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MAEL

My girl didn't come home from the bar until three o’clock in the morning, and at that point, she was already tipsy.

Naughty girl.

At least she had the good sense to call for a ride home.

Had she known she was mine, she would have never stepped foot inside another man’s car.

Only one good thing came from this though. It allowed me to beat her home.

I stayed where I was, in the small corner of her dark apartment, waiting for my girl to get home.

I watched as she stumbled her way inside, eliciting a small smile from me when she giggled after nearly tumbling to the floor.

Fuck, but she was cute.

And all fucking mine.

I silently followed her as she clumsily made her way to her room. She was completely unaware of the monster behind her. How na?ve. But then, she didn’t have to worry. I might be a monster, but I was her monster. I would protect her from everyone and everything in this world that would try to harm her.

I stayed in the shadow as she made her way into the bathroom, making a pathetic attempt to brush her teeth. She happily sang to herself in the middle of it, making the job that much harder for herself.

Once she got somewhat ready, she stripped down to her underwear and moved her way into the bedroom.

I followed behind, no longer bothering to try and hide myself. At this point, she might just convince herself I was nothing more than a figment of her imagination if she happened to catch a glimpse of me.

She stood by the bed in her room, not bothering with the lights. The curtains were opened, letting in the moonlight enough for me to make out the details of her body.

My favorite subject.

And I was nothing if not studious.

I’ve spent weeks studying her body. I recognized every curve, every mole, and every freckle on that body of hers that I owned. Even her scent had been imprinted on my mind. There wouldn’t be a place on God’s green earth where she could hide, and I wouldn’t find her. Not that my girl would ever go anywhere.

No, my Lia was a good girl. And once she met me, she would know what I had known all along. Every molecule in her body was mine. That heart, that soul… mine .

She was going to fall in love with me, obsessively, dependably so.

I would be the very center of her universe, so much so that she wouldn’t know how to survive without me.

It would only be fair.

After all, that was how it was for me.

I licked my lips in anticipation, waiting to see what she would do now that she thought she was home alone. She glided her hand down her body, her hands coming up to cup her small breasts. She let out a breathy moan as she tweaked her nipples, her legs rubbing up against each other. I imagined she was trying to relieve the ache building there.

Once she knew she was mine, she would know not to touch herself without my permission. For now, I let her have her fun.

My cock twitched in the confines of my jeans when one of her hands came down to cup her pussy through that skimpy triangular fabric she tried to pass off as panties. Damn lucky there wasn’t another fucker here with her. I would gouge out the fucker's eyeballs for daring to see what was mine… right before I killed him. And I would make it hurt.

My thoughts briefly strayed to the bar owner. He hadn’t seen what belonged to me, but I fucking knew he’d touched her.

Because she didn’t know about my ownership over her yet, I decided to forgive her. I won’t punish her… too much . And I won’t kill the owner. Doesn’t mean I won’t break the fucker’s hands when the time comes.

Look at me, being merciful and shit.

Before her, that would have never happened.

She was already making me a better person, and she didn’t even know it.

Her soft moans broke through the murderous haze that I found myself under, thinking about the bar owner, and I came back to reality just in time to see her hand had slid beneath her panties. She was probably playing with her fat clit.

My fists clenched. Thinking about that bastard nearly had me missing my favorite show. Fuck.

I focused my attention on my girl, anticipating her climax. It would almost be as good as if I had been the one to get her there, but for now, I’d settle for this.

She moved her hand roughly against herself, those little sounds growing louder and louder until I felt like I was nearly bursting at the seams until…

She let out a small sigh.

I frowned when she pulled her hand away.

“Impossible,” she muttered to herself, climbing onto her bed and punching the pillow in frustration. How… cute.

Like a little kitten throwing its first tantrum. Did she need help?

I walked closer to her. Because of where I was, it took her a moment to realize she wasn’t alone. She turned her head, and our eyes met through the moonlight. I waited for her screams—for her to freak out. I was ready for that.

What I wasn’t ready for was her soft smile directed at me.

“You,” she whispered.

“Me,” I answered in the same tone of voice.

“You’re from the bar,” she said, bringing me back to the moment our eyes had met earlier. “I must be more lonely than I thought to be fantasizing about you in my drunken state.”

“Are you lonely, kitten?”

She wouldn’t feel that way if she knew just how often I was with her. How much time I had spent in her presence, watching over her.

She blew raspberries with her lips, making me even more obsessed with her than I was. She needed to be careful. If she got any cuter, I would lock her up in my apartment and never let her leave. How easily I could make that happen.

Tempting .

I shook away the thought.

“Isn’t it obvious?” she answered.

“Do you need help?” I asked with an easy smile.

She giggled, the sound like the world’s greatest symphony playing just for me. “Are you going to help me?”

“Depends,” I said, moving in even closer to her.

“On what?”

“On whether you’re a good girl.”

She pouted, killing me a little more on the inside. “I’m always a good girl.”

