Page 121 of Beneath the Light of the Moon

Pulling back, his pale skin glistening with her arousal, Mikko grinned up at her. He was a madman finally given a taste of his cure. “You positively melt on my tongue,malyshka.” His fingers gripped her thighs tighter. “A sweetened essence I’ve been craving for far too long.”

It was as if cotton had been stuffed into her ears and mouth; her words were nonexistent as the world dimmed. She nodded along with his praise. It’d been too long since a man had made her feel this way.

Mikko had a habit of stealing everything from her, and she internally cursed his ability to do that. Relenting as her body trembled, her hand finally slipped into his midnight hair. Pulling him closer, his warm breath washed over her throbbing pussy. Her muscles tightened, pleasure lapping at her insides just as he was licking at her most intimate parts. Deep down, a darkness slithered free, her body ravenous—craving carnal desires she’d long since locked away.

Too late to stop it now…

A LARGE GUST of wind shook Anika’s house, and the sound of rain pitting against the panes accompanied it. The storm raged on outside, the clamoring of nearby tree branches startling her awake though her eyes remained closed. Her mind slowly surfaced from the depths of sleep, groggy and reluctant to relinquish the slumber she’d succumbed to.

Or maybe more so the dream she’d been having, desperatelyclinging to the fading memories she’d awoken from.

Fingertips skimming the surface of her skin.

Stolen kisses and breathless sighs.

Cool air brushed across her bare shoulder, her blanket tossed aside mindlessly in her sleep. While she’d been warm inside the recesses of her mind, the air shifted as she continued to wake, goosebumps erupting over her skin. Reluctant to move too much, Anika curled into herself, searching for warmth.

The storm outside rumbled, lightning flashing across her room.

What time was it?

She cracked open one eye, assessing the amount of light streaming in through her open curtains. It was almost completely dark, a hint of soft glow from the muted street lamps outside the only thing making its way into her bedroom. Dawn was still a couple hours away, if she had to guess.

Remaining relatively still, she burrowed down into her pillow, closing her eyes and hoping to slip back into sleep before the sun rose, but a noise echoed throughout her house.

Not a noise, but a creak.

Her muscles tensed.

The stairs.

Her old house made specific noises, settling and groaning under the touch of gravity and weather, but this was inconsistent. The stairsonlycreaked like that when she stepped on them. Which meant—

Someonewas in her house.

Ice filled her veins, and a cold sweat collected on her skin.

Reaching across the remainder of her bed, her fingers brushed across the outline of her small gun safe. Quickly, she unlocked it, and only once the weapon was clutched in her grasp did her heart slow.

As quietly as she could she crawled across her mattress, angling herself toward the entrance into her room. With one hand keepingthe gun pointed at the closed door, the other kept her balance as she maneuvered over rumpled sheets. Nearing the edge of her mattress, her mind prepped to face whatever was on the other side of her bedroom door—whoever dared to break in. If it was Mikko again, she really was going to shoot him.

It’s what he gets for kissing me…again. And haunting my dreams.

All thoughts of violence in her head drained away as her free hand brushed across damp coldness on her mattress. Her pulse spiked.

“What the fuck,” she whispered, voice laced with uncertainty.

Eyes flicking between the door and the wet spot she’d stumbled across on her bed, her hand traced the indent of what had been a person. Anika’s eyes pricked with tears, her lids unblinking because of adrenaline all while her heart galloped in her chest so forcefully she was sure it was going to burst through flesh.

Despite her dreams, she’d woken up dry. As if reaffirming her thoughts, the smell of wet earth assaulted her nose.Rainwater.And her mind instantly pictured a certain someone.

Emerald hued eyes and an incessant need to be right.

Sleep no longer clinging to her bones, she quietly slipped from her bed in hopes of catching him and showing him how good her aim had gotten. Lightning flashed, the harsh light slanting across her wood floors. The relief she should’ve felt at not seeing any silhouettes during that flicker was erased by a new discovery.

A more chilling one.

A puddle of rainwater had accumulated at her door along with stray droplets. It looked as if someone had come in from outside to stand there and watch her sleep. Anika shivered again, her tank top and shorts unable to keep the chill from her skin.