Page 12

Greyson

My finger tapped on the top of the steering wheel in time to the song playing as I rolled up the alley behind the homeless shelter and parked out of sight. It took a lot longer than I thought it would to clean up, but the family property was once more perfectly quiet, sanitized, and picturesque.

I still had my truck, which was just as well. The muscle car could be too loud, and at this hour, it would alert everyone inside the shelter that someone was out back. Jumping out, I pulled up the hood of my coat and acted like I fit in as I walked to the back entrance. The door was bolted for the night, but this was an old building, and the lock was shit. It took a total of five seconds to break in. I didn’t like that at all, never mind the fact that Alora was constantly sleeping in a room with dozens of men. That fucking pissed me off. If any of them touched what was mine, they were going to end up like Thomas. Add the lack of safety and the fact that any piece of shit could wander in, and I didn’t like her here where I couldn’t keep an eye on her.

The back door led into a service bay with boxes stacked up, most of which seemed to be food and other supplies for the shelter. Impressively, they kept everything in an orderly fashion. Cracking the door open to the main hall, I listened but didn’t hear any movement. It was common to have at least one person, if not more, manning this place at night. It was dark, but dim lights shone at the end of the hall, making it tough to stick to the shadows. Keeping an eye out for cameras, I snuck out of the storage room, tucked myself further into the hood, and put on a limp.

Walking slowly into the main sleeping area, I spotted Alora. She was only a couple of cots away, her back to the wall, the pack she carried around held tightly to her chest, and although her eyes were closed, I knew she wasn’t asleep. Her body was too tense, and her breathing was all wrong. There was a smattering of empty cots, and I picked the closest one and laid down. I could just see her around the arm of a man lying on his back.

It shouldn’t have been this difficult to stay on my own cot and not go over there and climb on hers, but it was taking far more restraint than I’d ever needed with a woman. I loved sex, but I’d never been this interested in someone. What I wanted to do with her was not something normal people deemed sane, but that didn’t matter. I ran my tongue over my lip, envisioning covering myself in her blood as I fucked her.

She sat up and looked around the room before taking her pack and heading to the back. Making sure no one was watching, I jumped up and caught sight of the women’s bathroom door closing. Slipping around the corner, I stood outside and listened. The toilet flushed, and a moment later, I heard the water at the sink. I watched the sliver of light at the bottom of the door for her shadow. I needed to time this perfectly.

Anticipation rushed through my body, making it sing, especially with the earlier kill still so fresh. Pulling my knife, I readied myself, my muscles tightening. Alora was looking down as she opened the door, but her head snapped up as soon as she spotted the toes of my boots. I was on her in a flash. Flicking off the lights and grabbing her by the throat. She gasped, but before she could scream, I cut off her air supply. The pack fell to the floor as her hands gripped my arm. Pushing Alora back against the wall, I laid the dull edge of my blade against her neck.

She whimpered, her pulse jumping under my fingertips, and each thump traveled through my hand and right down between my legs. “I wouldn’t try to scream if I were you. I don’t want to have to slit your pretty throat.”

Fuck, her skin was soft under my hand. Easing in closer, I brushed her cheek with mine, and she shivered in my hold. When I buried my nose in her hair, the rich, flowery, and cinnamon scent made me heady, and I groaned.

“What do you want,” she whispered, voice as feathery light as I remembered. “I don’t have anything.”

I smirked and let my lips trail along her jawbone. “So many things,” I said, growling, and let my lips hover over hers. It didn’t matter that it was dark. I could picture her clearly in my mind. “But for tonight…just this.” Flicking my tongue out, I licked her upper lip.

“You’re him, aren’t you?” Alora’s voice was impressively steady, but her hands were shaking like a leaf on my arm.

“Who is him?”

“Mr. Laurent?”

I smiled against her lips, loving how she said my name. “I don’t know. Do you want me to be him?”

She was quiet and didn’t say anything at first, her throat constricting as she swallowed. “Will you kill me if I say no?”

“Careful, Doll, there are far worse things than killing you. But no, unless you scream or try to run, I won’t kill you…tonight,” I whispered next to her ear, and she shuddered.

“Then I just want to be left alone. I don’t want you to be any particular person.” She dropped her hands away from my arm, and I knew she was conceding that she couldn’t escape, yet she didn’t beg to be freed. Fuck she turned me on.

“You will, that I can promise you.” I ran my thumb up and down her neck, stroking her skin and feeling her pulse race faster from the simple touch. I could take her right here against the wall or knock her out and steal her, but it didn’t feel like the right time, and I wasn’t prepared for her. At least not tonight.