“Of course you are,” I agreed. “Why don’t you be my good girl, baby, and spread your legs for me?”

And like the good girl she was, she did as I asked. I took in the flimsy fabric of her panties, my mouth watering. Fuck me.

“Do you want to come?”

She whimpered, nodding her head. “Please.”

“I can help with that.”

“I’m sure you can.” She sighed, making my cock twitch. At this point, I was convinced she could look at me, and I’d come.

Fucking hell.

I was giving the little kitten too much power over me. I should hate her for that. The last time someone had this much power over me, I had been nothing more than a kid with no real footing in the world.

But I didn't hate her. I fucking hated that I wanted her, fucking hated that I wanted to touch her. I hated it when other people looked at her. Hated it when other bastards touched her. But I didn’t hate her.

I didn’t know exactly what it was that I felt for her, if it wasn’t hate.

Hate was all I’d ever known. But this?

Was it obsession or desperation? Or a combination of the two? Or something else entirely different?

Tiny hands reached up and pressed against my chest, where my dead heart lay. For the first time in decades, I felt a fluttering there that resembled something like fucking arrhythmia. A strange sensation, considering my heart had always beat steadily, no matter what situation I found myself in. And with my occupation, I spent a lot of my time in shitty situations that others would consider heart-stopping .

“Aren’t you going to help me?” she asked, pouting slightly.

I shook away the distraction and focused back on her. Moving my hands down, I hooked my fingers in the band of her panties.

“Lift your hips for me, sweetheart. I want to see you. I want to see all of you.”

“Yes,” she hissed out, and like the good girl she was, she did as I asked, lifting her hips up and allowing me to pull the skimpy panties over those mile-long legs.

Lia was only five foot four—average height for a woman—but she was all fucking legs that I could spend hours worshiping.

I threw the panties on the floor and turned back to her.

“Jesus,” I gritted out. She had already started in on the fun without me.

She giggled, which quickly turned into a moan when she rubbed a little harder over her cunt. I licked my lips.

“What are you waiting for?” she said.

“Nothing,” I answered, my voice coming out in a growl. “You want to come, don’t you, my sweet girl?”

I climbed on the bed and settled myself between her legs, her delicious scent teasing my nostrils. I took in a deep whiff, completely addicted.

“I knew you would be like this,” I muttered, moving her hands out of the way and giving me a full view of her drenched lips. I licked my lips at the sight as she reached down and grabbed two fistfuls of my hair.

My girl likes it rough.

I looked up and smiled at her, even as the pain stung my eyes and made them water.

“Please,” she begged prettily.

“Your wish is my command, kitten.” I leaned down and took a huge swipe of her pussy with the flat of my tongue. Her taste was the most potent drug in the world.

“Fuck!” she gritted out.

I took another swipe—and another and another—until she was wet from both my spit and her arousal. Until I could feel her coating on my tongue, putting me in a frenzy. I grabbed her thighs and spread her out further, dipping my tongue deep inside her.

“Oh fuck !” she screamed as her body began to convulse beneath me.

“You taste so fucking good,” I said, doubling my efforts as the need to see if she would taste just as good when she exploded on my tongue seized me. “You taste like mine.”

She tugged harder on my hair, making me feel as if she was close to ripping it out of my scalp. I wouldn’t fucking mind one bit if that was the case.

“Say it,” I said, bringing her clit in between my teeth and giving it a little nip. Her body jerked against me, and she looked at me with surprise as if no one had played just a little rough with her, pushing her to her limits only to bring her back down.

“What?” she asked breathlessly.

“Say you're mine, baby.” I pushed my tongue over her tight slit, dipping inside her, before moving my lips against her slick flesh, letting her feel me.

“Hell.”

“Say it,” I demanded.

“I’m yours,” she cried out just as her orgasm took over.

I moved my lips harder against hers, wanting to prolong her release as long as possible.

“Mine, mine, mine ,” I growled, etching the word into her skin. She was mine the moment I saw her, and there was nothing I could do about it.

I wouldn’t rest until the day came when she would look at me, really look at me, and see what I had seen all along.

That she had me in a chokehold.

That I would follow her to the depths of the earth and plunge straight to hell with a smile for her. Only her.

That I was hers as well.

The grip on my hair loosened as she rode out the waves of pleasure I was sure she was experiencing. I slowly pulled back and looked up at her, taking in her expression.

It seemed everything about her had softened as she shot a satisfied smile my way.

I pressed a sweet kiss on her pussy, causing her to jump slightly before she relaxed back on the mattress. Moving off the bed, I walked to her bathroom, looking around for a clean cloth I knew she kept there. I found a stack of them in a drawer under the sink and wet one with warm water. When I returned to the room, she was in the same position I had left her in, her eyes closed.

She didn’t stir as I cleaned her up before tucking her into bed.

She muttered something in her sleep when I ran my fingers over the side of her face, taking in the softness of her skin.

“Sleep, baby. Soon .”

And with that, I walked away, going back to my surveillance of her dad and his friend.