaked out after he heard what happened yesterday, but he can’t come—Rague’s red haze.”
From what I’ve heard, Raguel underwent various brain surgeries when he was imprisoned. I don’t know what those scientists were trying to achieve, but they cause him episodes of uncontrollable rage when he gets too stressed.
“So, I’m here in…loco parentis,” Lori finishes.
I take another sip of my coffee when I hear part of the conversation the two girls standing near the counters are having.
“That’s Ren Wright,” one of them says.
“He’s so handsome. You think I have a chance?” the other asks.
“Of course! I prefer his friend. He’s cute in a Peter Parker, bad boy kind of way.”
“Cute? He’s stunning, too. Look at those eyes and that smile. Hubba-hubba.”
“Dibs!”
I crush the paper cup I’m holding, spilling hot coffee over my hand. But I don’t feel the burn. All I’m focused on is that girl expressing a claim on what’s mine.
“Quit flexing…and sending homicidal stares!” Lori scolds me while tossing some paper napkins my way.
“The homicidal stares are only an indication of what is going to happen very soon,” I growl, looking at the two girls reaching his table.
Sully stiffens slightly as one starts talking to him. She laughs too loudly and then tucks her hair behind her ear coyly. She says something which I can’t hear, but it creates a little crease between Sully’s brows, the one that says that he’s puzzled or confused.
I wish I could read his mind and discover what thoughts populate his head. I’d find the ones about me and delete all the others.
“You’reexpectedlythe possessive type,” Lori states, but I ignore him.
Because Sully is biting his lip. The sight goes straight to my cock. Does he know what that gesture does to me? I don’t want him to show it to anyone else. He already belongs to me, doesn’t he realize that? His body, voice, breath, even a single strand of his hair, and all his fears and hopes are mine to break and to give them new shape. How dare he flaunt all that sweetness and innocence around? I don’t feel the urge to hurt him—much—but I’ll drive him to his limit until he needs me like air.
The girl writes something on a piece of paper and slides it toward Sully. I’m about to leave my chair and go to them when Lori grabs my forearm.
“You know, when I met you, I thought you should wear a mood ring. You were so fucking hard to read. But now… have you ever heard of Tomkins? Silvan Tomkins, a personality theorist? Or was it Solomon? Sylvester?”
Why is Lori still here…talking? My hand is itching to unsheathe my knife, especially when I see the girl still flirting with Sully. If she doesn’t leave right now, I’ll be very happy to show her my psychotic nature.
“The human face is like the penis.” Lori’s absurd words reach me, and I turn toward him.
“The penis?”
“Tomkins thought that the face, like a dick, has a mind of its own. It betrays us on an almost daily basis. Advertising our secrets to those who observe and know what to look for. Thanks to that, I don’t need to ask your intentions toward Sully-doo.”
Is he going to give me the I’ll-hurt-you-if-you-hurt-him speech? Because this…family needs to remember that I’m the one who inflicts pain.
“For example, if I tell you that Sully is going to move into Ren’s house next month, you…”
