Page 101 of Beneath the Light of the Moon

Mikko folded, his hands finally free of her body. Shoving him back, she used the distraction and distance to yank the door open. It opened a couple inches, the feeling of victory swelling in her chest. Rain splashed on the concrete sidewalk right outside, beckoning to her slip out. She needed to feel the fresh air on her skin and in herlungs. She couldn’t think with him that close.

Slam!

The door closed within inches of her nose and foot, her thoughts of escaping him dashed. A prickling heat pressed against her back, shoving her into the now closed door. Her cheek smashed against the wood, blood freely flowing across her taste buds.

“Now why would you try that?” he growled in her ear.

The lump forming in her throat now sunk to the pit of her stomach.

Fuck.

30

Late Night Confessions

Anika

Wrapping the length of her hair around his fist, he pulled her head back, straining her neck with the harsh angle. While her body should be scared, arousal pooled between her legs. Towering above her, his cloaked face staring down, she saw the anger there as the lightning outside flashed again. Thunder rumbled across the sky in pursuit. She feared a whole other storm was brewing inside her house.

There was also something else present amongst his fury.

Want? Desire?

Anika couldn’t be sure, and she tried to ignore the way it made her skin hum. Goading him was becoming a task she enjoyed. In public, he always made sure to keep himself put together, an unreadable force, but now…

Now, she could read everything hidden beneath his mask.

“Everything you do, Anika,” his breath tickled her cheek, the thinness of his balaclava barely shielding it from her face, “alwaysgets under my skin. Somehow, someway.”

She smiled despite the strands of hair Mikko had pulled free, her scalp burning from his harsh grip.

Before she could tell him to “fuck off,”he pulled away from her body. Using her hair as a leash, he dragged her back forcing her body to bump roughly into his. Spinning, he forced toward the kitchen.

“What are you—”

“Ah, ah, ah,” he hushed, boots kicking the back of her heels as he continued to usher her farther in. Neck still cranked back against his shoulder, her feet stumbling multiple times as they caught on the edges of her rugs. He prodded her onward regardless.

The darkness was thicker back here, the street lights unable to penetrate this deep into her house, so she was at the mercy of Mikko’s whims. Her brain didn’t miss the way he navigated her house, his feet knowing every creaky board and slant of the floor.

“Now, I’m going to ask nicely,once,”he spoke against the side of her temple, his covered nose dragging through her silky strands of hair, “please sit in that chair.”

Anika bucked against him, wishing for something sharp to stab him with.

“If you keep moving like that, we’re going to haveotherproblems,” he continued before shoving her away. His words implied things she couldn’t afford to think about right now. Especially when her own lust was building.

What will he do if I keep resisting, if I purposefully disobey.

All the sounds he’d make—

Anika shuffled over to the nearest chair in her kitchen. Carefully sitting, she watched as he approached her. Like a moth to flame…

“Imagine my surprise when I discovered your surname,” he began, standing in front of her, his legs almost touching her knees as he braced his large hands against the back of her chair caging her inagain. “Yourrealone.”

“So when any other woman changes her last name, no one blinks an eye. But whenIdo it, it’s an issue?”

One of his hands reached behind his back and for a moment Anika pictured her life ending right here, her promises unfilled. All it would take was one bullet to her head—or her heart—and it’d all be over.

Cool metal pressing against her arm had her thoughts clearing. Her gaze flicked down, already knowing what it was. Her gun. Its weight sunk into her flesh, the round tip of the barrel sure to leave an indent on her skin, but his finger wasn’t over the trigger. He was getting off on this power trip, curious to see how far she would let him go in her own house. Too bad Anika was all too willing to give up everything for her own vendetta.