“Maybe.”

“I don’t make veiled promises. You will submit willingly to me, and you will want me. I will take over every second of your day with thoughts of what if, longing, and even fear until I’m the only thing you think about.”

“You’re pretty cocky,” she said. I chuckled low and nipped her earlobe, sucking on the little piece of delicate flesh. It was subtle, but her breathing changed just enough that I knew my touch was affecting her.

“I’m honest.” Releasing her neck, I kept the blade in place as I braced my hand on the wall beside her head.

“You’re something. There are thousands of girls, why me?”

“I don’t know,” I said honestly, unsure where the obsession stemmed from. “I did you a favor tonight.”

Removing the knife from her throat, I slipped it into its sheath before spinning Alora around and pressing her face first up against the wall, my body molding to hers. Her ass flexed and unwittingly gripped my hard cock. This time, I shuddered. Alora didn’t cry out, but the fearful noise she made had me so hard that I was going to need an ice-cold shower to get the fucker to stand down.

Grabbing her hands, I stretched them over her head, linking our fingers together. She didn’t grip my hands back, but I didn’t care. “Thomas won’t be bothering you anymore,” I said, kissing her neck. “I took care of him.”

“What did you do?”

I chuckled. “Do you really want to know?”

“I don’t think so.”

“I don’t think so either, Doll.” Nipping the skin at her neck had her body wiggling against mine. “I’m going to go now, and if you’re smart, you won’t try to leave the city or hide from me. I will find you, and you don’t want to piss me off,” I said, but then I thought about how much fun it would be to hunt her down.

“It is you, isn’t it,” she asked, her voice ending with a stifled moan as I pressed my cock between her ass cheeks again.

“It doesn’t matter who I am. Just know that I’m always watching. You can’t escape me. I advise you not to try.”

“What if I go to the cops.”

“Go ahead. I’d love to see what they say. I’ll be seeing you around, Doll.” Pushing away from her, I darted out the door, slipped into the storage room, and ran out the back in record time. I got in my truck and laid my head back on the headrest, shuddering. Giving up the fight, I unzipped my pants.

“Don’t do it, it’s too dangerous,” I mumbled even as I pulled my cock out.

Fuck it, it was a cheat night, I might as well indulge.

Alora

“Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ,” I mumbled over and over even after he left, like saying his name might summon him to help. My knees shook, wanting to give out. He didn’t need to confirm it. I knew it was him. This was the edge that I saw in his eyes. Why the fuck did I have to bump into a goddamn stalker and most likely killer? Only I would have that kind of fucking luck.

Stepping away from the wall, I turned on the light, and even though I knew he was gone, I jumped at my reflection. Gripping the counter, I tried to get control of my breathing. When the door opened, I leaped away, and Paula stood in the doorway staring at me, confusion all over her face.

“You okay, sweetie?”

I smiled at her and waved it off. “I was all up in my head and just didn’t expect anyone to come in. I’m fine,” I lied, his threat still loud in my ears. It wasn’t what he said but what he didn’t that had me keeping my mouth shut.

“Are you sure? You look pretty shaken up?” Paula picked up my pack in the middle of the floor and held it out to me as she laid her hand on my shoulder.

“It was just a really long, weird day yesterday, and I’m still shaken up.” I’d spoken to Paula about what the police had said when I arrived. She’d set my cot aside so that it didn’t get taken, but as it turned out, it was a quiet night, and the place was only half full. I hadn’t even seen Rex, which worried me.

“It’s going to be okay. The police have nothing on you because you wouldn’t do something like that. This detective you mentioned will see that, and it will all blow over.” She pulled me into a hug, and I held on to her, wishing that I could ask her for help with my new issue, but the last thing I wanted was to put those who had been kind to me in danger.

“I hope you’re right.” The words coming out of my mouth didn’t match how I felt. It was more like the beginning of something far worse.

“Come on, you don’t look like you’re going to sleep anyway, and I could use help stocking the kitchen to start breakfast.”

Paula led me out the door, but nothing was going to stop the trapped sensation from closing in on me. The detective told me not to leave the area either, so taking my chances and trying to run from Mr. Laurent would only make me look guilty of a murder I didn’t commit. This Mr. Laurent was good. He hadn’t done anything that I could use as proof for the cops, and everything that I mentioned to the detective made me look crazy.

What was that saying? Damned if I do and damned if I don’t.

Who was I kidding? I was damned from the moment I was born.