Page 90 of Her Vampire, His Ruin

“You know,” he says, and my attention snaps back to him as he locks eyes with mine.

“So you admit it then? It was you.”

“I couldn’t stop myself, Edie. I tried not to act, but the thought⁠—”

“You warned me about who you are, what you’re capable of,” I find myself saying. “At least you were honest about that, even if it terrifies me.”

“I scare you?”

“Of course you scare me, Dorian. How could you not?”

I heave out a breath. He’s still a dangerous man, that much is evident, and yet it’s not his violence that scares me, it’s how much I want him anyway, despite everything. I drop my gaze to my hands, not willing at this moment to face the truth of it.

“I would never willingly hurt you. That was a momentary lapse in judgement. I hadn’t heard from you since the night at the club, and I thought… Fuck,” he exclaims.

My head snaps up as he shifts forward in his seat. “Wait, you thought those men tried to hurt me again?”

His brow furrows, and then his eyes widen. “Edie, what are you talking about?”

“What am I talking about? What are you talking about?” I counter.

He doesn’t respond immediately, and this weird feeling of déjà vu comes over me. Slowly, a memory forms, or perhaps it’s the recollection of a dream. I’m not entirely sure I trust myself to know the difference.

Wait.

A chill tracks over my body as I recall waking up a few mornings ago with his dildo pressed between my legs, my thighs sticky with cum, this lingering feeling that Dorian, somehow, had something to do with it.

“Did you…?”

“Edie, I⁠—”

My skin erupts in goosebumps. “Please tell me you didn’t break into my home,” I whisper.

“Edie, it wasn’t what you think.”

“So not only are you a murderer, you’re also a fucking creep.”

He stills, and I can feel the tension rolling off him as though we’re in the same room and not separated by miles.

“We killed those men because⁠—”

“We?” I ask, my mind reeling as I try to catch up.

“Logan and I,” he explains. “I know it’s hard to digest, but believe me, those men would’ve acted on their impulses and hurt more women and children. They deserved it, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

“And what about your impulses, huh? What about you creeping into my home without my consent?”

“It wasn’t like that,” he protests.

“You’ve betrayed my trust. How can I possibly know you won’t hurt me like those men tried to do?

“I’d never hurt you, Edie. I couldn’t.”

“But you already have,” I say before slamming the lid of my laptop shut.

I immediately pick up my phone and dial Henrietta’s number. She answers on the first ring.

“Edie?”