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“Why did you come looking for me, Cece?”

Color blossomed in my cheeks. It seemed so silly to say it out loud. “I, uh, was hungry and I couldn’t find any food.”

Mercy cursed and snapped her fingers. Narcissa appeared beside her in an instant, this time fully dressed. She winked at me before turning to her boss, her head bowed slightly. Submissive.

“Cissa, didn’t I tell you to buy human food for our guest? I believe I did.”

Narcissa tensed but didn’t look up. “I must have forgotten.”

A loud crack made me jump from the edge of the bed. It took me a moment to realize that Narcissa was now holding her cheek, hunched away from Mercy. Had sheslappedher?

“Your insolence recently is really becoming a problem and I will not stand for it much longer. You will go out right now and pick up the groceries I told you to get earlier before our guest here thinks we are bad hosts. Do you hear me, Narcissa?”

Narcissa nodded and went to move, but Mercy fisted her hair and brought her lips to her ear. That feeling churned in me again and I looked away, but could still hear the venom in Mercy’s voice as she whispered, “Do not overestimate your worth to me, Narcissa. You, like everyone else in this life and the next, are expendable. Now get out of my sight.”

I couldn’t bring myself to look up to see if the monster had gone, as instructed. It wasn’t until I felt cool fingertips on my chin, causing me to jerk back, that my eyes found Mercy.

My bedroom door was once again closed and my captor stood before me. She tipped my face up until our gazes met, and I tried to ignore whatever was stirring inside of me.

“Little flower, are you alright?”

“Yes. I… I’m sorry for interrupting your evening.”

A low laugh rumbled from Mercy as she sat beside me on the bed. “Love, you needn’t apologize. You didn’t interrupt anything.”

I flushed as her arm touched mine and I resisted the urge to look at her. “It seemed like I interrupted something.”

“Sexual activity needn’t be classified as something or nothing. It simplyis. Most people do it, so I do not feel the need to view it as something more than it is.”

My silence must have amused her because she laughed again, this time closer to my ear. I could feel her breath on my neck, a delightful whisper.

“Are you offended by my nakedness, little flower? You have barely met my eye.”

“I’m not offended,” I croaked out, my voice a hoarse whisper.

“Ah, I see,” Mercy said as she slid her fingers down my bare arm. “Perhaps you are curious? I won’t mind if you want to look, you know.”

Mercy’s openness had my heart beating faster, which seemed to excite her as she pressed closer to me. I could smell her scent, the powerful aroma of blood and sweat and strength, filling my nostrils with every breath.

“Tell me, little flower. Do you know I can hear your heart thumping? The way your pulse spikes when our skin meets,” she said as her hand found mine in my lap, “or that I can smell your emotion? The slither of fear and adrenaline, mixed with frustration.”

She lowered her face to my chest, taking in a deep breath at my cleavage. I sat rigid, scared to move. She was dangerous. A killer.

Mercy hummed against my skin and sat back up, a predatory smile on her face. “Perhaps it’s desire? Do you avert your eyes because you don’t want to feel a different type of hunger in yourself?”

My lip curled as I pulled away from her touch, scrambling back until I hit the headboard. The look in her eye, like she was starving, made my insides twist.

I apparently proved whatever sick point she was making because Mercy threw her head back and laughed. The sound was eerily beautiful, both rich and cold at the same time.

“Don’t worry, Cecelia. I told you that you were safe here. I will never lay a hand on you. Not unless you want me to.”

With those confusing parting words, Mercy exited the room and locked the door behind her, leaving me alone with my thoughts once again.

Not unless you want me to.

She had to be crazy if she thought that I would ever let her touch me.

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