She hasn’t said a single word, and I’m already regretting saving her.
Most days, I hate that she’s even alive. But leaving her out to die would’ve implicated Rogue and Severen as well, and while I often grapple with throwing my life away to snuff hers, I refuse to ruin my friends’ lives, too.
“Can I go now?” she asks quietly, an edge to her tone.
While I’d love nothing more than for her to get the fuck out of my bed, something feels inherently wrong with just… letting her go. It feels too simple, too easy to let her walk away from me.
She nearly died, but now, she’s alive and breathing perfectly fine, and I really fucking resent that.
I sit up and lean on the arm beneath her head, staring down at her side profile while I contemplate how to answer. She keeps her face turned forward as her eyes slide toward me.
The anxiety rolling off her is one of my favorite perfumes. I love when she’s nervous—scared.
She’s both my greatest addiction and deepest affliction.
My stare wanders down her bundled form, and an idea sparks in my head.
“Nah. I’m nowhere close to being finished with you.”
She scoffs, and a small, lingering shiver racks her body.
“You’ve tortured me in every possible way the last four years, and you’ve succeeded in almost killing me now,” she says, her voice hoarse. “What more is there to do to me?”
That makes me laugh.
Acid drips from my tone as I say, “Baby, I’m just getting started.”
Her upper lip curls—the same reaction she gives every time I call her ‘darling.’ She hates it more than anything, and nothing makes me happier than pissing her off.
“Just let me lea—” She chokes on the last word when I reach over her and blindly grab my phone from the nightstand. I squint when I tap thescreen, the bright light harsh in the darkness, pricking my eyes. Reverie winces, turning her face into my forearm while I click on my flashlight.
“What are you doing?” she asks, her tone deepening with caution and concern.
Ignoring her, I aim the light on my nightstand, where several writing utensils are scattered. I grin when I locate a Sharpie amongst them, snatching it from the table and dropping it onto the bed. Then, I switch off the flashlight, open my camera app, and hit the swivel button to face the camera toward us.
She takes one look at the screen and immediately goes to scramble off the bed.
“Uh-uh,” I berate.
My left arm trapped beneath her snaps up to circle around her throat before jerking her back against me, keeping myself balanced on that elbow. The blanket around her has slid down, allowing her icy skin to press into my chest, sending a chill down my spine. Except it does nothing to dampen the fire burning in the pit of my stomach.
A breathless chuckle escapes when she bucks against me. “Where you goin’, huh? Stay right there, baby, you’re not goin’ anywhere.”
“Dread,” she snaps, her voice wobbling and body tensing impossibly further. She brings both hands up to grip my forearm barred around her throat, digging her nails in deep. The bite of pain makes my heart pump faster with excitement. “Let me the fuck go!”
I hum, pleased by her panic. “Keep saying my name, darlin’. The more scared you are, the sweeter it sounds,” I purr.
Setting my phone on the bed, I kick the comforter off us, then tug at the blanket loosely wrapped around her until it unravels, exposing her naked body. She surges forward a second time, attempting to thrash out of my hold, but I keep her trapped simply by tightening my arm around her throat.
With only the abysmal light emanating from my phone, I can’t see much, but what I can make out has my cock stiffening.
I grit my teeth, willing my body to stop reacting. But it doesn't, especially when she pleads, “Dread.”
Her voice sounds a thousand miles away as I trace my eyes down her thin waist that flares out into wide hips, over her perfect fucking belly button. I’ve never noticed any other woman’s, yet my mouth waters with the urge to dip my tongue into hers before trailing it down to thetempting V between her thick thighs. My fingers twitch and my blood heats. I grind my molars, attempting to force my body not to react to her once again.
It proves pointless when my cock pulses beneath my sweatpants instead.
The cooler air coerces goosebumps to rise on her pale skin, pebbling her deep rosy nipples into hard peaks. Her tits are fucking beautiful. They’re not huge but plenty big enough to fill my hands and fit my cock in between.
